Operation Mincemeat (musical)

The basis of the musical is Operation Mincemeat, the 1943 British deception operation to disguise the Allied invasion of Sicily, during the Second World War.^[2]

In 1943, Naval intelligence officer Ewen Montagu welcomes the audience to MI5, where the "elite" of the British military contribute to the World War II effort ("Born to Lead"). Colonel Johnny Bevan informs his subordinates that the British government requires a strategy to convince the Nazis that the Allied Forces are planning to invade Sardinia rather than their actual (and more obvious) target, Sicily; several officers, including Montagu and Ian Fleming, present their ideas, but despite their conviction of their own brilliance ("God That's Brilliant"), Bevan dismisses them all as uncreative and poorly planned. Sulking after his rejection, Montagu encounters Air Force officer and "amateur naturalist" Charles Cholmondeley, who has formulated a strategy code-named "Operation Mincemeat", but is convinced of its futility after being bullied out of line by Montagu and his colleagues ("Dead in the Water"). Montagu reads his plan, and despite declaring it "insane", recognises its potential and convinces Charles that they should team up to pitch Mincemeat to Bevan, noting his own natural "flair for presentation" ("Dead in the Water (Reprise)").

Meanwhile, secretary Hester Leggatt welcomes new clerk Jean Leslie to her team, who disdains the typically side-lined role of women in MI5 and dreams of ranking alongside the male officers ("All the Ladies"). Although Jean tries to stop them while bringing Bevan tea, Montagu and Charles arrive at the last minute to pitch Mincemeat. After Charles fumbles their presentation, Montagu recognises Jean’s worthwhile attempts to help and drafts her in to explain the plan: MI5 will obtain a male corpse, dress it as a British soldier, plant documents on it "revealing" the Allied plans to invade Sardinia, and place it where the Nazis will discover it and use the documents as cause to move their troops from Sicily ("The Pitch"). Bevan is highly sceptical, but concedes that it is the one decent idea he has heard and allows the operation to proceed, with Jean and Hester officially drafted in as support, but covertly assigns Hester to investigate Montagu, who is believed to be in contact with his brother Ivor, a filmmaker who is suspected to be a spy for the Russian government.

Together, Montagu, Charles, Jean and Hester create a fake Royal Marines major, "Bill Martin"; to ensure his identity is "watertight", Hester falsifies numerous identification papers, Montagu and Jean source receipts for a week of leisure in London (by literally having a week of leisure in London), and Charles purchases an engagement ring so the receipt can be on Bill’s person, along with a photograph of Jean posing as Bill's imagined fiancée ("Making a Man"). Charles notices that Montagu occasionally "misplaces" important files, but suppresses his concerns. A corpse, that of an unnamed nomad who ingested rat poison, is obtained with the help of Montagu's morally dubious acquaintance Bernard Spilsbury ("Spilsbury"); the team are concerned about using it without the knowledge and consent of any relatives, let alone knowing his real name, but Montagu is adamant that it is better if the corpse is a "nobody". Bevan is unimpressed by the team's spending spree, but concedes that their creation is believable. As the operation prepares to commence, he declares that Bill should be carrying a letter from his fiancée; after dismissing Charles and Jean’s questionable efforts at writing one ("Love is a Bird"), Hester indirectly relates her own story of the lover she lost during World War I, and agrees to a deeply moved Jean’s request that she write the letter herself ("Dear Bill").

That night, Montagu and Charles arrive in Scotland to load "Bill's" corpse onto the submarine HMS Seraph; its crew are told that the sealed canister contains meteorological equipment ("Sail On, Boys"). Charles is deeply insecure about the result of the operation, but is swayed by Montagu into celebrating its completion, later witnessing a brief meeting between the latter and Ivor ("Just For Tonight"); meanwhile, after enduring enemy attacks, the crew of the Seraph are unnerved by the contents of the canister but follow their orders, placing Bill in the sea beyond the Spanish coast before thanking him for his service.

The German army present a display of their apparent dominance ("Das Übermensch"). After reprimanding the audience for "appreciating" the enemy, Bevan relates the progression of Mincemeat and reveals that a problem has arisen ("Bevan's Update"). The team await news from Vice-Consul Francis Haselden in Huelva, but are dismayed to learn that the victim of an aeroplane accident he calls to report is a live American soldier, also named William; they fear it will make Bill’s story less believable. Moments later, they learn Bill has also been recovered, and they instruct Haselden to make sure the briefcase holding the false plans is seized by the Nazi-populated Spanish authorities, amidst news that the latter are indeed suspicious and have ordered an autopsy ("The Ballad of Willie Watkins").

Meanwhile, Bevan calls the team into his office to reveal that the original problem was entirely different: Spilsbury's methodology is flawed and he should not have been trusted with the operation ("Spilsbury Reprise"). Montagu insists that Mincemeat is running smoothly despite the setbacks, but Bevan orders the immediate abortion of all plans ("I Call Abort"); however, this fails to reach Haselden, who diligently ensures that the autopsy is rushed and the briefcase reaches the authorities ("Haselden's Got a Good Feeling"). Charles and Jean attempt to keep working through the crises, but Montagu believes they can do no more and simply wants to enjoy himself; he is hurt by Jean reminding him that their London excursions were merely for the operation. After an animated reprimanding by Bevan for his nonchalance and failure to obtain consent for the use of Bill's body, Montagu fully dismisses Jean's role in Mincemeat and orders her to go back to her role as a clerk and assistant. Furious and humiliated, Jean confesses to Hester that she'd pictured the veneration they'd receive if the operation was a success; Hester gently persuades her that not everyone who works for a cause will be recognised, but that does not make them any less valuable – whether they are spearheading an operation or making tea – and Jean thanks her for helping her to "grow" ("Useful"). Hester is inspired to disclose the suspicion around Montagu's brother, and Jean agrees to swallow her pride and investigate.

Charles once again catches Montagu hiding files, and after Montagu describes tactics for getting people to trust him, Charles also begins investigating him; meanwhile, Haselden is ordered to drop hints that the British desperately want Bill’s briefcase back, Hester worries about the increasing number of missing documents, and Bevan tries to keep plans for the Sicilian invasion afloat ("Act as If"). Eventually, Montagu discovers Charles, Jean and Hester going through his possessions; despite his protests, they read his files, and learn that he is actually writing a film script about Mincemeat depicting himself as a hero; he was secreting files so that he could archive them for personal use, being careful not to let them into the wrong hands, and he was talking to Ivor – a filmmaker – to get his opinion on a rough, censored draft of the script. While appalled that he intends to sensationalise their story, Charles, Jean, and Hester conclude that Montagu is innocent.

An update from Bevan then confirms that Haselden's whisper campaign has worked, and Adolf Hitler himself has ordered the transfer of German troops from Sicily to Sardinia. The Allies subsequently invade Sicily with little-to-no bloodshed, and Bevan informs an ecstatic Montagu, Charles, Jean and Hester that Operation Mincemeat is officially a success, and that they will receive the highest level of commendation in the British Army ("Did We Do It?"). As the team celebrate, they observe that the unfortunate moral of their story is “when you write the book, you’re off the hook”.

To counteract this, they relate a summary of everything that occurred following the success of Mincemeat: the Second World War is won by the Allies with help from the US Army; Ian Fleming goes on to create James Bond; Haselden and his assistant Steve remain in Spain; Hester initiates a romance with Bevan; Jean looks ahead to the progress of feminism during and after the war; Montagu eventually makes (and acts in) his film about Operation Mincemeat; and Charles goes on to do classified work for MI5. As Bevan finishes relating the events of the operation to his superiors, they wonder who the man known as Bill Martin really was; the audience is told that thanks to Montagu's archives, he was eventually identified as a gardener named Glyndwr Michael, and that there is an inscription in Huelva acknowledging that he served in the Second World War as Major William Martin ("Finale").

An early version of the show was first performed in 2019. Since then it has been staged in London at the New Diorama Theatre (2019) and Southwark Playhouse (2020, 2021, 2022)^[3] and Riverside Studios (2022).^[4]

The musical began previews on 29 March 2023 at the Fortune Theatre in the West End.^[5] Originally scheduled to close after 9 July 2023, the production has been extended multiple times after receiving rave reviews from audiences and critics.^[6]

The show is scheduled to transfer to Broadway in 2025 for a 16-week limited run.^[7] Previews are expected to begin on February 15 at The Golden Theatre with an official opening night scheduled for March 20.^[8] Before the show announced its Broadway transfer, the show released five puzzles on the show’s website and placed QR codes attached to the show’s poster around New York. The puzzles constituted a sweepstake, for which the prize was one of 50 pairs of tickets to attend the show’s dress rehearsal if you completed each of the puzzles. The grand prize was two flights to New York, two nights in a hotel and two tickets to the show’s opening night performance for two random winners. The sweepstake ended on September 30, 2024 and winners were announced on October 11.^[9][10][11] The Original London cast are expected to reprise their roles. ^[12]

The five members of the principal cast each play multiple roles, often gender-swapped.^[13]

• Ewen Montagu and others: Emily Barber^[18]

Keys

The original West End cast recording for Operation Mincemeat was released on 12 May 2023, on streaming platforms and physically on CD and vinyl.^[20] It was released by Sony Music and produced by Steve Sidwell.^[21]

The show has received significant critical acclaim. In his five star review for The Stage, Tim Bano called it "A brilliant spy thriller, a brilliant comedy, and a brilliant musical all rolled into one, it is exhilarating to see it hit the West End."^[22] Stefan Kyriazis of the Daily Express gave it five stars and hailed it as a "Major triumph" and "sheer perfection". The production has received over 67 five star reviews, making it the best reviewed show in West End history.

A group of fans of the musical, known as Mincefluencers, were inspired to research into the real life of the character Hester Leggett, as little was known about her. They discovered that her surname was spelled Leggatt, and that she worked for Osbert Sitwell in the 1930s, for MI5 during the Second World War and later for the British Council.^[25][26][27] On 11 December 2023, a plaque was installed at the Fortune Theatre in commemoration of Hester Leggatt and her service to her country.^[28][29]

On April 4, 2024, Concord Theatricals announced that they secured from Avalon exclusive worldwide secondary licensing rights to the musical with a release time to be announced at a later date.^[19][30]

• Official website