Operation Mincemeat Review – Fortune Theatre
The year is 1943 and we’re losing the war. Luckily, we’re about to gamble all our futures on a stolen corpse. This is the short synopsis for Operation Mincemeat which has recently debuted on London’s West End at Fortune Theatre. It’s also unbelievably the true story of an operation that took place during WWII. A ruse devised to distract the Nazis away from MI5’s plan to invade Sicily. The question is, how did a well-dressed corpse wrong-foot Hitler?
Operation Mincemeat has become more well-known following a star-studded film release in 2021. But if you’re not aware of this bizarre real-life event, it surrounds a group of MI5 agents. Trying to gain an upper hand during the war, Charles Cholmondeley, and Ewan Montagu come up with a plan. They proposed dropping a dead body masquerading as an RAF officer off the coast of Spain. And on him would be a briefcase of false information to divert Hilter’s troops away from Sicily and into Sardinia.
The show was created by SpitLip, consisting of David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoe Robert. All of which perform in the show bar Hagan, alongside Jak Malone and Claire-Marie Hall. The five actors are all impressive performers, each taking on multiple roles without fault. Alongside a witty script, they all take on musical numbers, dance routines, and heartfelt moments. You can feel that there is a great camaraderie and skill on the stage.
David Cumming and Natasha Hodgson are a great double act in the roles of Cholmondeley and Montagu. Cumming brings forward the geeky awkwardness of his character and you instantly warm to him. Hodgson, defying gender norms, gives a really accurate of what I imagine an arrogant public-school gentleman to be. Claire-Marie Hall’s main character of Jean Leslie shows how women were underappreciated in the service. I love how her character doesn’t allow the men to cut down her fearless attitude despite their dismissive behaviours.
Jak Malone showed amazing range as he took on an array of roles. He easily transitioned from the macabre conman and undertaker Bernard Spilsbury, and prim and reserved Hester Leggett. A particularly poignant moment was when he performed the heartfelt and tender ballad ‘Dear Bill’. You could feel Hester’s pain as the song speaks of losing a loved one to the war. Amid a comedic performance, it was a touching and welcome moment.
Finally, rounding up the cast was Zoe Roberts. She commands the stage in the role of Johnny Bevan, the commanding officer. And has everyone in hysterics over her portrayal of blundering expat Haselden. The entire cast is extremely talented, and all shone in their individual roles as well as a troupe. And you can see throughout Operation Mincemeat the hard work that went into the script, music, lyrics, and performance. I have no doubt this show has a long and successful future ahead of itself, I’ll definitely be returning to see it again!
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