PREVIEWS START FROM 28TH APRIL 2022
“a buzz louder than a doodlebug surrounds Operation Mincemeat...a kind of genius declares itself”
Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph
★★★★★ Financial Times, The Daily Mail, The Sunday Mirror, The Daily Mirror, The Stage, The Sunday Express, Gay Times, WhatsOnStage, The Express, Broadway World
★★★★ The Sunday Times, The Observer, The Telegraph, The i, The Independent
“a little show with a very big future”
David Benedict, Variety
Following three sold-out runs at Southwark Playhouse, Operation Mincemeat is back for an extension in its new home, Riverside Studios, with previews commencing on the 28th April and performances running through to the 9th of July 2022.
The year is 1943 and we’re losing the war. Luckily, we’re about to gamble all our futures on a stolen corpse.
After sold-out runs at the New Diorama Theatre in 2019 and Southwark Playhouse in 2020, 2021 and earlier in 2022, Operation Mincemeat is back. Having spent lockdown rewriting the show, weeping and eating biscuits, SpitLip has extended the run of this newer, bigger and (somehow) even better version.
Singin’ in the Rain meets Strangers on a Train, Noel Coward meets Noel Fielding, Operation Mincemeat is the fast-paced, hilarious and unbelievable true story of the twisted secret mission that won us World War II. The question is, how did a well-dressed corpse wrong-foot Hitler?
Operation Mincemeat the Musical is not to be confused with the film starring Colin Firth set to be released in cinemas from the 15th April!
Operation Mincemeat won The Stage Debut award for Best Composer/Lyricist, the Off-West End award for Best Company Ensemble and was listed in the Observer's Top 10 shows of the year. The show was commissioned by New Diorama Theatre, co-commissioned by The Lowry, and supported by the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat with additional support from Avalon.
Riverside Studios is a multi-arts venue, situated in a beautiful location on the banks of the Thames in Hammersmith, west London. For over 45 years, it has been the home of an extraordinary mix of theatre, film, comedy, art, dance, music and television. It reopened fully in 2020 after a total redevelopment.
Rachel Tackley, Creative Director of Riverside Studios said: “Operation Mincemeat has been described as audacious, miraculous, dazzling, multitasking with little more than a few strings of telephone wire and with a very big future. I feel like we are made for each other!
For press enquiries and further informationplease contact Victoria Wedderburn on 07557160139 or [javascript protected email address] and Jasmine Ruparelia on [javascript protected email address]
More praise for Operation Mincemeat:
“moving at breathless speed, the five performers take on a dazzling series of gender-switching roles… a Beyoncé-esque assertion of female power in the wartime...excellent performers… There are some big, blowsy shows around in the West End, but this little belter is staging its own audacious invasion plan” ★★★★★
Suzi Feay, The Financial Times
“a miraculous musical that tells the entire story in a kind of accelerated farce that is part Mel Brooks, part SIX, part Hamilton with a side order of One Man, Two Guvnors.”★★★★★
Neil Norman, The Daily Mirror
“But whoof! It blew the roof clean off. Hoots and tears welcomed this ingenious, touching musical. Taut lyrics, vintage gags, a wild tale and tunes that followed me out into the night air, in hums and whistles. Perfection… An artisanal masterpiece”★★★★★
Luke Jones, The Daily Mail
“A masterclass of macabre musical comedy, masterfully performed.” ★★★★★
Tim Bano, The Stage
"Madcap and utterly marvellous...This taut and tiny production roars in the face of bloated West End blockbusters. An Absolute triumph.”★★★★★
Stefan Kyriazis, The Sunday Express
“A finely varied score, and lyrics that shame most big musicals.” ★★★★
Susannah Clapp, The Observer
“actors hurl themselves into the frenetic fray, multitasking with little more than a few strings of telephone wire and some clever lyrics…Amid many breathless japes there is a beautiful song about lost love, Dear Bill.” ★★★★
Quentin Letts, The Sunday Times
“A dazzling musical masterpiece... Ingenious, inventive, a brilliant role-swapping cast, great songs, and the true story of a macabre MI5 plot against the Nazis. What more do you want...this ceaselessly inventive musical scarcely puts a foot wrong: get booking, on the double” ★★★★
Sam Marlowe, The i
“as daring as it is comic... a staggeringly high-energy explosion... It has all the subtlety of an M4 Sherman tank crashing its way from one sketch to the next – and is all the better for it... a totally brilliant musical... funnier than Hamilton… exceptional.”★★★★
Isobel Lewis, The Independent
“surprising depths... deliciously rackety…takes you by surprise at every turn, with many clever ideas that come off”
Nick Curtis, The Evening Standard
“less a ripping yarn than one entirely torn to shreds.” ★★★★
Holly Williams, Time Out
“an absolute must-see”★★★★★
Chris Selman, Gay Times
“SpitLip could go stratospheric. Operation Mincemeat has proved to be one of the most exciting musical theatre debuts in decades."
The Stage
“currently killing it at Southwark Playhouse”
Lyn Gardner, Stagedoor
“Move over Hamilton and Six. There's a new historical musical in town and it's creating ripples...the West End needs to take notice ASAP.”★★★★★
Cindy Marcolina, Broadway World
“This production has a heart of gold. West End impresarios should check it out immediately.”
Lloyd Evans, The Spectator
★★★★★
Neil Norman, Daily Express
★★★★★
Stefan Kyriazis, The Sunday Mirror
“Glows with theatrical invention and delivers laughs by the gallon. Unmissable.” ★★★★★
Alex Wood, WhatsOnStage
“musical theatre heaven”★★★★★
Craig Glenday, Musical Theatre Review
OPERATION MINCEMEAT
Written and composed by SpitLip.
SpitLip are David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoe Roberts.
Directed by Donnacadh O’Briain. Choreography by Jenny Arnold. Set and costume design by Helen Coyston. Lighting design by Sherry Coenen. Sound Design by Mike Walker.
