“It’s not just the best musical I’ve ever seen; it’s the most rewarding theatrical experience I’ve ever had”
Taffy Brodesser-Akner, The New York Times
“One of British theatre’s great success stories and is packing out theatres in the West End and on Broadway… both spiffingly funny, in a Monty Python-esque fashion, and really quite moving”Hugh Montgomery, Metro
“The West End hit is still the perfect mix of ingenious, silly and moving…With a new cast, the Olivier Award-winning musical about the wartime operation is as terrific as ever”Marianka Swain, The Telegraph
“The Brits have made the year’s funniest musical…Against the odds, the “Operation Mincemeat” gang has found its way to the big time.”Peter Marks, The Washington Post
“A little show with a very big future”David Benedict, Variety [2021]
138 ★★★★★ reviews and counting
Monday 11th May – As the Olivier and Tony Award® winning musical, Operation Mincemeat, enters its fourth year in the West End, is in its 2nd year on Broadway and journeys on the UK leg of a landmark global tour with a soon to start North American leg, its brand new cast members are set to take to the stage of London’s Fortune Theatre for the first time tonight.
Ahmed Hamad (Sunset Boulevard, Standing at the Sky’s Edge), Charlotte Fleming* (Mrs Doubtfire) and Colm Gleeson (The Play That Goes Wrong) are the newest recruits to the Operation Mincemeat principal cast. They are joined by the return of Chloë Hart, who continues her role for a third year, and Madeleine Jackson-Smith, who initially took a hiatus from her Musical Theatre MA at the Royal Academy of Music to join the production as a cover role in the multi-rolling ensemble now taking on a principal role. Jason Kajdi is joined by Amy Parker (13 Going on 30), Benjamin Durham (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and Molly Cutter (NewsRevue), completing the fourth West End company.
*Charlotte Fleming bears no relation to Ian Fleming, though the coincidence is warmly welcomed by the production.
Operation Mincemeat is now playing simultaneously in London, where it enjoys its 18th extension booking until 20th February 2027, on tour across the UK and in New York, having confirmed its eighth extension at the John Golden Theatre, with performances now booking through 17th January 2027.Earlier this year on 27th February, the show sold its 1 millionth ticket. To celebrate the occasion, 5 Golden Tickets were given out to lucky winners on both sides of the Atlantic, awarding them free, unlimited access to Operation Mincemeat, anytime, anywhere in the world, for life.
Operation Mincemeat began as a tiny (and tiny-budgeted) production at the London Fringe New Diorama Theatre in 2019. The show quickly gained a devoted following, spurring sold-out runs at venues including Southwark Playhouse and Riverside Studios. It finally premiered in the West End on 9th May 2023 at the Fortune Theatre, where it won the Olivier and WhatsOnstage Awards® for ‘Best New Musical’, alongside garnering 138 five-star reviews and counting, and has become the ‘Best reviewed show in West End history.’
In Operation Mincemeat, it’s 1943, and the Allied Forces are on the ropes. Luckily, they’ve got a trick up their sleeve. Well, not up their sleeve, per se, but rather inside the pocket of a stolen corpse. Equal parts farce, thriller, and Ian Fleming-style spy caper (with an assist from Mr. Fleming himself), Operation Mincemeat tells the wildly improbable and hilarious true story of the covert operation that turned the tide of WWII.
The production is directed by 2023 Olivier Award nominated Robert Hastie (Standing at the Sky’s Edge, National Theatre – 2023 Best New Musical Olivier Award winner), following providing directorial support for the Riverside Studios run, while Olivier Award nominated Jenny Arnold (Jerry Springer: The Opera, National Theatre) continues as Choreographer. Also from Standing at the Sky’s Edge at the National Theatre on the creative team are: 2023 Olivier Award nominated Ben Stones (Sylvia, The Old Vic) as Set and Costume Designer, Tony Award, six-time Olivier Award and Bafta Award winning Mark Henderson (Girl From the North Country, Broadway & Noël Coward Theatre) as Lighting Designer and Olivier Award winning Mike Walker (Jerry Springer: The Opera, National Theatre) as Sound Designer. Grammy Award winning and Tony, Emmy & 2024 ‘Outstanding Musical Contribution’ Olivier Award nominated Steve Sidwell (Beautiful: The Musical, Broadway & Aldwych Theatre) is Orchestrator and Vocal Arranger, while 2024 ‘Outstanding Musical Contribution’ Olivier Award nominated Joe Bunker is Musical Supervisor and Ben Cox is Musical Director. Amy Milburn is Associate Director and Paul Isaiah Isles is Associate Choreographer. Casting is by Pearson Casting. The extraordinary musical is written and composed by SpitLip – David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts.
Since premiering at London’s New Diorama Theatre in 2019, the show been nominated for 68 awards and won 24, including Best Musical four times at the Olivier Awards®, WhatsOnStage Awards®, BroadwayWorld Theater Fans’ Choice Awards®, and Off West End Awards®.
On Broadway, Jak Malone won the 2025 Tony Award® for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, having previously taken home the Olivier Award® for the same role in 2024. His breakout performance earned seven major accolades, including the Tony, Drama Desk®, Outer Critics Circle®, Drama League®, Theatre World®, BroadwayWorld®, and Dorian Theater Awards®. Meanwhile, SpitLip received nominations for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical from the Tony Awards®, Outer Critics Circle Awards®, Drama Desk Awards®, and BroadwayWorld Theater Fans’ Choice Awards®.
Operation Mincemeat is produced in the West End, on tour, and on Broadway by Avalon (in association with SpitLip). The show was commissioned by New Diorama Theatre, co-commissioned by The Lowry, and also supported by the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat.