REVIEW: Operation Mincemeat at Grand Opera House York

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Lauren Crisp is a book editor, writer and keen follower of arts and culture. She reviews theatre and cultural events in and around the district in her spare time.

You can contact Lauren on laurencrispwriter@gmail.com. 

First written and performed in 2019 by British theatre company SpitLip, Operation Mincemeat – an adaptation of the renowned tale of a very daring decoy operation – began its life on the fringe. 

Testament to the show’s reception, it swiftly transferred to the West End, then on to Broadway (picking up a few Oliviers and a Tony along the way) and is now touring the UK.

Britain, 1943. The war is not going well. In a strip-lit basement office at MI5 headquarters, a small task force of intelligence officers gathers to hatch a plan. Time is ticking: they must find a way to divert Nazi forces, and fast. What follows is a story so audacious, so eccentric, it couldn’t possibly be true. But it is. 

A virtuosic cast of five in gender-swapping, multi-role performances deliver a masterclass in musical theatre. Holly Sumpton’s Ewen Montagu, full of Eton-educated swagger, works alongside the smart, self-effacing Charles Cholmondeley (Seán Carey) to bring their unconventional plan to fruition, under the watchful eye of Johnny Bevan (Jamie-Rose Monk) who reports to Churchill himself.

The men are joined by two secretaries, bright-eyed Jean (Charlotte Hanna-Williams), and Hester (Christian Andrews) who is defined by dignity and inner strength. Their roles are a joyful celebration of the unsung women of the war.

The five are compelling in these central parts, but their peripheral characters also shine: Andrews goes from crooked coroner to fusty admiral, and Monk between a bumbling British consul and none other than Ian Fleming. Characterisation is distinct and switches are seamless. Playfulness and scrupulous comic timing co-exist with tenderness and reverence.

No one, neither cast nor crew, puts a foot wrong in a production that encompasses huge musical numbers, sobering solos, satire and pathos triumphantly intertwined, and a magical merry-go-round of characters, costumes and set pieces. Filmic in nature and ambitious in scale, it is flawless.

The score covers everything from jazz to German techno, sea shanties to rap. But it is the ballads that really did it for me. Hester’s heartbreaking rendition of Dear Bill is beautiful and enduring, silencing an audience that had been laughing just moments before.

Irreverent, moving, genius, this is a production that delivers on a cliché: you will laugh and you will cry. Go and watch this show on the double. That’s an order.

Operation Mincemeat is on at Grand Opera House York until Saturday 6 June. The UK tour continues throughout 2026, including Leeds in September.