Review of OPERATION MINCEMEAT By Lynn Carroll

September 2, 2026

I will start with just four words: Clever, Witty, Serious and Sad. But before I dissect that choice of words let me first get my personal thoughts out of the way. I had misgivings about this show knowing that it was based on true events of World War II and I will admit that my feelings did not completely diminish until the second half. War is a serious business and I have often found it difficult to see humour in it, especially a situation that could have had dire consequences had Operation Mincemeat not gone according to plan. Having said that many films, plays and shows have dealt with war themes successfully be they comedic, fictional or based on true events.

With this in mind I feel my brain was taking a while to warm to what I was seeing but I have to say by the end it had allowed me to make a complete U turn. So, going back to my opening sentence I have to say it was probably one of the cleverest shows I have seen. With a cast of just five actors, two male and three female, they managed to take on several roles of both genders in a totally believable way. It did feel strange at first but I was amazed at how well it was done without a hint of drag, just normal clothing and top notch acting ability. Some of the slight but subtle costume changes were done in front of our eyes and gasps and chuckles could be heard when the audience realised they had not noticed them happening.

Witty it definitely was and whilst not overly a laughter fest there were indeed many moments of fun and wit that hit the mark. There were wonderful scenes of frenetic routines involving four or even all five members of the cast, not exactly dance routines, entanglements springs to mind, but choreographed so well that they received enthusiastic rounds of applause.

Serious moments did abound with sung or spoken dialogue throughout the planning of the top secret ‘operation’. I now feel compelled to watch the fairly recent film of the same name in order to understand better the true planning behind Operation Mincemeat.

Sad moments included a musical monologue by the character of Hester Leggatt who we came to realise had lost her love during the First World War. I have often felt it is impossible to pick one cast member above another when all play their parts so well. To my mind it is the character that is brought to life so well that endears us to the actor and I can’t help but mention Christian Andrews for his rendition of this solo part in the show, it was delivered with just the right amount of pathos as we all silently listened until our silence ended with a huge round of applause. All the cast members played their parts to perfection, none were of lesser ability nor was any role more minor than another. I was left in awe of how quickly they were on and off stage as different characters and not only the rapid costume changes but gender changes too with mannerisms changing just as quickly. Included was some glitz and sparkle when all cast members did a routine dressed as German officers, bizarre but very entertaining.

I can understand why this show has received such great reviews and I can honestly say it was a marvel of a production so I would urge you to see it if you possibly can. I could not have imagined a show such as this resulting from an eight decades old true war mission...but it worked really well. Ten out of ten.