Operation Mincemeat is fun, funny, and an absolute must-see – review – Gay Times Magazine

SpitLip’s production has opened at the Southwark Playhouse following a successful run at the New Diorama Theatre in 2019.

Where to begin with a show like Operation Mincemeat? It’s an utterly ridiculous musical, one with a story so preposterous and yet, unbelievably, completely true. Set during World War II, it follows the lives of the British intelligence officers who really did hatch a plan to fake the death of a pilot by planting a corpse on a Spanish beach. The local authorities genuinely shared the corpse’s briefcase – containing misleading dossiers about allied invasion plans – with the Nazis, throwing Hitler off course and allowing the allies to advance. As the cast quip during the performance – you couldn’t write it.

It’s a joyously irreverent show, one that’s both incredibly fun and funny. The initial run received some criticism for its length, clocking in at comfortably over two and a half hours; thanks to some recent edits, the running time has been trimmed by more than 20 minutes and what we’re left with is a lightning-paced greatest hits which doesn’t miss a beat. The songs are superb – most lean towards comedy, with some hilarious punchlines, but there’s some impressive variety here.

Highlights include the brilliant act two opener which sees our five performers don Nazi uniforms for a tongue-in-cheek ode to their dear leader, featuring a catchy refrain encouraging us to “goose-step to the left, then jump to the far-right”. The deliciously-macabre Spilsbury’s song (and its reprise) is outrageously good and sets up a perfectly-choreographed visual gag which had us absolutely howling.