An amazing night in the West End

Spoiler warning: this review discusses moments from both acts and the story’s deception.

2023 West End production. Photo: Matt Crockett. Image source: Concord Theatricals. This archive production image does not depict the September 2026 performance.

Amazing, amazing, amazing. That was my reaction to seeing Operation Mincemeat in London’s West End. It’s a unique show that makes you appreciate just how much talent can fit onto one stage—and draws you so completely into its story that you lose yourself in what’s happening.

One of the most impressive things is that just five actors play all the roles. Watching them bring so many different characters to life is a huge part of the pleasure. The humour, the performances and the way the songs work together make it feel full of invention.

I particularly loved how recurring songs and lines took on different meanings depending on who was singing them. A familiar refrain could become a fresh joke simply through a change of character or delivery. That was something I kept enjoying throughout the evening.

For me, the second half was even better than the first. The actors playing the Nazis at the start of act two were hilarious, and the energy they brought was extraordinary. I’ve rarely felt such a powerful burst of energy in a theatre after an interval.

If I have one reservation, it’s the pacing before that interval. The first half felt a little long, and my attention dipped as the energy dropped. I would happily have had the break fifteen or twenty minutes earlier. Given how strongly the second half opened, that slower stretch stood out.

I also came away with a few questions about the mechanics of the deception: how the body reached its destination, and why the supposed circumstances of its discovery would convince the other side. Those details weren’t entirely clear to me from watching the show. I would also have enjoyed seeing more of the German side discovering and responding to the deception. There seemed to be room for even more comedy there.

But those reservations are small compared with how much I enjoyed the evening. This is a must-see West End show: funny, absorbing and packed with incredible talent. It’s the kind of theatre that pulls you deep into a story—and sends you out marvelling at the people who brought it to life.

London cast

The cast I saw at the Fortune Theatre on 10 September 2026:

• Ahmed Hamad: Cholmondeley and others
• Charlotte Fleming: Jean Leslie and others
• Colm Gleeson: Hester and others
• Chlöe Hart: Bevan and others
• Madeleine Jackson-Smith: Montagu and others

Follow Operation Mincemeat and the writers, SpitLip.

Book Operation Mincemeat at the Fortune Theatre.