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Matthew Eames is Head of Theatres (Contemporary & Commissioning) at LOWRY, which means that he and the team support the creation of new theatre productions, ensuring they come to LOWRY and beyond.
One of the shows that began life at LOWRY is the hit show Operation Mincemeat, it started as a scratch night piece in 2019 and has since become a West End and Broadway sensation, with Queen Camilla, Robert De Niro and Steven Spielberg amongst the show’s many fans.
Salford’s smash hit
Matthew Eames. Credit: Phil Tragen
Later this month, it returns to where it all started, LOWRY. I Love Manchester caught up with Matthew to find out more about this Salford smash hit.
So how did the Operation Mincemeat story begin? Matthew says: “A few members of the team behind the brilliant company Kill the Beast, who had come through our artist development programme, found a great piece of war-time history and had a crazy idea to make a musical about it.”
He adds that: “They joined forces with musician Feliz Hagan (who had composed music for Kill the Beast and performed in a band with one of the company) and Spitlip were born.”
LOWRY rewrites festival
And they then created a few songs and performed them in LOWRY’s Studio as part of their Rewrites musical theatre festival. LOWRY and New Diorama then commissioned them to make the show, which was then performed at the London fringe theatre.
He says: “The rest is history,” smiling with well deserved pride. To have a show go from this small 150 seater to the West End, replacing long runner The Woman in Black at the beautiful Fortune Theatre is quite something.
A long journey
How did this feel, though? Matt recalls the various steps it took and says: “It had been a long journey for the company. There were 4 runs in fringe theatres, building a hugely committed and passionate fanbase of ‘Mincefluencers’, before they transferred to West End.”
As for sitting there on opening night and seeing this show in London, he says: “It was such a special night and a few of us were there to see it. It was amazing. They had worked so hard and it was a really special moment for all of us who had supported them over the last 10 years.”
A crowd-pleaser
Having seen the show in it’s infancy, why does he think that Operation Mincemeat has become such aa crowd-pleaser? Matt says: “Every moment in the show has been tested to the limits.”
He praises company Splitlip and says: “Nothing has been taken for granted. They sweat over every line and every note to make sure that it meets the mark.” He adds: “They are an absolute lesson to anyone making a piece of theatre, especially a musical.
“But it’s also about the company themselves, they are special people and the audiences can’t help but feel really attached to them.”
Mincemeat’s return to Salford
Later this month Operation Mincemeat will make it’s way back to LOWRY to launch its tour. How important does it feel to have the show return home. Matt smiles and says: “We’ve been impatiently waiting for this!
“After such success in the West End and on Broadway it is exactly the right moment to tour and it feels especially fitting to be opening the world tour.
“It really feels like it’s coming home and I know our whole team are going to feel exceptionally proud for the whole run.”
LOWRY’s vision
If you are visitor to LOWRY, you may not know that the venue supports and showcases new work, they invest in productions like Operation Mincemeat. So, how important is this to Lowry and it’s vision?
Matt says: “We don’t stand still at the LOWRY. We can’t, there is so much competition for people’s time and money.”
He expands on this and says: “New shows from exceptional talent and spotting special opportunities are what keeps us relevant and makes for such special experiences in our building. It’s what our audiences have come to expect.”
Why watch Mincemeat live?
We move back to Operation Mincemeat, as there may be some audience members who have never heard of the show. Why does he think they should see it?
Matt beams and says: “It’s the best night in the theatre you are ever likely to have!”
See Operation Mincemeat at LOWRY
Operation Mincemeat is at LOWRY from 16th-28th February.
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