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<\/p>\nTHE TOURING version of Operation Mincemeat \u2013 a musical comedy that has been showered with more awards than any other new musical in the last few years \u2013 has arrived at Birmingham\u2019s Alexandra Theatre.
\nIt has become something of a phenomenon \u2013 a bit like when you have a chef\u2019s chef, this production has become a critic\u2019s Groundhog Day. It\u2019s a must see again-and-again show, with its tear-jerking humour growing more poignant every time. Having experienced it for the second time on this tour\u00a0\u00a0myself, I unreservedly concur.<\/p>\n
The concept, book, music and lyrics all originated from the combined talents of David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoe Roberts \u2013 collectively known as SplitLip. It is their first and (thus far) only musical, in which they have also performed, on and off, from its\u2019 2019 original fringe theatre days, through the West End and across the pond to Broadway.<\/p>\n
The plot is based on a real Second World War deception plan, codenamed Operation Mincemeat by its MI5 Intelligence Officers. The outrageous idea being to float a corpse in enemy waters, feigning a fall from a British \u2018plane, complete with false invasion plans in a briefcase chained to the dead body\u2019s arm. Not the ideal subject for a musical, let alone a comedy you might think \u2013 yet it not only works but is a triumph. Inventive in structure, faultless in delivery, meticulous in detail, it\u2019s a glorious non-stop release of energy from get-go to walk down.<\/p>\n
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Picture by Matt Crockett. s<\/p>\n
The company for the UK part of the tour includes Charlotte Hanna-Williams, Sean Carey, Christian Andrews and Holly Sumpton from the West End cast who are joined by Jamie-Rose Monk, Katy Ellis, Georgia Hagen, Jordan Pearson and Morgan Phillips. This being a five-hander \u2013 the casting changes nightly \u2013 not as understudies but as a gender-blind multiple role-playing interchangeable entity.<\/p>\n
The show offers up a stunning score sung brilliantly, with numbers to inspire, make you laugh and on its own there is the now iconic \u2018Dear Bill\u2019 to bring on the tears.<\/p>\n
The writing is clever and lush in both construction and wordage. There\u2019s oodles of jeopardy both serious and farcical in the main layer and a delightful mix of pathos and merriment in the back stories \u2013 all executed with the precision of a troupe of the finest tightrope walkers juggling hats.<\/p>\n
Robert Hastie\u2019s direction stirs the brew in a masterclass of perfection with Jenny Arnold\u2019s choreography fitting alongside it \u2013 like the other glove of a perfect pair.<\/p>\n
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Picture by Matt Crockett. s<\/p>\n
Ben Stones\u2019 set with its cycloramic backdrop is akin to a moving matrix of the historic \u2018Battleships\u2019 board game. It cleverly pinpoints where we are in the story both in time and geography. Many of the set pieces are ingenious multi-functional constructions where a slight hand turn to the left or right takes us off to a new location. Likewise, Stones\u2019 costumes are made to transform the character with a simple tug into their next role.<\/p>\n
Although we are never aware of any rush, there is no time to marvel at the express train pace with which this show moves. From start to finish we are engulfed \u2013 it seemed almost a pity to break for the interval and the auditorium quickly refilled eager for more. Rarely have I seen an audience rise as one for the well-earned standing ovation at the end.<\/p>\n
Operation Mincemeat matches the hype \u2013 it\u2019s extraordinary with a magnetism to draw you back again and again. Like the real-life plan about Bill, the man who never was, it\u2019s a celebration of the best of British inventiveness in theatre.<\/p>\n