Operation Mincemeat: The unbelievable-but-true war musical with a Welsh connection opens at Cardiff’s New Theatre

Thanks to the New Theatre Cardiff for providing us with review tickets to Operation Mincemeat

Operation Mincemeat the musical opened at Cardiff’s New Theatre last night and it’s a brilliant show which will make you laugh one moment and cry the next.

It is based on the unbelievable but true story of how MI5 officials (including James Bond creator Ian Fleming) changed the course of the Second World War, by dressing the body of a dead homeless man as an officer, placing fake secret documents on him about a supposed invasion of Greece, thus convincing Hitler to move his troops from Sicily, leaving Allied forces to gain control of the island and Mussolini’s downfall. Yep, this really happened.

The show has been a huge success on the West End and Broadway and has built a real cult following. This is its first UK tour and the atmosphere inside the theatre last night was electric with a sold-out performance and the show’s diehard fans, the ‘Mincefluencers’, out in force. I met one such fan who was watching it for the fourth time and another who was on her ninth viewing, both wearing the t-shirt with the names of the characters, of course.

There’s a real Welsh connection too, as the fictional Major William ‘Bill’ Martin was actually Glyndwr Michael, a homeless man from Aberbargoed in South Wales who died after ingesting rat poison, and unknowingly became a hero in one of the war’s greatest deceptions. For decades, Glundwr Michael’s identity remained secret but he’s now honoured at the beach in Spain where his body was planted and ‘washed up’ and he’s now honoured here in Wales as just before the show’s opening performance yesterday the cast helped unveil a memorial bench dedicated to him, at Cardiff’s Alexandra Gardens, which is home to the Wales National War Memorial, a few minutes’ walk from the theatre in the Civic Centre.

The musical has such a British humour about it, with one-liners and physical comedy bringing the laughs throughout. But there’s also a real emotional heart too, most notably in act one musical number Dear Bill, where MI5 secretary Hester Leggatt (played by South Wales actor Christian Andrews) writes a letter from Bill’s ‘fiancé’ to help build up his identity. As she tells her colleagues, this isn’t the first war some of us have lived through. “Why did we meet in the middle of a war? What a silly thing for anyone to do” she sings, such an understated line that says so much. I was also glad to see that amid all the humour, characters reflect on the ethics of the plan as they wonder who the body belonged to and if he has any remaining family.

Incredibly for a full stage musical, there are only five performers, with Christian Andrews, Sean Carey, Jamie-Rose Monk, Charlotte Hanna-Williams and Holly Sumpton playing a multitude of roles (more than 50, I’m told), and all of them performing both male and female characters.

I especially loved Andrews as Hester, played with such beautiful tenderness, and Hanna-Williams as young secretary Jean Leslie, who wants to break away from societal expectation and play a useful part in the war efforts. Her musical number All The Ladies is so vibrant, upbeat and filled with dry wit, reminiscent of the musical Six. As Jean sings, “Take this war for all you can get, this conflict’s our best opportunity yet” and “If there’s a job going spare, I’ll take it. Just gotta wait for a guy to die and vacate it.” It’s really great to see these strong female characters based on the real-life women who helped shaped the plan, as too often war stories focus on the male perspective alone.

The age guidance is officially 5+ and although there’s nothing especially non-PG in it, I’d say it’s more suited to tweens and teens as the plot is a little convoluted at times and there’s a lot of dialogue to follow. In fact, it moves so quickly at times, I struggled to keep up! I took my 15 year old who loves musicals and war films and we both found it really entertaining and thought-provoking.

I will be completely honest and say that Operation Mincemeat didn’t blow me away in the way I thought it might, given all the five star reviews, but the more I reflect on it, and the more I’ve researched the real-life characters and re-listened to the soundtrack, the more I’m appreciating it and I really want to watch it again, and again. Like Hamilton and Hadestown, I think it’s one of those productions you’ll appreciate even more on your second and subsequent viewings as you really understand the lyrics and the context. Mincefluencers, I might just be your newest recruit!

Operation Mincemeat is at New Theatre Cardiff until Saturday 19 September with the last remaining tickets still available. Book online here. Next week, it’s at the Swansea Grand from Monday 21-Saturday 26 September, and the show will be back in Cardiff from Tuesday 14-Saturday 18 September 2027.