The British musical “Operation Mincemeat” is making its way to Broadway next year, following a remarkable journey from its humble beginnings in an 80-seat fringe theatre in London.
Since its launch in 2019, the show has garnered a dedicated audience and critical acclaim, extending its run at the Fortune Theatre several times. The musical’s success has now propelled it to the prestigious John Golden Theatre on Broadway, where previews will begin on February 15, 2025.
David Cumming, one of the show’s writers and composers, expressed his awe at the musical’s rapid growth. “There’s a real sense of vertigo when comparing where we started to where we are now. It’s hard to believe that our precious baby of a show has grown into what feels like a leviathan that’s now riding across the pond. It’s both exciting and daunting.”
“Operation Mincemeat” previously won both an Olivier and a WhatsOnStage award for best new musical. The show tells the true story of how British intelligence officers deceived the Germans during World War II by planting fake documents on a corpse.
Critics have praised the musical, with The Telegraph’s Marianka Swain describing it as a “glorious combination of ingenious, silly and surprisingly moving.” Time Out’s Andrzej Lukowski noted, “They’re laser-focussed on getting us to laugh,” while the Evening Standard’s Nick Curtis called it an “exuberant, energetic, incurably daft show.”
The musical’s writers and composers, known collectively as SplitLip, consist of David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts. Hodgson recalled the challenges they faced early on. “We knew we didn’t have the money or the facilities to make a big ‘wow’ comedy show. We didn’t have the contacts or the experience to cause a splash.”
Hagan added, “Then we slowly started to show it to people, and miraculously they seemed to agree that this truly preposterous tale of corpses, posh boys and newts was just the sort of thing to put on next to the Lion King.”
Roberts reflected on the show’s special appeal. “There’s something about a ludicrous tale of a band of misfits joining together with a plan to achieve something massive that’s always felt really special to a bunch of pals who’ve spent years making comedy together on the Fringe.”
