“One of British theatre’s great success stories and is packing out theatres in the West End and on Broadway… both spiffingly funny, in a Monty Python-esque fashion, and really quite moving”
Hugh Montgomery, Metro
“A little show with a very big future”
David Benedict, Variety
“The West End hit is still the perfect mix of ingenious, silly and moving…With a new cast, the Olivier Award-winning musical about the wartime operation is as terrific as ever” ★★★★★
Marianka Swain, The Telegraph
“A miraculous musical that tells the entire story in a kind of accelerated farce that is part Mel Brooks, part SIX, part Hamilton with a side order of One Man, Two Guvnors.” ★★★★★
Neil Norman, The Daily Mirror
“The Brits have made the year’s funniest musical…Against the odds, the “Operation Mincemeat” gang has found its way to the big time.”
Peter Marks, The Washington Post
“The feel-good West End musical of the summer… The reviews for the show have been ecstatic… the overwhelming impression is of hopefulness, expansiveness, possibility and joy.”
Alexis Soloski, The New York Times
88 ★★★★★ reviews and counting
Following the seventeenth West End and fifth Broadway extensions, the Tony Award® and double Olivier Award®-winning musical Operation Mincemeat unveils the cast for the UK leg of its landmark world tour. Launching on 16th February 2026 at Lowry in Salford – the venue that first encouraged the writers’ extraordinary debut musical and hosted its first-ever scratch performance in 2017 – a 40-week run will play at theatres nationwide through 28th November 2026.
Reprising their acclaimed roles, West End alumnae Christian Andrews (Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas, ITV’s D- Day 80 at the Royal Albert Hall), Seán Carey (The Play That Goes Wrong, BBC One’s VE Day 80, A Celebration to Remember), Charlotte Hanna-Williams (Rogers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella; Bells are Ringing), and Holly Sumpton (Lovers Actually, BBC One’s VE Day 80, A Celebration to Remember) are joined by new recruit Jamie-Rose Monk (Rome & Juliet, (the) Woman) to form the cast, while Katy Ellis (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Sappho: The Poetess), Georgina Hagen (Only Fools & Horses,
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie), Jordan Pearson (Back to the Future: The Musical, One Man, Two Guvnors), and Morgan Phillips (Babies, The History Boys) complete the company.
SpitLip, the musical’s writers and composers, commented: “We’re so excited to see Operation Mincemeat heading out on a world tour next year, and the fact that it’s all kicking off at The Lowry, Salford – a venue who have fiercely championed us as theatre makers for over a decade, and where some of us made our professional debuts – is incredibly special. Having launched our show on Broadway this year, we know there’s an appetite (and a need) out there for shows which champion joy, and the power of small groups of people to change the world. We’re also delighted to be welcoming back our agents Christian, Charlotte, Holly and Seán, and welcoming our amazing new recruit Jamie-Rose, to kick off the UK leg of the tour – MI5 couldn’t be in more capable or more spectacularly stupid hands. Father’s never been prouder!”
Following the UK leg of the world tour, Operation Mincemeat will travel across four continents, with stops including the USA, Australia, Canada, China, Mexico and New Zealand.
UK tour tickets are on sale now from the Official Box Office at OperationMincemeat.com. Dates for other territories will be announced soon – sign up to the mailing list to be first in line when the show comes to your city. Keep an eye out for updates on new countries and continents!
Operation Mincemeat is running simultaneously in London and New York, with the West End production at the Fortune Theatre extended for a seventeenth time through 27th September 2026, and the Broadway production now extended for a fifth time, running through 26th April 2026. It began as a tiny (and tiny-budgeted) production at the London Fringe New Diorama Theatre in 2019. The show quickly gained a devoted following, spurring sold-out runs at venues including Southwark Playhouse and Riverside Studios. It finally premiered in the West End on 9th May 2023 at the Fortune Theatre, where it won the Olivier and WhatsOnstage Awards® for ‘Best New Musical’, alongside garnering 88 five-star reviews and counting, and has become the ‘Best reviewed show in West End history.’
The decision to write the musical was the last roll of the dice from SpitLip, a quartet of young British creatives after years of performing sketch shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and echoes the journey of Beyond the Fringe from the world-famous quartet Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore, which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1960, before moving to the Fortune Theatre and later to the Golden in 1962.
In Operation Mincemeat, it’s 1943, and the Allied Forces are on the ropes. Luckily, they’ve got a trick up their sleeve. Well, not up their sleeve, per se, but rather inside the pocket of a stolen corpse. Equal parts farce, thriller, and Ian Fleming-style spy caper (with an assist from Mr. Fleming himself), Operation Mincemeat tells the wildly improbable and hilarious true story of the covert operation that turned the tide of WWII.
The production is directed by Olivier Award nominated Robert Hastie (Standing at the Sky’s Edge, National Theatre – Best New Musical Olivier Award winner), following providing directorial support for the Riverside Studios run, while Olivier Award nominated Jenny Arnold (Jerry Springer: The Opera, National Theatre) continues as Choreographer. Also from Standing at the Sky’s Edge at the National Theatre on the creative team are: Olivier Award nominated Ben Stones (Sylvia, The Old Vic) as Set and Costume Designer, Tony Award, six-time Olivier Award and Bafta Award winning Mark Henderson (Girl From the North Country, Broadway & Noël Coward Theatre) as Lighting Designer and Olivier Award winning Mike Walker (Jerry Springer: The Opera, National Theatre) as Sound Designer. Grammy Award winning and Tony, Emmy & 2024 ‘Outstanding Musical Contribution’ Olivier Award nominated Steve
Sidwell (Beautiful: The Musical, Broadway & Aldwych Theatre) is Orchestrator and Vocal Arranger, while 2024 ‘Outstanding Musical Contribution’ Olivier Award nominated Joe Bunker is Musical Supervisor and Sam Sommerfeld is Musical Director. Georgie Staight is Tour Director, Anna Marshall is Resident Director and Paul Isaiah Isles is Associate Choreographer. Casting is by Pearson Casting. The debut musical is written and composed by SpitLip – David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts.
Since premiering at London’s 77-seat New Diorama Theatre in 2019, the show been nominated for 67 awards and won 25, including Best Musical four times at the Olivier Awards®, WhatsOnStage Awards®, BroadwayWorld Theater Fans’ Choice Awards®, and Off West End Awards®.
On Broadway, original cast member Jak Malone won the 2025 Tony Award® for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, having previously taken home the Olivier Award® for the same role in 2024. His breakout performance earned seven major accolades, including the Tony, Drama Desk®, Outer Critics Circle®, Drama League®, Theatre World®, BroadwayWorld®, and Dorian Theater Awards®. Meanwhile, SpitLip received nominations for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical from the Tony Awards®, Outer Critics Circle Awards®, Drama Desk Awards®, and BroadwayWorld Theater Fans’ Choice Awards®.
Operation Mincemeat’s Broadway, West End, and touring productions are produced by Avalon (in association with SpitLip). The show was commissioned by New Diorama Theatre, co-commissioned by The Lowry, and also supported by the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat.
Keep up to date on social media
Twitter/ Instagram / TikTok: @MincemeatLive @OperationMincemeatLive @spitlip #OperationMincemeat #GodThatsBrilliant @FortuneTheatre1
