Operation Mincemeat - New Diorama/SWP/Riverside/Fortune

[Someone in a tree]

Great review fiyerorocher

Although I thought Velvet gave us punters a bit of chance to breathe

[fiyerorocher]

Aug 20, 2021 10:11:21 GMT Someone in a tree said:

Great review fiyerorocher

Although I thought Velvet gave us punters a bit of chance to breathe

That's fair. I just felt like there was so much history and detail packed into most of the numbers that the fast pace felt a little disrupted by a song with less substance. I do like the song itself, though! And Claire-Marie Hall sung it wonderfully.

[jgblunners]

It's a real shame that none of the big papers seem to have sent critics to this - I guess they were unfortunate that Cinderella rescheduled their press night to the same evening.

[fiyerorocher]

Yes I was waiting for reviews, and so far I think I've seen one. A couple of places do already have reviews from earlier runs, but it would have been nice for OM to get some more publicity

[Mark]

Well this was fun! It's a very strong show and the cast work their socks off. They had a few issues with the doors staying closed when they needed them to today it seemed but everything else went off without a hitch. Earlier reviews pointed it to being too long. Seems to have been refined and is now just shy of 2.5 hrs.

Definitely one to see, another great musical at Southwark Playhouse.

Edit to add, just been looking up the cast and see at least three of them are currently unrepresented and don't have agents!?!? Gosh, they're all so good. Hopefully this show will open up many more doors for them all.

[fiyerorocher]

I'm so sad I don't have a single day I can go back and see this before closing night. I want to believe it will get another run somewhere else soon but what if it doesn't?! I'm looking at my Joseph ticket for tomorrow and knowing I'd enjoy Operation Mincemeat a dozen times more, but not sure I can bring myself to waste the ticket (and thus the money)... It is tempting, though!

[fiyerorocher]

So I went back to Operation Mincemeat...
Still amazing, unsurprisingly. I think this is only going to keep getting slicker. There were some great little moments of characterisation I picked up on this time that I missed the last time.
There was also a (new?) 'please behave and wear masks' speech just before the show, which had a lot of people reaching into bags and pockets to put them on, so that was good to see!

[Deleted]

Aug 20, 2021 9:27:22 GMT fiyerorocher said:

I have finally had time to process this show and I have a lot of thoughts that people in real life are very tired of hearing, so here they are to bore online people too!:

This is quite possibly the hardest working cast in London right now. There are five of them, playing dozens of characters between them, and they get very little time off stage over the two and a half hour performance. It's easy to forget that, though, because the energy does not drop for a second and the swaps between characters are so expertly done that it's difficult to believe you're watching the same actor. All of this is achieved with minimal costume changes and no real hair or makeup alternations, because it's all done so fast. Someone puts on a hat and suddenly they're a whole different person. Much like with Come From Away, this is done to wonderful effect. Additionally, some of the cast are playing role of the opposite gender with no attempt to try and hide the fact. The women just put their hair up, and the men are still wearing trousers (for the most part). You never question it - they make it work fantastically. (Also a good way to get more women into a show about a very male-dominated time and space!)

The music of this show is varied and wonderful - some of the catchiest songs I've heard in a new musical for years. Born to Lead and Making a Man are still going round and round in my head. Everything from dubstep to a ballad, with rap and jazz and other kinds of music I can't even name. The sea shanty will stick with you for days. It all fits perfectly to each character or scenario it's written for. If we don't get a cast album of this show, with Natasha Hodgson as Monty, it will be a travesty.

The piece is, admittedly, still not quite perfect. I did see the final preview so there is the potential for things to have changed prior to press night, but I doubt anything was. There are a few instances were lyrics are awkward, and a song or two that could be cut (Let Me Die in Velvet is wonderfully sung, but completely unnecessary), but you only notice things like that because everything else is so sharply honed. The comic timing is impeccable, the cast shine with talent, and the history is crazy enough to seem like fiction.

It's a real shame the first youtube search result for this show is a very critical amateur review - Operation Mincemeat needs more love and another production as soon as this one ends. They could make it bigger, expand the cast and give those five hard-working actors a break, but I think they'd lose something if they did. This works better small, possibly somewhere like the Arts. But just in case there's no where for it to move to, do yourself a favour and go and see it at the Southwark Playhouse before it closes.

Those particular critical amateurs annoy the hell out of me. ^_^

[joem]

I didn't know this was a musical till it started! Have to say it's the best new musical I've seen in years and the cast of five were indeed fantastic, as singers and as performers and as an ensemble.

This really deserves to go up a notch to the Arts or the Ambassadors or somewhere like that. It needs polishing a bit more, bigger cast, maybe tinkering with the second half where it sags a bit before the finale. But I have to say that, for me, it is far more entertaining and has better songs than some big-hitters which have been hogging the West End for years.

Lovely to see a full theatre and a proper standing ovation again.

[fiyerorocher]

Sept 1, 2021 21:44:19 GMT joem said:

I didn't know this was a musical till it started! Have to say it's the best new musical I've seen in years and the cast of five were indeed fantastic, as singers and as performers and as an ensemble.

This really deserves to go up a notch to the Arts or the Ambassadors or somewhere like that. It needs polishing a bit more, bigger cast, maybe tinkering with the second half where it sags a bit before the finale. But I have to say that, for me, it is far more entertaining and has better songs than some big-hitters which have been hogging the West End for years.

Lovely to see a full theatre and a proper standing ovation again.

You're not the first! I've spoken to other people in the theatre who went to see it having no idea it was a musical, too :') I agree the show would work wonderfully at the Arts, which also just so happens to be free after it's current production, as far as I know...? Fingers crossed! But I don't think I want a bigger cast! The magic of them so seamlessly becoming other people in the blink of an eye is spectacular, and while the cast might appreciate the more chill show they'd have, I think it would lose something! I also love the scene before the finale but I could, quite frankly, watch Natasha Hodgson read the phone book and be content, so I think I'm pretty easy to please in that regard. Glad you enjoyed your evening!!

[stevemar]

A superb night out - thanks to the recommendations here, even though I often go to this theatre, Wonderfully witty fast paced performances, good singing, jokes that hit the mark and one or two moving moments. Would agree that they can trim still in the second half. Jak Malone as Hester was a standout, but all very good, This deserves a life after the current run.

[confessor]

Thanks to the recommendations on here I caught the matinée of this on Tuesday and what a great show it is. What a talented, hard working bunch. Shame that there wasn't a physical programme to buy.

Am I the only one who didn't click that this was based on a true story until right at the end with the surprisingly moving revelation about the body used?!

[Peter]

Sept 4, 2021 8:35:13 GMT confessor said:

Am I the only one who didn't click that this was based on a true story until right at the end with the surprisingly moving revelation about the body used?!

There’s a great Tom Scott video on the subject:

Really interested seeing this but the run will be over by the time I can get back to London - fingers crossed for another run somewhere soon!

[fiyerorocher]

Ben Macintyre's book 'Operation Mincemeat' is also worth a read!

The real Ewen Montagu wasn't quite as egotistical as the musical's version, I think (or at least I hope!). I don't believe there's any evidence for him taking the OM mission files without permission, although admittedly he did indeed end up with them. A surprising amount of the musical is accurate, though. Shame they replaced the verse about Charles finding a new kind of shrew (which did happen), with him finding a new kind of trout (which did not). I can only assume the latter is a reference to M15's trout memo? But still not sure why they changed it from the original version they wrote. Also the real Jean Leslie didn't become a spy, which is very disappointing :')

[TallPaul]

There's also his BBC documentary. It's dropped off iPlayer, for now, but it is available on YouTube.

[fiyerorocher]

Was anyone on the ball enough to see this before it made it to the Southwark Playhouse? They've mentioned it being rather different to how it was at the New Diorama, and I'm really curious to know what it used to be like, if someone has seen both and can make a comparison?

[dlevi]

Sept 6, 2021 9:17:10 GMT fiyerorocher said:

Was anyone on the ball enough to see this before it made it to the Southwark Playhouse? They've mentioned it being rather different to how it was at the New Diorama, and I'm really curious to know what it used to be like, if someone has seen both and can make a comparison?

 I saw it at the New Diorama two years ago, and then again this past week.  While there have been some changes it's not that different ( at least insofar as I remember) .  It's an engaging fun show which balances its different tones quite successfully.  However it's 20 minutes too long. I accept there's a lot of plot to get through but if they're hoping for a "39 Steps" sort of success they need to be a bit ruthless and cut stuff.   Also, the sound mix is awful. There is a ton of information and wit in the lyrics and it often times is just a jumble of words.  It says a lot about the achievement of the show that even missing out on important lyrics really didn't destroy my enthusiasm for it, it just got in the way.  

[fiyerorocher]

Sept 8, 2021 12:26:16 GMT dlevi said:

Sept 6, 2021 9:17:10 GMT fiyerorocher said:

Was anyone on the ball enough to see this before it made it to the Southwark Playhouse? They've mentioned it being rather different to how it was at the New Diorama, and I'm really curious to know what it used to be like, if someone has seen both and can make a comparison?

 I saw it at the New Diorama two years ago, and then again this past week.  While there have been some changes it's not that different ( at least insofar as I remember) .  It's an engaging fun show which balances its different tones quite successfully.  However it's 20 minutes too long. I accept there's a lot of plot to get through but if they're hoping for a "39 Steps" sort of success they need to be a bit ruthless and cut stuff.   Also, the sound mix is awful. There is a ton of information and wit in the lyrics and it often times is just a jumble of words.  It says a lot about the achievement of the show that even missing out on important lyrics really didn't destroy my enthusiasm for it, it just got in the way.  

I think they have cut a lot already! It's 20-30 minutes shorter than it was at the start of the run. Not sure what else is left that could go without really losing something. There are a couple of songs that don't exactly further the plot, but losing them would be a shame (e.g. the first appearance of the sea shanty; even Dear Bill could go and nothing would be lost in terms of comprehension of events, but it would be a terrible decision to cut it)
The sound at the SP, at least in this layout, also varies massively depending on where you're sat. If you're sat stage right, near the front, you're way too close to the band and the vocals are lost. I think that's the kind of thing that would be automatically fixed by a move to a different venue for another run (for which my fingers are permanently crossed)

[mkb]

I don't understand the desire to cut it. It was 2:50 when I saw it, and I wouldn't have wanted to lose a minute. The time whizzed by. Glad I saw it when I did.

[fiyerorocher]

Sept 8, 2021 14:27:35 GMT mkb said:

I don't understand the desire to cut it. It was 2:50 when I saw it, and I wouldn't have wanted to lose a minute. The time whizzed by. Glad I saw it when I did.

When did you see it? I want to know what was in the 20 or so minutes they cut before I saw it (last preview)! Although if you haven't seen it since, that may be a hard question to answer :')

I don't want it any shorter, either! In fact, make it longer again. More weird history facts! Give me a whole number about how Ewen Montagu used to cycle to work with important MI5 documents in the front basket of his bike, which he had to get special permission to keep doing because his bosses were very against the idea. Or how Montagu and Cholmondeley, along with Bill's body, were driven to the submarine launch by a racing car driver who almost crashed at least twice. Or Ivor Montagu's love of table tennis and cheese.

[fiyerorocher]

Great to see this pretty much sold out! - except for a Tuesday matinee. West End transfer now, please.

[juicy_but_terribly_drab]

Sept 9, 2021 9:40:54 GMT fiyerorocher said:

Great to see this pretty much sold out! - except for a Tuesday matinee. West End transfer now, please.

Thanks for the heads up, I had been debating whether to see this and figured I had time to decide but with this news I decided to finally bite the bullet. Luckily I had totally forgotten I had some pay as you go tickets from back when The Last Five Years was on so I'm essentially going for free which was a nice surprise!

[n1david]

Southwark Playhouse newsletter teasing that they'll have news about a future life for this show next week.

[cat6]

Last evening is September 18, so if you're lucky enough to find a ticket, grab it. This is a brilliant play, based on a real WW2 operation, with excellent songs carrying the whole story: The actors enunciate well and they are marvelous with their physical comedy.

[mrbarnaby]

Sept 9, 2021 18:05:28 GMT cat6 said:

Last evening is September 18, so if you're lucky enough to find a ticket, grab it. This is a brilliant play, based on a real WW2 operation, with excellent songs carrying the whole story: The actors enunciate well and they are marvelous with their physical comedy.

It’s a play? I thought it was a musical ?