After the plethora of American musicals which have recently graced the stage of the wonderful Grand Theatre, it was a refreshing change to witness a home-grown production. Not only was the show quintessentially British, but the story was of the nation’s ingenuity in a time of crisis i.e. the Second World War. That being the case there was a pre-performance announcement asking us not to reveal any secrets. So, to Be Like Dad And Keep Mum, because Loose Lips Sink Ships, I will tread carefully, although the only ship involved was a submarine, so already beneath the waves.
After a shaky start in 1939, by 1942 , partly due to the Americans deigning to join in, the tide had turned and thoughts of invading mainland Europe had begun to emerge. Churchill, the British prime minister, decided that the best plan would be to attack the ‘soft underbelly’ rather than the French coast. The logical target was Sicily, but because it was so obvious, the Germans were moving troops to the island to protect it. Enter MI5 and Charles Cholmondeley (pronounced Chomly) who had been seconded to the intelligence organisation from the RAF, and come up with a cunning plan to fool the Nazis. His idea was to find a corpse, dress him up as an airman, plant top secret documents in a briefcase handcuffed to the body and put him to sea just off the coast of Spain. The tide would wash the cadaver ashore and, once found, the authorities, who, although supposedly neutral were in cahoots with the Germans, would pass on the papers, indicating that the Allies’ were going to invade via Sardinia. To cut a long war short, the plan, executed on 30th April, 1943, worked and the allied forces took Sicily with remarkably few losses, thus shifting the balance of power and opening a route to Italy and France from the south.
Christian Andrews, Jamie-Rose Monk, Charlotte Hanna-Williams, Seán Carey and Holly Sumpton.
Most of the action took place in the MI5 bunker in Whitehall, with the actors – all five of them – starting out as agents; Seán Carey played the aforementioned Charles Cholmondeley, Holly Sumpton was Ewen Montagu, a Naval bigwig assigned to assist with the plan; Christian Andrews was Hester Leggatt, a senior intelligence officer, Charlotte Hanna-Williams took the part of Jean Leslie, a clerk, whose photograph was planted on the corpse to give it credibility, along with a love letter and receipt for an engagement ring. Johnny Bevan, the head of London Controlling Section, a body which co-ordinated deception operations, was played by Jamie-Rose Monk. Obviously, all took several other parts as well.
Charlotte Hannah-Williams as Jean Leslie
If you thought the real story was eccentric, this musical left it for dead – see what I did there? The five actors above also played the parts of the British Army, Navy and Intelligence Service, as well as the German Army and Air Force plus a Spanish Coroner! The costume changes involved were like lightning and some done in plain sight without being noticed, meaning over two hours of meticulously planned and executed action, showing that we Brits can still do it, even without a war.
Christian Andrews as Hester Leggatt
Being a musical this was obviously not an attempt to reconstruct the incident in minute detail, it was done in a variety of styles, most of which were comedic. Whatever your taste in humour you will be amply catered for. There was parody, satire, caricature, wit, slapstick, farce, mechanical and straightforward one-liners direct to the audience. That is without referring to the set and props, which were excellent.
Holly Sumpton as Ewen Montagu
The first half was mainly centred around the MI5 bunker, which was slate grey, but there were vertical and horizontal tube lights forming a grid on the back wall. These were utilised to signify walls, rainfall and myriad other things. The second half included two set pieces, both of which put me in mind of Mel Brookes’s, The Producers, especially the one immediately following the interval which was a camp Nazi rap, complete with sparkly uniforms and a Fokker aeroplane. (I don’t really know what make of plane it was but I can’t spell Messerschmitt, and Fokker’s funnier.) When you watch this part of the show, keep an eye on the aircraft’s propeller, it’s a clever Fokker.
Jamie-Rose Monk as Johnny Bevan
The other set piece is the Glitzy Finale, with the whole cast taking to the stage for a spectacular ending, with lots of surprises and another mechanical jape involving a neon sign which gives my jokes in the last paragraph a run for their money.
Regular readers, both of you, will know that I am not a fan of, or even slightly amused by, farce, I side with the person who said that farce is comedy for people with no sense of humour, but I must complement the brilliantly executed piece of nonsense concerning two telephones and colour coded hats. It was performed at breakneck speed which defied belief, especially as it lasted quite a long time. I almost smiled at one point.
I will leave things there now as I don’t want to spoil your enjoyment of the show, something which would be difficult anyway as it was terrific. I am also still worried about the secrecy warning, which I thought was a hoax but it seems that it was real as we have not been provided with a production shot – oops, photo – of Seán Carey as Charles Cholmondeley. It must still be classified after all this time.
If you are looking for a great night out with brilliant acting and split second comic timing – oh, and great singing, dancing and production values, get along to Leeds Grand Theatre before the run ends on 12th September. More details and booking can be found at https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/operation-mincemeat-2026/ but don’t hang about as there is limited availability and don’t forget the Tenas.
To see what else is coming to Leeds Heritage Theatres it is https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/
For more about SpliLip please go to https://www.spitlip.uk/
Photographs by Matt Crockett
Tyke It To The Limit 