Operation Mincemeat at Royal & Derngate Northampton Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Amanda Dando
We arrived in good time to the Royal & Derngate in Northampton this evening to see Operation Mincemeat, a new musical, which my friends had told me great things about. There is plentiful parking around the theatre and it’s not far at all from the train station. We were in for a pre show treat, the Royal & Derngate have opened their very own VIP lounge just yesterday! An intimate area with its own bar, cloak room and toilets, it was a lovely area to catch up in before the show. This area will be available for VIP experiences, lunches and private hires, definitely something I would recommend.
Now to the show, Operation Mincemeat is based on a true story from World War 2. The cast of five, yes just five made up of superbly talented actors and actresses are simply phenomenal. They play the most amount of characters I think I have seen in a musical, at times it was hard to believe there were just five of them. The story begins within MI5 around Ewen Montagu (played by Holly Sumpton), Johnny Bevan (played by Jamie-Rose Monk), Charles Cholmondeley (played by Sean Carey), Jean Leslie (played by Charlotte Hanna-Williams) and for me the star of the show Hester Leggatt (played by Christian Andrews).
The show tells the story of how these five characters came together to find a way to defeat Hitler.
All of the actors sublimely played multiple characters through the show, it was incredible how they switched not just characters but clothing and accents. All totally credible and believable, absolutely fantastic work by them all. For me it was the vulnerability of Hester, Christian played the Secretary so well.
Whilst there was a serious story at the heart of the show, it didn’t stop them having fun, mocking the establishment and even the Third Reich. All of their voices were outstanding especially Holly’s, the show had everything, songs that made you laugh and were pure slapstick, and songs that gripped your heart, we definitely thought a nod to Pitch Perfect with the Das Obermensch number in act two.
The story is easy to follow, and one which I had not heard before, it’s fascinating how many stories we are still learning about so many years after the war has ended. This particular story pulls at your heartstrings in ways you wouldn’t expect. Shows like this are a great way to educate not just our children, but us as adults, we will never truly appreciate what went into the war effort.
This is a remarkable musical telling a remarkable story in a very unique way, the show has everything, fantastic vocals, even some glitzy outfits, especially in the finale, brilliant staging along with five actors and actresses who should be commended for their dedication to the cause, it was a superb show and extraordinary in so many ways. The innovative ways the staging was used really was great and I loved the aeroplane! The show is in Northampton until Saturday grab your tickets now, it’s a show you do not want to miss.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets from £19 plus transaction £4 fee available from royalandderngate.co.uk or call the Box Office 01604 624811
Operation Mincemeat is at the Royal and Derngate Northampton Monday 13 July to Saturday 18 July 2026.
Royal and Derngate 19-21 Guildhall Road Northampton NN1 1DP
https://royalandderngate.co.uk/whats-on/operation-mincemeat/
Photo credit: Matt Crockett