‘Sail on Boys through stormy weather’ as the World Tour of Operation Mincemeat has charted its course, having docked at its first stop of its UK Tour at the Lowry Theatre in Salford this past week, playing until the 28th February 2026.
Operation Mincemeat is the 2024 Olivier Award-Winning Best New Musical. Set in 1943, the musical tells the story of the twisted secret mission that won World War Two for the British in a way that you’ve never seen it told before.
Holly Sumpton, set to play Ewan Montague and Others, and Sean Carey, set to play Charles Cholmondely and Others, in the UK leg of the Operation Mincemeat World Tour, sat down with us in rehearsals to discuss the production:
For those out there who are perhaps unfamiliar with the show, would you mind explaining what the show is about?
Holly: “The show itself, Operation Mincemeat, is basically a deception plan that happened during World War Two, where Hitler and 90,000 of his troops were tricked by MI5, by the Operation Mincemeat, into invading Sardinia instead of Sicily and it’s a true story.
“I always describe the show as an unbelievable story told in an unbelievable way – it’s five cast members telling this huge story with so many characters and so many plot twists.”
Who do you each play and what has your involvement been with the show to date?
Holly: “I play Ewan Montague. I used to cover the role along with a couple of other roles and now will be playing the role on tour which is so fun to be able to kind of keep discovering new things and find new things in the rehearsal room.
Sean: “I play Charles Cholmondeley, who is the architect of the plan. He comes up with Operation Mincemeat and I’ve been involved in the show since 2022.
“It was a bit of a mad story, one of the writers, David Cumming (original Charles Cholmondeley), unfortunately suffered an injury very last minute, just before they were due to open at Riverside Studios and I was drafted in, I was cast in the role and I played the role for two months in Riverside Studios and then was an understudy for the first year in the West End and then took over the role in the second year so it’s lovely to get to come back.”
What has been your favourite moment so far of the rehearsal process to revisit?
Holly: “This is going to sound really nerdy but I think really delving really deep into the story and the relationships and sort of the exact intricacies of what is happening because, I think, whilst the show is bombastic and larger than life, the story is so meaty and interesting that I think it’s been really fun to really play around with that and discover more in there.
Sean: “I mean I’m loving the free workouts – this is great. You don’t need a gym, you’re just throwing yourself around the place.
“No, I just love the music so much. I love the genius of some of the sequences that are just even years later are still so fun to play. There’s a number in the show called ‘Making a Man’ which is this kind of behemoth – it’s a 15 minute long number where basically the architects of Operation Mincemeat put the plan into action. Not only is it funny and intricate, it’s an earworm, it’s an absolute banger and I just never get sick of it.”
Why did you say yes and want to come back and play these roles again on this UK tour?
Holly: “The heart of the show and the community that it builds within the cast, within the company, within the buildings that you’re working in.
“Also, sort of wider than that, the fans in the community that that creates. It’s so unique and it’s a really joyous thing to be a part of, and the musical is so unique – I’ve never done anything like it and I think being able to sort of take that across the UK is so exciting.
Sean: “It’s a show you can’t really get sick of – it’s so high energy and fast paced and joyous. Not just in terms of making people laugh, there’s a lot of moments where we make people cry and kind of it has this beautiful kind of moments of joy and elation and silliness and also these moments of heart.
“It’s such a testament to the writing that it just weaves those two seamlessly – nothing ever jars – so you don’t really get bored of playing it and the idea of getting to do it somewhere like the Lowry or these bigger spaces. I don’t think it’s ever been performed in bigger than a 500-seater theatre and now we’re doing kind of 100-seater, 1500-seater – so that’s very enticing and very exciting to get to do the final boss version around the UK.”
Finally, why should people come and see Operation Mincemeat out on tour?
Sean: “Because Holly Sumpton is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
“If you wanna laugh, if you wanna cry, if you want a night where we, you know we live in kind of crazy times and this is a show that brings everyone together – no matter who you are, what background you come from.
“It’s a story about a bunch of oddballs and misfits who got together to do something incredible, written by a bunch of oddballs and misfits who got to do something incredible, starring a bunch of oddballs and misfits. So if that’s kind of your thing, please come and see us cause we’d love to have you.”
Operation Mincemeat is playing at the Lowry Theatre in Salford until the 28 February and some final tickets have been released as the entire run has sold out.
For more information visit the Lowry Theatre’s website here.
