Operation Mincemeat - New Diorama/SWP/Riverside/Fortune

I finally saw this last night with one of the Monday discounted tickets (a few rows back in the Stalls).

This is a good show with a very supportive fan base. They were well behaved too. I enjoyed everything, particularly the second half, and it was fun trying to spot the musical theatre references throughout. Let's say, they do one aspect of 42nd Street better than the current tour!

The cast is excellent. 2 out of the 5 people I saw were covers, but this wouldn't be obvious. They all play such a lot of roles and are barely off the stage.

The theatre itself isn't the most comfortable. There's no real rake in the Stalls (or at least not where I was sat), so the view is always a bit obstructed. There are signs on the wall to various facilities (like the gents) which lead to a dead end. Speaking of the gents, to say they are cosy would be an understatement. There were massive queues for the ladies too. I'd recommend going before you visit the theatre if possible.

As I say, enjoyable and I would see this again at some point, but I don't feel compelled to rush back. With the current sales (and ticket prices), I predict this will run for some time.

Extended again through to Sunday 21st April 2024.
Could see this picking up an Olivier, for sure!

I'm very over this now - they're just making it too difficult for people to get tickets that anyone can afford so I'm done 😂

Have at it if you want to spend £100 for the worst seat in the house, or sacrifice your first born and find a leprechaun through whatever scheme they've announced this week - I'm out 😂

Agreed, I don't really know why they're making it so difficult for people to get affordable tickets! Especially people like us who don't live near London and need to plan their travel well in advance.

But they end up with less money - people don't buy tickets at those prices, and new people are put off from booking.

I'm feeling the same after reading the latest ballot email. There's no point in me signing up because even if I win (which I probably won't, as I've only won the lottery once in the several months I've been signed up for it) I'm not prepared to book over 6 months in advance when understudy dates are certainly not being announced over 6 months in advance. I've seen the show once with the full cast & once each with the two understudies I like (Holly Sumpton in 1 of her 2 roles & Sean Carey) so that will have to do me, at least unless/until the producers move to a more reasonable ticketing strategy.

I'm not sure you can, to be honest. Having said that, Natasha has been off for several weeks after injuring her finger during the show, and she had just had a week's holiday before that, so when she does come back I expect she'll be scheduled to do all shows for a while.

Yes, in terms of publically available information it seems to usually just be West End Covers & sometimes the various cast members tweeting on the day. Sometimes WEC tweets that someone will be on all week, but with this show that's not as helpful as with other shows given the prices rising through the week! Personally I was lucky because I saw Holly at random & then when I spoke to Sean after that performance I asked him about future dates & he told me he had a scheduled week on a few weeks later. (I do know him from seeing him in Mischief shows so it wasn't some random stranger buttonholing him & demanding info!) In terms of wanting to see Natasha, all I can think is to keep checking her Twitter & hope she tweets when she returns to the show. I can also imagine she might make a gradual return, not doing 8 shows a week immediately, so it might be safer to wait for a bit after she returns.

Thank you for the responses, westendfan1, Dawnstar & Matt, clearly Twitter is my best bet for any info. I love that they have an emoji code to announce who's on, I'd have never picked up on that. I remember people talking a few months ago about a particular night selling well because people were interested in the combination of folks that would be on, which made me wonder at the time if there was some schedule I just couldn't find, but clearly that's not the case.

Since I have to travel from Nottingham I can't really ever book the same day or day before, but it's good to know I wasn't just missing some readily available info, and I'm sure I'll love the show just as much the next time whoever happens to be on. Good shout on keeping an eye out for Natasha's return though and seeing if she dives right back in or has a more staggered return, I'll do that.

Delightful interview with Hodgson about the show and theatre and joy. www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Interview-Its-Like-a-Mad-Pandoras-Box-Natasha-Hodgson-on-the-Power-of-Montagu-Learning-from-the-Audience-and-Joy-in-OPERATION-MINCEMEAT-20230922

I mean, I can't stand Play That Goes wrong or any of that mischief stuff but thought this was witty and intelligent and fun 🤷🏻‍♂️

I hated Play Wrong and every other Mischief show I have seen bits of. I think OM is in a different (better) league to all of those and there is no comparison imo