Dodgy Deception
Operation Mincemeat (Fortune Theatre) Guest Review by Dr Terror
If you think that Military Intelligence, like 'political ethics' or 'NHS management' is an oxymoron with the accent firmly on the 'moron', this uproarious WW II musical comedy suggests that you could be onto something. But if you are concerned about disrespect for the efforts of MI5 in the forties, you need have no fears: although it sends them up rotten, this knockabout adventure probably does more to honour those involved than any number of stuffy history books or mirthless tributes.
The panto tradition of women playing men and men playing women is alive and well here, but I would bet that Charlotte Fleming and Colm Gleason's portrayal of Jean Leslie and Hester Legatt celebrates the legacies of these courageous women working in a man's world better than many an earnest documentary.And the men? Madeleine Jackson-Smith steals the show as the smug, entitled Ewen Montague, her first number asserting that some are born to follow and others 'born to lead'. Ahmed Hamad, meanwhile, as overlooked, twitching zoologist Charles Cholmondeley is a delight, preferring to say 'does a newt have a penis?' to 'no'.
The songs are extremely catchy and even things that seem a little familiar are still welcome. The hip hop Nazis that open Act II owe at least something to Mel Brooks' Hitler Rap. From a similar era, the film Top Secret and its famous quotation '...this all sounds like something from a bad movie' as the leads stare slowly and imploringly through the fourth wall into the audience is paralleled here when it is discovered that Montagu's brother, a left-wing director, wants to make a film about the whole operation. 'At least it's not a bloody musical' blurts out Montagu. Cue that stare. But we still laugh our heads off.
Kudos too to whoever put together the souvenir brochure. Unlike the somewhat underwhelming programme, the beautiful design, which includes loose sheets paperclipped in, makes it look like a real military dossier - a true labour of love.
And my favourite performance? It has to be Chloe Hart whose Ian Fleming is a standout, his deranged approach to espionage responsible for the fact that the Thames is now 'full of Aston Martins'. Truly, nobody does it better.