Monday 9 November 2026
The Tony and double Olivier Award-winning hit musical Operation Mincemeat has announced a further 34,000 tickets for the extension of its UK and Ireland tour, following more than 305,000 tickets sold and over 25 weeks of sold-out shows on the current leg. The second leg kicks off at The Orchard Theatre, Dartford, on 23 February 2027 and then travels for 39 weeks, with plenty of stops across London’s commuter belt, Surrey and the Home Counties. Tickets for the new dates go on pre-sale at 10am on Wednesday 18 November, with general sale from 10am on Thursday 19 November.
1. Plenty of dates close to London and the South East
If you live in or around London, you won’t have to travel far to catch the tour in 2027. It opens at The Orchard Theatre in Dartford from 23 to 27 February, before heading to Milton Keynes Theatre from 2 to 6 March and the Theatre Royal Brighton from 27 April to 1 May. Summer brings the Kings Theatre in Portsmouth (8 to 12 June), the New Theatre in Oxford (13 to 17 July) and the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury (20 to 24 July). Surrey audiences can catch it at Woking Theatre from 21 to 25 September, while Cambridge’s Arts Theatre hosts the show from 2 to 6 November. The leg then finishes at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton from 16 to 20 November.
2. A true wartime story that’s stranger than fiction
The year is 1943, the Allies are losing the war, and the plan to turn things around involves a stolen corpse. Operation Mincemeat tells the fast-paced, hilarious and frankly unbelievable true story of the secret mission that helped win the Second World War. At its heart is a single brilliant question: how did a well-dressed dead body wrong-foot Hitler? The musical has a knack for making real history feel riotously funny while still landing some genuinely moving moments. Even if you think you know the story from books or films, this version is a completely different beast.
3. A home-grown hit with a remarkable track record
Operation Mincemeat began life as a tiny, low-budget production at London’s 77-seat New Diorama Theatre in 2019, before sold-out runs at Southwark Playhouse and Riverside Studios. It premiered in the West End at the Fortune Theatre in May 2023, winning the Olivier and WhatsOnStage Awards for Best New Musical along the way. Written by SpitLip (David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts) and directed by Robert Hastie, it has been nominated for 68 awards and won 24. The Broadway production picked up four Tony nominations, including Best Musical, and won Best Featured Actor in a Musical. As Variety’s David Benedict put it, this is “A little show with a very big future”.
4. Demand is so high the tour keeps growing
The tour began with two sold-out weeks at the 1,700-seat Lowry in Salford, and the current leg wraps up on 28 November after 304 performances. This latest announcement adds an extra week in Birmingham, making it a two-week run, plus an extra week at Lowry, where the show will now play for three weeks. There’s also a return visit to Plymouth’s Theatre Royal, and the 2027 leg brings brand-new destinations including Belfast, Dublin, Liverpool, Blackpool and Leicester. One devoted fan, Golden Ticket winner Joseph Kavanaugh, has now seen the production more than 100 times, which tells you something about its pull.
5. Get in early for the best chance of tickets
With the show selling out week after week, it pays to be organised. Signing up to the Operation Mincemeat mailing list gives you access to the pre-sale, which opens at 10am on Wednesday 18 November. General sale then follows at 10am on Thursday 19 November via the official tour page. If you simply can’t wait until 2027, the West End production continues at the Fortune Theatre, where its 19th extension takes it through to 29 May 2027. Either way, this is one to put in the diary now.
Tickets and info
Operation Mincemeat – UK and Ireland tour, 2027 (London and South East highlights)
Dartford, The Orchard Theatre: 23–27 February
Milton Keynes, Milton Keynes Theatre: 2–6 March
Brighton, Theatre Royal: 27 April–1 May
Portsmouth, Kings Theatre: 8–12 June
Oxford, New Theatre: 13–17 July
Aylesbury, Waterside Theatre: 20–24 July
Woking, Woking Theatre: 21–25 September
Cambridge, The Arts Theatre Cambridge: 2–6 November
Southampton, Mayflower Theatre: 16–20 November
Pre-sale: 10am, Wednesday 18 November (sign up to the mailing list)
General sale: 10am, Thursday 19 November