Latest news with #OperationMincemeat
Scotsman
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Co-producers of Broadway's Operation Mincemeat bring two new productions direct from NYC to Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The first-ever staged production of the outrageous new 80's horror comedy rock musical I WAS A TEENAGE SHE-DEVIL and the one-act dark comedy HOW NOT TO FUND A HONEYMOON are headed to Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Brought across from NYC by Tony-nominated co-producers of Broadway's Operation Mincemeat, Claire Feuille and Josh Dooley, I WAS A TEENAGE SHE-DEVIL plays at theSpace @ Niddry St (Upper): Venue 9 from 1-22 August, and HOW NOT TO FUND A HONEYMOON plays at theSpace Triplex Studio: Venue 38 from 1-16 August. I WAS A TEENAGE SHE-DEVIL is a non-stop, big laugh, high-voltage musical from the twisted mind of Sean Matthew Whiteford, directed by Rachel Klein (Bettie Page: Queen of the Pin-ups), musical directed by Ryan MacKenzie, and costumed by Juda Leah. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad After being pushed over the edge by the most popular kids at school, four-eyed wallflower Nancy Nelson cries to the heavens for help! But it is Satan who hears her cry. The Devil transforms Nancy into a big-haired, foul-mouthed, sex bomb rocker who's hungry for souls, and sweet revenge is on the menu! Who will save Nancy? And will the power of love for who she really is break the spell before it's too late? HOW NOT TO FUND A HONEYMOON is a funny, absurd short play by Stephanie Greenwood. The musical (under its previous incarnation, Girlfriend From Hell: The Musical) has been performed in concerts and staged readings at The Gene Frankel Theatre (NYC), Green Room 42 (NYC), 54 Below (NYC), The Cutting Room (NYC), The CENTER for Performing Arts (Rhinebeck, NY), and was part of the 2022 Playbill Pride in Times Square Festival. This upcoming production is the first time audiences will witness a fully-staged production of this iconic musical in the UK. 'I'm beyond elated to bring this brand-new show to life at Edinburgh Fringe with this tremendous team. I WAS A TEENAGE SHE-DEVIL is, at the surface, a hilarious 80s horror rock show in the spirit of the films and music I've adored my whole life. Threaded within is a beautiful love story about how proudly owning your true, authentic identity has the power to save the world. It's a feel-good time, the music is outrageously high-octane, and while it's set in the past, the story is meant for today,' said Sean Matthew Whiteford (book, music, lyrics). Claire Feuille and Josh Dooley of Feuille Dooley Productions will serve as Lead Producers, along with Producers Bryan Campione and Leo de Rothschild. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad I WAS A TEENAGE SHE-DEVIL will perform at Upper Theatre at theSpace @Niddry St: Venue 9 (Niddry St, Edinburgh, EH1 1TH). Previews run August 1st and 2nd, with opening night August 3rd. The production will conclude August 22nd. Performances are nightly at 22:30 (10:30PM). I WAS A TEENAGE SHE-DEVIL is a non-stop, big laugh, high-voltage musical coming to Edinburgh Festival Fringe For more information on the production, including dates and tickets, visit: HOW NOT TO FUND A HONEYMOONis a funny, absurd short play by Stephanie Greenwood, directed and sound designed by Colette Hamilton. The cast will include Greenwood, Feuille, and Ausette Anderies. The problem: Gwen and Charlie are strapped for cash. Their wedding is coming up and they have no way to pay for the honeymoon of their dreams. Not in this economy. The solution: Break into Aunt Robyn's house and steal the mysterious treasure that she is always bragging about but no one has ever seen. This is how Charlie and Gwen find themselves outside Aunt Robyn's house holding a rock, wondering if they should throw it through her window and really hoping that she is definitely on holiday. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Claire Feuille (Feuille Dooley Productions) will serve as Lead Producer, in association with Stephanie Greenwood (Very Rascals). This production will mark a return to Scotland for Greenwood, Hamilton, and Anderies, who are all alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. HOW NOT TO FUND A HONEYMOON will perform at the Space Triplex Studio: Venue 38 (The Prince Philip Building, 19 Hill Place EH8 9DP). Previews run August 1st and 2nd, with opening night August 3rd. The production will conclude August 16th. Performances are daily at 11:05AM. For more information on the production, including dates and tickets, visit:
Spectator
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Rayner's PMQs performance will trouble Starmer
As you might have noticed from the crowds weeping in the streets and the appearance of sackcloth, ashes and rent, er, garments: Sir Keir Starmer wasn't at Prime Minister's Questions this afternoon. Instead we got Big Ange – who absolutely, definitely, doesn't want the job for herself. She'd come dressed in a fetching double-breasted blazer and cream trouser combo which made her look like a judge at Henley or an old-school pub landlord. Or even, perhaps deliberately, Nigel Farage. Ange breezily mentioned Starmer's absence in the way you might mention you'd trod on a slug while gardening Ange breezily mentioned Starmer's absence in the way you might mention you'd trod on a slug while gardening. As part of the Leader of the Opposition's weird 'deputy roulette' policy whereby she never quite commits to having one person filling in for her, the Tories had selected shadow home secretary Chris Philp to ask the questions this week. He did so with the air of a nervous schoolboy requesting an extension on his homework from a particularly sadistic schoolmaster. Ange said she liked his tone – and initially at least, there was something of her previous camp frisson with Oliver 'Olive' Dowden. She eyed up Philp as a Montmartre madam might have looked upon a virginal subaltern. Was this shaping up to be a bit of a love-in? Not so. Things quickly grew spicier. Soon, Ange was backed into a corner of having to defend the Prime Minister. Well sort of: tellingly she didn't quite justify or seek to defend his 'far-right bandwagon' remarks about the grooming gangs. Immigration, naturally, was what really set things on fire. The Tories had 'spivved their opportunity up the wall', said the Deputy Prime Minister, using what I think was a word entirely of her own devising. The pair traded further broadsides. 'He was at the heart of the Home Office when we lost control of our borders,' boomed Ange. 'Goodness me she's got a cheek!' bellowed Mr Philp as Ange protested that the number of migrant hotels were dropping. That's one way of putting it. Behind Ange were a pair of carefully positioned junior flunkies. They spent the whole of the performance rifling through folders and handing pieces of paper to – of all people – Lucy Powell. It brought to mind Operation Mincemeat, when the intelligence services placed important looking documents onto the body of someone who had accidentally eaten rat poison. Anyway, the shuffling continued at a gentle pace until Mr Philp brought up the data on migrant hotels. This sent the general paper-based kerfuffle into overdrive. It was like watching a pair of chimps who had somehow found work as croupiers trying to shuffle a deck of cards. 'Dignity-vacuum of the week' went to Olivia Bailey – the MP for Reading West – who asked the now standard oily suck-up question from the Labour backbenches. Presumably they do this to try and get a place on the safe seat life-raft when the inevitable electoral Gotterdammerung happens. Would the Deputy PM 'confirm that THIS government will finally give my constituents the security they deserve?' gushed Bailey (it would be funny, if just once, the minister would take a stand against nauseating toadiness by replying 'no'). Philp ended with a question about the choice to keep a Zimbabwean paedophile in the country. Ange responded with an old Starmbot favourite: '14 years'. Different hair-style, different mannerisms, but the same reheated tripe. And yet she did far, far better today than Sir Keir normally does. There was a charm and easiness of manner. Her delivery was less scratchy too; Starmer has the perpetual air of an about-to-be punched traffic warden telling an irate motorist to calm down, whereas Ange was more mob-adjacent landlady overseeing a lock-in. I suspect some Labour MPs will be quietly hoping that Starmer stays in Canada for another week.
Daily Mirror
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Fake documents planted on dead body tricked Hitler and won World War 2
The daring plot, in which a homeless man's corpse was planted in the sea to fool Hitler into changing tactics, has gone down in history. But until now no-one knew how important was the role of MI5 secretary Hester Leggatt It's one of the most incredible stories of the Second World War, when a dead body carrying fake documents tricked Hitler and hastened the Allied victory over Nazi Germany. Operation Mincemeat's backstory is now being told in a smash hit West End and Broadway musical. And its British star, Jak Malone, 30, has just won a Tony Award, stage acting's highest accolade, for playing a woman - M15 secretary Hester Leggatt - whose importance in the daring plot has only recently come to light. After collecting his award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor on Sunday, the Liverpudlian star, whose mother was a nurse and father worked in a soap factory, gasped: 'I am hovering above my body experiencing this, watching this happening.' Like most people, Jak didn't know much about Hester when he agreed to the role in 2019, but is now a huge fan, even writing the foreword to a new book I co-authored about her, Finding Hester. In it, he admitted that he agreed to the role because he knew she was just a secretary who didn't play a big part in the plot, so playing her 'would likely give me more opportunity to play additional supporting roles.' But that all changed a few years later when a group of fans of the musical dug up new information, putting Hester at the centre of the daring operation. 'It's an incredible story that I still have trouble believing myself,' Jak said. 'A group of individuals who pull off the unthinkable - a moment in history that truly deserves to shine.' It was in 1943 that the Germans thought they'd got their hands on a briefcase full of British military secrets concerning the impending Allied invasion of Sicily. But it was all a ruse. The documents had been created by MI5 to deliberately mislead Axis forces, and they'd sold the whole thing by planting the briefcase on a corpse they'd dressed up like a British pilot. To make it as believable as possible, they had created a whole life for this man, including giving him a fictional fiancée called Pam. The corpse carried both a photograph of 'Pam' and two love letters from her. The believability of this manufactured life was vital - if the Germans saw through the ruse, dubbed Operation Mincemeat, it would make it clear that the information in the documents was false and give them the advantage they needed in the upcoming battle. Pam's love letters could make or break the invasion plans - they needed to be perfect. Plenty is known about the men behind Operation Mincemeat, but far less information has endured about the women who helped enact it. Jean Leslie, a secretary at MI5, was remembered as being the face of Pam in the photograph included in the briefcase, but the woman who wrote the letters faded into obscurity. In his 2010 book on the operation, Ben Macintyre cites an interview with Leslie towards the end of her life that identifies this second woman as 'Hester Leggett' and, for the next 13 years, that was almost all that was known about her. Leslie also remembered her as a spinster, leading to assumptions that she was an older woman. In the 2021 Operation Mincemeat film based on Ben's book, she's in her 70s. When writing group SpitLip penned the musical, they made her 49. She wasn't 70. She wasn't even 49. Hester was 37 when she wrote the love letters so integral to Operation Mincemeat. In 2023, a group of fans of the West End musical embarked on a mission of their own, unearthing Hester's story from the history books by correcting a misspelling of her surname. Hester Leggett didn't exist, but Hester Leggatt did. They tracked her through archival records, electoral rolls, newspapers and beyond, eventually getting in touch with her nearest living relatives. Hester hadn't spoken much about her war work, so many of them had no idea she'd ever worked for MI5 and had only met her briefly, if at all, towards the end of her life so couldn't supply much further information. One thing they could provide, however, was a box discovered amid paperwork in need of tidying. It was a fairly innocuous box, but it had Hester's name on it. Inside what was once a department store shipping box was a time capsule so perfectly suited to the research in question that it was like Hester had carefully parcelled it up knowing it would one day be needed for this very purpose. Two diaries, including one from the year of Operation Mincemeat, and hundreds of letters were neatly tucked away inside. The research into Hester had set the record straight when it came to her age, but it hadn't been able to entirely disprove the idea of her as the embittered spinster who never knew love. It was certain that she never married or had children, and archival records aren't typically the place to find more private details of someone's life, but this box was a direct insight into her personal life. Hester herself had left irrefutable evidence that she had been the perfect person at MI5 to write love letters to a soldier, because she'd written hundreds of them herself, and this recipient had been real. The object of Hester's affections was Valdemar Bertie Caroe, known to her as Val. Based on the date of their anniversary as noted in Hester's diary, their relationship began on November 25, 1939. She wrote frequently to him when he was posted in Northern Ireland as an army liaison to MI5, and when he was later stationed in France. Her letters reveal her to very much be acting in the role of his wife, concerned with his wellbeing as she wrote 'I do hope you have enough warm things with you. Let me know if I can get anything for you, or if you would like me to knit you another sweater.' In addition to warm clothing she also sends copies of the newspaper for Val to read, and fusses, albeit from a distance, when she knows he's unwell: 'How is your cold, darling my dear - have you really got rid of it? I do wish I could look after you.' Hester also shares frequent gossip with Val, concerning characters they're both familiar with from their work at MI5: 'Max K has recently married a girl called Susie Barnes who was at Oxford, in the Registry, I think, and there is some difference of opinion as to who has made a Big mistake. 'So there you have a nice cross-section of office gossip to take your mind off your troubles.' She had strong opinions about the right way to write love letters - something that would serve her well when writing Pam's as part of Operation Mincemeat - and would chide Val when he wasn't meeting her expectations. 'I don't think that I need explain to you the kind of letters I like to get from you - you used to know how to write them all right,' she wrote. 'You know, quite well, that I never find your letters dull - only rather unsatisfying sometimes. 'It would be rather nice to know if you are missing me + looking forward to seeing me + what you are planning for us. Do I really have to tell you all this?' This was all, finally, evidence to dispel the bitter and unloved myth that still clung to Hester. But her love story, like Pam's, didn't end happily. Val was married to another woman and had been since 1926. According to the 1939 Register, he and his wife were still living together in September 1939, just two months before the day Hester cited as their anniversary. The exact nature of Val and Hester's relationship is unclear. If they were a secret at all, they were an incredibly open one. Hester's diary mentions them going out for meals together with other MI5 employees, and friends so distant that she couldn't remember their names once asked her to pass on their regards to Val. Divorce was possible at the time, but not easy - although Val's wife would have had more than enough evidence to support a petition for divorce on the grounds of adultery if she sought one. Continuing on the way she was, as an unmarried woman in a relationship with a married man, had the potential to end poorly for Hester. And some of the last letters in the box suggest this as the reason their relationship came to an end. She talks rather vaguely, but her words can be read as a desire to formalise their relationship, something it seems she had promised to put off until after the war but could no longer ignore. She wrote: 'It's fairly easy for you to cope with these things, but of course it's quite difficult for me and my dear I think we must try and do something about it as soon as possible. 'Now the war here is over and I have kept my promise to not say anything more about it till then, though it has often been very difficult in many ways […] I can't go on like this much longer, so do write to me as soon as you can and tell me that you are making some plans for us.' Considering the role of the war in delaying any advancements in her relationship with Val, one has to wonder whether one particular line in Pam's letters came from somewhere very personal 'Darling, why did we go & meet in the middle of a war, such a silly thing for anybody to do,' she wrote. Val did not divorce his wife. When he died in 1960, he left everything to her, suggesting they still had some kind of relationship. Although there is no clear proof, it seems like Hester's relationship with Val ended in 1945 after he could not, or would not, be the husband she wanted. Regardless, the collection of Hester's letters reveal her to have spent the war very much in love, even if it was potentially against her better judgement. She was the perfect candidate to write the Pam letters, perhaps using them to imagine that one day she would be writing to her own fiancé. It was a reality she was ultimately denied.
The Sun
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Harry Potter legend breaks his silence as replacement cast in upcoming HBO TV series
A HARRY Potter fan favourite has addressed his successor being cast in the upcoming TV show. The HBO adaptation has been announcing new stars playing beloved roles in the series. 4 4 4 Among them is Johnny Flynn, who is set to play villainous Lucius Malfoy. Fans know Lucius is the father of Harry's rival Draco Malfoy, as well as a Death Eather serving Lord Voldemort. Johnny, 42, is well-known for Channel 4 sitcom Lovesick, as well as films Stardust and One Life. Meanwhile, Jason Isaacs, who played Lucius in the film series, shared his thoughts on Johnny's casting. Speaking in a video shared on Instagram, Jason said: "I just heard that the great Johnny Flynn will be playing Lucius Malfoy in the new Harry Potter TV series. "Which is sensational news for Harry Potter fans, of which I am one. "Johnny is a brilliant actor. Rather irritatingly, he's a brilliant musician as well and he's a really lovely guy. "We did a film called Operation Mincemeat together and I adored him. As you will too, when you see him in the show. I can't wait to see what he comes up with!" In a reference to Lucius' storyline, Jason added: "So Johnny, if you ever watch this, enjoy yourself. Toy Show star lands major role in Harry Potter Top tip, watch out for those elves. Pointy-eared, backstabbing little b******s, they'll get you. "Have fun, I'll see you at Hogwarts." Another added: "When THE Lucius approved the new Lucius." While a third shared: "Humble as always Jason. The original cast will never ever be replaced but I'm excited to see what the series will be like." The cast also includes screen newcomers Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton as Harry, Ron and Hermione. Legendary actor John Lithgow will be portraying Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Earlier this week, a further nine castings were revealed - including for Molly Weasley and Draco Malfoy. 4
India Today
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Actor Jason Isaacs reacts to Tom Felton's return as Draco in Broadway's Harry Potter
Actor Jason Isaacs, who played Hogwarts school trustee and Draco Malfoy's father Lucius Malfoy in the 'Harry Potter' franchise, has reacted to his on-screen son Tom Felton reprising his role in the upcoming Broadway production 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'. Expressing his excitement on social media, Isaacs said that he has already booked his while sharing a picture of the upcoming play on his Instagram handle, said, "What a birthday present. Can't wait son - that'll be me in the front row with something in my eye. X."advertisementFelton, when asked about his views on the Broadway 'Harry Potter', in an interview with Variety, said, "The most exciting part is to do it live. It took nine months, more or less, to shoot a film, and this is all compact. This is all reimagined into a very loving, new type of story. And I get to be a dad, which is really fun." Isaacs also shared a video on his Instagram handle, reacting to his 'Operation Mincemeat' co-actor Johnny Flynn playing Lucius in the HBO 'Harry Potter' series and said, "It's sensational news for 'Harry Potter' fans, of which I am. Johnny is a brilliant actor. We did a film called 'Operation Mincemeat' together and I adored him, as you will too when you see him in the show."advertisement"I can't wait to see what he comes up with. Johnny, if you ever watch this, enjoy yourself and top tip: Watch out for those elves, those pointy-eared backstabbing little bastards! Have fun. I'll see you in Hogwarts," he captioned, "There's a new folk-music-playing Wizard in town. Thrilled to be passing the keys to Malfoy Manor to Johnny Flynn, a monstrously talented renaissance man. Just have some respect for your elders and leave my hair products in the drawers please."Watch Jason Isaacs' reaction to the new Lucius Malfoy on Broadway: (Credit: Instagram/therealjasonisaacs)The upcoming play's producers, Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender, as quoted by Variety, called 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' a "once-in-a-lifetime excitement", with Felton reprising the character of was last seen in the American science-fiction film 'Altered.'Trending Reel
