Operation Mincemeat has been at the Fortune Theatre since 2023 and is still booking, now to Saturday 29 May 2027. It’s also one of the hardest tickets in the West End to get cheaply, which is why the show runs five separate schemes for cheaper seats, each with its own rules. Most people only ever find the lottery.
A note on dates: the ticket seller’s page gives 29 May 2027 in its header, but a paragraph further down the same page still says the show is “booking to February 2027” after its “eighteenth” extension. The header is the newer one, which fits a trade report in September of a nineteenth extension to 29 May, so go by that, and check the booking calendar when you buy.
Five ways to pay less
The lottery is the one everyone knows. Winners are drawn every other Friday and emailed a link to buy a pair of £30 tickets, which has to be used within 24 hours. The tickets are only for Wednesday to Saturday performances in the following two weeks, and you choose your seats on a first come, first served basis once you’re in.
The ballot covers the performances that sell out fastest, which are Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays. It’s free to enter, with one entry per person and up to six tickets if you win, and it reopens each time the show extends. The next ballot date was still to be announced when we looked.
Day tickets are sold in person at the box office, a limited number every Wednesday to Saturday from 10.30am, at £59.50 on a first come, first served basis. The same £59.50 price applies to exclusive Upper Circle seats offered to people on the official mailing list.
Groups of 10 or more pay £40.50 a ticket, groups of 30 or more £30.50, and 100 or more is by application. And there are two £10-off-per-ticket schemes for parties of six or more: a family rate, which needs three family members in the party and photo ID with proof of address at the box office (the theatre can refuse entry if it can’t verify you), and a loyalty rate for people who’ve seen the show at the Fortune at least twice, for which you send two booking reference numbers. The show says some fans have been more than thirty times, and a few over 300.
There is also a ballot for Christmas 2027 tickets if you’re planning that far ahead.
What you need to know before you go
It runs about 2 hours 35 minutes including a 20 minute interval, Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm with matinees at 3pm on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The box office opens at 10am on performance days.
On age, the show says all ages are welcome and recommends it for 5 and over, while ATG, the ticket seller, sets 5 as the minimum for entry. Every child needs their own seat, and anyone under 16 must be with an adult over 18 and sit next to them. Loud noises, flashing lights, smoke and strobe-like effects are used.
The Fortune is one of Covent Garden’s smallest theatres, so the practical points matter. There’s no cloakroom and no storage for large suitcases (the theatre points to a luggage storage partner a few minutes away), and payment at the bar is contactless, Google Pay or Apple Pay. For access, register with ATG’s access scheme online or call 0333 009 5399. The show also runs access performances, listed on its access page.
A few things people ask
It isn’t connected to the Netflix film about the same wartime deception, though the cast says Colin Firth has seen the show and is a fan. It won the 2024 Olivier Award for Best New Musical and has since won a Tony on Broadway. The superfans are known as Mincefluencers, and there’s a cast bingo: complete a line and the theatre staff give you a badge. Schools and youth groups can perform an expanded-cast version for performers aged 19 and under, so all 87 characters can be played by a cast of more than a hundred.
The Fortune Theatre is at 29 Russell Street, London WC2B 5HH, in Covent Garden. For group bookings of ten or more you can also call 020 7206 1174.
Operation Mincemeat
- Address
- Fortune Theatre, 29 Russell Street, London WC2B 5HH
- Nearest
- Covent Garden. The box office opens at 10am on performance days
- Hours
- Monday to Saturday 7.30pm, with matinees on Tuesday and Saturday at 3pm. Running time about 2 hours 35 minutes including a 20 minute interval. Booking until Saturday 29 May 2027, though a paragraph on the ATG page still says February 2027
- Booking
- Through ATG Tickets. Cheaper schemes are lottery (drawn every other Friday, Wednesday to Saturday performances), ballot (Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays, free to enter), in-person day tickets from 10.30am Wednesday to Saturday, groups, and family and loyalty rates
- Price
- From the lottery at 30 pounds a pair to day tickets and mailing list Upper Circle seats at 59.50. Groups of 10 or more 40.50 a ticket and groups of 30 or more 30.50. Family and loyalty rates take 10 pounds off per ticket for parties of 6 or more
- Standing
- The Olivier Award-winning Best New Musical of 2024, a comedy about the real 1943 deception that helped the Allied invasion of Sicily, now also a Tony winner on Broadway, playing in one of Covent Garden’s smallest theatres
How to get in
Recommended for ages 5 and over, with ATG setting 5 as the minimum. Every child needs their own seat and under-16s must sit with an adult over 18. Loud noises, flashing lights, smoke and strobe-like effects are used. There is no cloakroom and large suitcases cannot be stored. Family tickets may require photo ID with proof of address at the box office.
Where to go next
Cheap theatre tickets covers lotteries and day seats across the West End, and the best West End shows covers what else is on.
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club has its own £25 lottery, and Witness for the Prosecution is the other long-running show with an unusually detailed access page.
Questions we get asked
How do you get cheap tickets for Operation Mincemeat?
The show runs five schemes. A lottery drawn every other Friday offers a pair of £30 tickets for Wednesday to Saturday performances in the next two weeks, to be bought within 24 hours. A free ballot covers Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays. A limited number of in-person day tickets at £59.50 go on sale from 10.30am Wednesday to Saturday. Groups of 10 or more pay £40.50 a ticket, and family and loyalty rates take £10 off per ticket for parties of six or more.
How long is Operation Mincemeat booking until?
The ticket seller's page header says Saturday 29 May 2027, after what a trade report called the nineteenth extension in September 2026. A paragraph further down the same page still says February 2027, which is out of date. Check the booking calendar when you buy.
How long is Operation Mincemeat?
About 2 hours 35 minutes including a 20 minute interval. Evening performances are Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm, with matinees at 3pm on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Is Operation Mincemeat suitable for children?
The show says patrons of all ages are welcome and recommends it for ages 5 and over, while ATG sets 5 as the minimum age for entry. Every child needs their own seat, and anyone under 16 must be accompanied by an adult over 18 and seated with them. Loud noises, flashing lights, smoke and strobe-like effects feature.
Is Operation Mincemeat based on the Netflix film?
No. It is based on the same true events, the 1943 deception that disguised the Allied invasion of Sicily, but it is not connected to the film. The show says Colin Firth has seen it and is a fan.
Does the Fortune Theatre have a cloakroom?
No, and large suitcases cannot be stored during the show. The theatre points visitors to a luggage storage partner a few minutes' walk away. Payment at the bar is contactless, Google Pay or Apple Pay.
How do you book accessible seats for Operation Mincemeat?
Register for access benefits with ATG online, or call the access line on 0333 009 5399. The show also runs access performances, which are listed on its access page.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 413 in the guide.
Last checked 10 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
