We want to send a huge congratulations to alumni company, SpitLip, for their success in the 2024 award season with Operation Mincemeat!
Two of the SpitLip team performed in FUSE International (formerly International Youth Arts Festival) back in 2012-13. Felix Hagen, one quarter of the SpitLip team, recorded the below to highlight their support for small arts venues and organisations that support artists at the early stages of their journey. As Felix says in his video (below), it took
‘year upon year of endless writing, rewriting and rewriting again, making mistakes, messing up, trying stuff out, realising it’s rubbish, learning from every single mistake, and honing our craft, honing our creative voice until we were able to get to the point where we could open on the West End, and not a single part of that would have been possible without organisations like Creative Youth’.
Felix goes on to speak about the importance of space, time and funding for small companies at the start of their creative process, particularly against such the challenging backdrop the industry currently faces.
Watch the full video:
Operation Mincemeat by SpitLip is about to celebrate its first full year in the West End, and has taken London by storm, receiving six Laurence Olivier Award nominations, winning two, which include Best New Musical and Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical for Jak Malone, and Best New Musical at the What’s On Stage Awards.
An early version of the show was first performed in 2019 and since then it has been staged at the New Diorama Theatre, Southwark Playhouse and Riverside Studios. The transfer to the Fortune Theatre London has now received 64 five star reviews, making it the best reviewed show in West End history.
Founder and Chair of the Charity, Robin Hutchison, stated how
‘Creative Youth was delighted to see the well deserved success of Operation Mincemeat at this year’s Olivier Awards and also their paying tribute to the importance of the Fringe. We are particularly pleased that two of the SpitLip team participated in our FUSE International festival (formerly IYAF) in its, and their, early years. Talent needs opportunities and space to grow because when you do ‘brilliant’ things can happen.’
Tickets – https://www.operationmincemeat.com
