SPYMONKEY was founded by Toby Park, Petra Massey and Aitor Basauri in 1997. With their dark, edgy physical comedy rooted ‘somewhere between Monty Python, the Marx Brothers and Samuel Beckett’ (The Houston Chronicle), and a quartet of performers from Spain, Germany and England, Spymonkey have proved to be a truly international phenomenon, enjoyed by and accessible to a wide range of international audiences. They have created six shows to date:
Stiff (1998), a black comedy about undertakers, Total Theatre Award Winner, British Council Showcase of the best of British theatre in 2001, toured to Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Finland, Spain, France, USA, Canada, Mexico, Syria, Ireland, Romania, Czech Republic and Sweden. Cooped (2001, mid-scale version 2005), a gothic romance directed by Cal McCrystal, international tours to Sydney Opera House, Just For Laughs Montreal, Toronto World Stages, Melbourne Comedy Festival, Brighton Festival, Edinburgh Festival. Zumanity - Another Side of Cirque du Soleil (2003-05) resident show at New York New York Hotel Casino, Las Vegas. Spymonkey created the comedy content for this adult burlesque show, seen by half a million people. Bless (2007), about the lives of the saints directed by Cal McCrystal, nominated for 3 Betty Mitchell Awards. Spymonkey’s Moby Dick (2009) directed by Jos Houben & Rob Thirtle, which firmly established them as a mid-scale company, including a run at the Lyric Hammersmith, and toured internationally to Finland, Holland & Belgium. Love In (2011) a self-help cabaret directed by Chris Green, winner Best Comedy Brighton Festival 2011, Udderbelly Southbank. Oedipussy (2012) created with Kneehigh director Emma Rice and writer Carl Grose, toured UK including Royal & Derngate Northampton, Liverpool Playhouse and Lyric Hammersmith. Winner Argus Angel Brighton Festival
Spookshow (2013) a site-specific commission by Showzam Festival Blackpool
Jekyll&Hyde(ish) a co-production with Lyric Hammersmith and Peepolykus, directed by Sean Holmes and written by Joel Horwood. Presented a preview version at Latitude Festival in 2011. The full version is due to open at Manchester Royal Exchange in summer 2014. Screen appearances have included Solstrom for Bravo Cable Network, Australia Broadcasting Company, BBC, Carlton, Just For Laughs galas with George Lopez and William Shatner, and in the Gemini-Award-winning documentary ‘Lovesick’, directed by Lewis Cohen. They have performed as guest acts and hosts in La Clique, The Razzle, Tina C, Miss Behave’s Variety Nighty at the Roundhouse, Time Out’s Alternative Eurovision, Sandi Toksvig’s Christmas Cracker with Ronnie Corbett at the Royal Festival Hall, as well as seasons as hosts with Palazzo in Amsterdam and Stuttgart. Outside of their work as performers with Spymonkey, the company have a vibrant and increasingly over-subscribed educational department, frequently running workshops around the world. They conceived and directed the opening and closing ceremonies of the Unity Festival at the Wales Millennium Centre Cardiff in 2012, and have worked as consultants to a number of companies including Sue MacLaine, Extant, Charlotte Vincent Dance, Neil Filby Company/Ubu-X, Winchester University, Kingston University. They have been the subject of academic study by undergraduates of Rose Bruford (dissertations by Smari Gunnarsson and Mathew Baynton), University of York, University of Northampton, as well as PhD doctorate work by Lucy Amsden of Glasgow University, and Laura Cockett of Liverpool University. Publications examining the company's work include Demian Reis's examination of modern clowning 'Caçadores de Risos' (in Portuguese!) and Stephe Pritchard's study of contemporary dramatic practice. They are an associate company of the National Independent Schools Drama Association (NISDA), and appear on a number of GCSE and A level syllabuses as an exceptional example of devised physical theatre, clown and comedy. Work in progress includes a stage version of Jamie Rix's BAFTA-winning 'Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids'; a version of Wagner's Ring Cycle (for two singers) for the Skaala Company, Finland; a TV sit-com with writers Abigail Dooley and Emma Edwards and filmmaker Chris Curtis; a coproduction of 'The Sister Brothers' with Phil Nichol and the Comedians Theatre Company; a production of Rabelais' Gargantua for Teatro Arriaga, Bilbao; a site-specific piece for under-7s in development with Hijack Brighton. The four core members are engaged in a wide range of other creative projects. Aitor Basauri is one of the leading teachers of clown and physical comedy in the world. His directing credits include Discombobulated for Publick Transport (UK). Toby Park works as a composer and musical director, collaborating with amongst others, Improbable Theatre, Guy Dartnell, Tom Morris, Mimbre, Northumberland Lights and Graeme Gilmour. He was Associate Director with Maria Aitken of 'Telling Tales' by Georgia Pritchett in development for ATG. Petra Massey appeared as a regular in BBC TV’s Hyperdrive and Miranda, was one of the original cast creating Office Party at Barbican and Pleasance London, and directs the UK companies Slightly Fat Features and Wet Picnic. Stephan Kreiss appears in Jedermann at the Salzburger Festspiel in August 2013, directed by Julian Crouch, and directs for Palazzo.
