ORPHEUS opens to stunning reviews at Vienna Volksoper

Spymonkey’s first foray into operetta had its premiere on Saturday. The reviews have been like nothing we’ve ever experienced. WIENER ZEITUNG 22 Jan 2023 “A triumph of comedy… This is how operetta is played: racy, dust-free, modern and colourful – grandiose entertainment of the highest standard. A pure joy!” [DeepL

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THEATRE OF THE FUNNY

SPYMONKEY LAUNCH NEW MANIFESTO AND THREE NEW SHOWS FOR 2023 In celebration of 25 years of making “brilliant virtuoso physical comedy” (BBC R4 Saturday Review), Spymonkey are launching a new manifesto and programme of work for 2023 and beyond. The last three years have seen major changes to the UK’s

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Upcoming Bursary Places

We are committed to supporting the development of the next generation of comedy performers. Our professional training workshops are delivered by the artistic directors and associate artists in the UK and across the world. Participants develop techniques of clowning, comedy, devising and music theatre in a way which is transferable

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Orpheus rehearsals get underway at the Vienna Volksoper

We start work directing our opera production at the Vienna Volksoper this week. Orpheus is designed by Julian Crouch and conducted by Alex Joel, choreographed by Gail Skrela. We’ve been cooking this show up for a while – we began talking to new artistic director Lotte de Beer nearly two

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Spymonkey opera

We can finally reveal a project we’ve been working on for a while: a Spymonkey opera! Jacques Offenbach’s ‘Orpheus in der Underwelt’, opens January 21 2023 at the Volksoper Vienna, part of incoming artistic director Lotte de Beer’s inaugural season. Directed by Toby Park & Aitor Basauri, design by Julian

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Spymonkey Would Like To Meet…

Making new connections for ongoing professional relationships. We have been awarded an Arts Council Project Grant for a new piece of work called ‘Spymonkey Would Like to Meet…’. It’s not a show, or a workshop, or a training opportunity but we hope it will inform all of these in the

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Spymonkey & Black Lives Matter – Statement and Action Plan

INTRODUCTION Lockdown has given all of us a lot of time to think. And there’s been a heck of a lot to think about. George Floyd, BLM, British empire & slavery, Reclaiming the Streets, grinding social exclusion, Brexit fallout, peak Trump (?) and resurgent xenophobic nationalism, all with the incessant

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Spymonkey’s Stephan Kreiss dies aged 59

Spymonkey’s friend, longstanding collaborator and irrepressible clown genius Stephan Kreiss has died. He passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Monday 16th August, following a short illness. Spymonkey’s close collaboration of the core creative ensemble made up of Toby Park, Petra Massey, Aitor Basauri, Stephan Kreiss and designer Lucy Bradridge has

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Vienna & Helsinki autumn workshops

We’ve just added two European dates to our workshop schedule for autumn 2021: Spymonkey Clown, Vienna We’ll be running a 5-day workshop on Spymonkey Clown in Vienna, led by Aitor Basauri, 29th Sept – 3rd Oct. The week will be our first partnership with Vienna Volksoper. Full details here. The

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New Brassmonkey & Tall Stories Bursaries announced

We are announcing a new round of bursary awards for our upcoming workshops in London and Brighton in Autumn 2021. We are committed to supporting the development of the next generation of comedy performers. Our professional training workshops are delivered by the artistic directors and associate artists in the UK

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