We are delighted to announce our next opera project at the Vienna Volksoper: a new adaptation of Gilbert & Sullivan’s THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE.
Following the success of ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD which has now enjoyed three sell-out seasons at the Volksoper since its debut in 2023, we are turning our Opera of the Funny guns on those giants of English comic opera, WS Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan.
Toby and Aitor have invited Viennese writer and dramaturg Jennifer Weiss to create a new adaptation of Gilbert & Sullivan’s most acclaimed work, in German and English.
The project re-unites Spymonkey directing team Toby Park and Aitor Basauri with designer Julian Crouch and choreographer Gail Skrela.
We are also delighted to be working again with Spymonkey co-founder Petra Massey, returning from her long-term secondment with Spiegelworld Las Vegas for the first time since 2019. Petra and fellow UK clown Lucy Hopkins play the great-grand-daughters of Gilbert and Sullivan, keen to reclaim their ancestors’ radical topsy-turvy spirit from asphyxiation by English provincial am-dram hum-drum traditionalism. Marcel Mohab plays a cultural minister with an axe to grind, and Katharina Pizzera blunts it with her steely gaze of wither.
A shoal of sub-aquatic policemen, skull-and-cross-bone-dressing pirates, a straight-talking nursemaid, mis-firing cannon, plank-walking, parrot-talking, up-staging, keel-hauling, kraken-waking, prank-pulling mayhem for lovers of anarchy, laughter and shellfish.
Booking and performance details on the Volksoper website here.
In the 19th century, Penzance was one of the most idyllic and peaceful little towns on the British isle. Pirates… here?! The kings of English operetta, the writing duo Gilbert & Sullivan, had a knack for humorously subverting their audience’s expectations. With this satirical and subversive “recipe,” they created one hit after another.
The rather absurd plot of The Pirates of Penzance would have done proud even to the British humor of Monty Python back in the 19th century: A young man is not trained as a pilot, but instead apprenticed to the Pirates of Penzance because his hard-of-hearing governess confuses the words “pilot” and “pirate.” Upon turning 21, Frederic should have completed his apprenticeship—if only he hadn’t been born in a leap year! According to pirate logic, that makes him just five years old… From this existential dilemma unfolds a love story between the young pirate apprentice and Mabel, a young lady from the British military aristocracy…
The physical comedy duo Spymonkey scored a hit with Orpheus in the Underworld at the Volksoper, winning over both audience and critics. With The Pirates of Penzance, they turn their attention to the most British of all operettas!
In German and English language with German and English surtitles.
DIE PIRATEN VON PENZANCE at Vienna Volksoper
Währinger Strasse 78, 1090 Vienna Information: +43/1/514 44-3670
Premiere – Fri 27th March 2026
Thur 2nd April
Mon 6th April
Fri 10th April
Tue 14th April
Fri 17th April
Mon 20th April
Sun 26th April
Sat 2nd May
Booking and performance details on the Volksoper website here.
“Hard to remember the last time we had so much fun. Hilariously funny turbo-charged wit.” Kurier
“Spymonkey at the helm of this vibrant, tongue-in-cheek comedy-tanker… A veritable hit” vol.at
“Spymonkey, alias directors Aitor Basauri and Toby Park, pull off a balancing act between exuberant slapstick and astute social commentary… You just have to look at Shakespeare and Monty Python to know that the British can do both theatre and satire like no other nation. Spymonkey can do both: the opulent hustle and bustle on stage (Julian Crouch) blends retro-fitted theatrical staging (the manually operated waves in the background!), contemporary satire (German text adaptation by Jennifer Gisela Weiss) and fascinating movement techniques such as a ballet of the wind sprites (choreography: Gail Skrela) into an entertaining jumble… The crown for the queen of offbeat slapstick goes to Petra Massey, who, as Sally Sullivan, is reminiscent of a Maria Hofstätter playing a hyperactive, nymphomaniacal Bridget Jones.” Der Standard
“Rarely is there such hearty laughter in an opera house as there was on this evening.” (Kleine Zeitung, March 29, 2026)
“All those involved share in this success, fundamentally, of course, Gilbert & Sullivan. First and foremost, there is Sullivan’s music, who wrote lavishly fine music for the light, breezy, and delightfully absurd operettas of the duo. The Volksoper Orchestra also played its part, performing under the direction of Chloe Rooke at the highest level throughout the entire evening, with tireless enjoyment in the process.” (Die Presse, March 29, 2026)
“The Spymonkey directing duo Aitor Basauri and Toby Park deliver, with Gilbert & Sullivan’s operetta, a wildly over-the-top all-encompassing stage punchline. Everything is taken to task—not just opera, which is easy and something every operetta does, but also stage design, the monarchy, the Volksoper and its audience, the tedious ongoing debate about Regietheater, and, fittingly, the incompetence of cultural leadership.” (Kurier, March 29, 2026)
“It is an endless sequence of witty ideas, brought to life by the ensemble with palpable delight in this playful balancing act. The jokes even extend into the orchestra, and the young conductor Chloe Rooke at the podium received great acclaim.” (Kurier, March 29, 2026)
“No, nothing should be taken seriously this evening—and that is such a highly welcome change from all the far greater absurdities out there that one leaves for home delighted, after the artistic director has been fired across the stage from a cannon—and then cries ‘You’re fired!’ to the entire audience.” (Kurier, March 29, 2026)
“What this entertaining production achieves, despite countless slapstick moments and pointed parodies, is that it neither betrays the work itself nor its performers. A humorous evening that will likely take the hearts of the Viennese by storm.” (Kronen Zeitung, March 29, 2026)
“Superbly crafted and delightfully entertaining production: A stroke of genius.”
“The concept works brilliantly… Petra Massey and Lucy Hopkins as the great-granddaughters of Gilbert & Sullivan are instant audience favourites.”
“Spymonkey, alias directors Aitor Basauri and Toby Park, pull off a balancing act between exuberant slapstick and astute social commentary… You just have to look at Shakespeare and Monty Python to know that the British can do both theatre and satire like no other nation. And Spymonkey deliver both: the opulent hustle and bustle on stage (Julian Crouch) blends retro-fitted theatrical staging (the manually operated waves in the background!), contemporary satire (German text adaptation by Jennifer Gisela Weiss) and fascinating movement techniques such as a ballet of the wind sprites (choreography: Gail Skrela) into an entertaining jumble…
“The crown for the queen of offbeat slapstick goes to Petra Massey, who, as Sally Sullivan, is reminiscent of a Maria Hofstätter playing a hyperactive, nymphomaniacal Bridget Jones.”
“After the success of their Orpheus in the Underworld, Spymonkey have returned to the Volksoper and now once again deliver top-notch comic and laugh-out-loud therapy with the Gilbert & Sullivan classic.
“Delightful and lovingly rendered, ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ take Vienna by storm!”
“Spymonkey at the helm of this vibrant, satirical comedy battleship… A veritable hit.”
“Hard to remember the last time we had so much fun.”
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email: info@spymonkey.co.uk
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