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.

The cultural and linguistic diversity of the group and their unique blend of physical comedy and explosive surrealism has won them a deserved international reputation: at the time of writing they have performed in 17 countries from the US, Canada and Mexico to Syria and Taiwan. International promoters spotted early on the opportunity that Spymonkey’s work offers: original work that simultaneously represents the best in contemporary British theatre and rich comic entertainment. In the words of Patrick Brazier, then director of the British Council in Damascus, Spymonkey are a "superlative example to the world that there is more to British theatrical culture than just Shakespeare."

SPYMONKEY TIMELINE
1997 Aitor, Petra and Toby meet while working with the Swiss action-theatre group Karl's Kühne Gassenschau in Zurich. With Paul Weilenmann (their former boss at KKG) the quartet conceive Spymonkey atop a French mountain. In December they work for a week with inspirational comedy writer/director Cal McCrystal at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

1998 'Stiff' is created with Cal and designer Lucy Bradridge over 6 weeks at the tiny Actors' Creative Training Studio in Brighton, and premieres at the Komedia Theatre on December 14th. It briefly tours England and Switzerland before the company disperses to other projects in 1999.

2000 In April Stephan Kreiss replaces Paul as the fourth member of Spymonkey. A reworked version of 'Stiff' tours Switzerland, Austria and the UK. One of the major hits that year of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, it wins wide critical acclaim and a Total Theatre Award, and launches them onto the international festival and touring circuit.

2001 'Stiff' performs at: the Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, as part of the London International Mime Festival; Riverside Studios London; the US Comedy Festival Aspen and Houston Texas (winner of the Houston Press Award, best touring show 2001); the British Council Showcase Edinburgh; tours to Hungary, Finland, Spain, Mexico, France, Ireland and Syria.'Cooped', created with the same creative team as 'Stiff', opens with a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe and tours UK.

2002 'Cooped' at the Purcell Room, in the London Mime Festival, at BAC London and tours Hungary and Finland. 'Stiff' tours to Canada, Taiwan, Romania, Czech Republic, Greece, France; Double Bill of 'Stiff' and 'Cooped' at the Paramount Comedy Festival, Brighton. Cirque du Soleil make their invitation to Cal and Spymonkey to create the comedy material for the adult cabaret they are producing in Las Vegas.

2003 Double Bill at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank Centre, in the London Mime Festival; tour of Switzerland. Rehearsals for 'Zumanity - Another side of Cirque du Soleil' in Montreal and Las Vegas; Shooting of Cirque Images' 'Solstrom' series for Bravo Cable Channel; 'Zumanity' opens in its own purpose-built theatre at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, in August.

2004 'Zumanity' continues its run in Las Vegas. Cirque Images 'Solstrom' airs in Canada, USA and Australia.

2005 The feature-length documentary 'Lovesick', about the creation of 'Zumanity', by Emmy-Award-winner Lewis Cohen, is aired on Bravo Cable Channel in April. Spymonkey's last 'Zumanity' performance in August. The reworked version of 'Cooped' opens in October for a sell-out run, hosted by One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre in Calgary, Canada. Performances at Arosa Comedy Festival, Switzerland, in December.

2006 'Cooped' tours to Athens, Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Comedy Festival, and is relaunched in the UK with sell-out performances at the Theatre Royal, Brighton Festival, and at the Edinburgh Fringe, with Glynis Henderson Productions becoming our management company. Development begins towards a Spymonkey comedy series for the BBC. Spymonkey TV appearances at the Melbourne Oxfam Gala, and on Granada's 'Comedy Cuts'. Work begins on the new show 'Bless' in Brighton.