Spymonkey are excited to offer more affordable workshops and webinars in the new year. As a result of the success of the recent webinar ‘Fearless, Funny and Female’, which shone a light on Spymonkey’s Petra Massey, we have decided to also shine the spotlight on Artistic Director Aitor Basauri and Associate Artists Stephan Kreiss and Lucy Bradridge. These will be... View Article
Spymonkey’s HD version of COOPED/HYSTERIA (2019) has been selected as a finalist in the ONCOMM awards, the UK Off West-End online awards, in the category of Best Pre-Lockdown Recording. The show was recorded live in June 2019 at the Liverpool Playhouse. Cooped tours under the title HYSTERIA in the USA. Full credits and information here. The HD recording is available... View Article
As our little prezzie to you all, the FullHD version of SPYMONKEY’S CHRISTMAS CAROL, recorded live at Liverpool Playhouse in 2019 will be FREE TO VIEW everywhere in the world this Sunday 20th for 5 days. We saved the best till last! And lord knows it’s needed right now! The toastiest Holiday Covid Emergency Physical Comedy Aid Package of them... View Article
We would so love to know how to plan for 2021. No deal is going to make it impossible for us to exist, as a major part of the company is non-UK. Some have Leave To Remain, but some of us are not eligible for that, as they’ve always been based out of the country and come to the UK... View Article
…is a Spymonkey Christmas prezzie! What The Dickens?! Created by Spymonkey with illustrator and former children’s laureate Chris Riddell, this is a card game to warm the cockles of your heart! Fun for all the family, and featuring favourite characters from Charles Dickens’ best-loved story. The rules are based on the English card-game favourite ‘Old Maid’. Each pack contains 49... View Article
Some good news this morning: Spymonkey are receiving emergency Arts Council of England funds to allow us to continue to operate through the COVIDeousness. We’d like to thank all the #NationalLottery players who take a punt every week, as well as Arts Council of England, for stepping up to plate during the crisis. We’ll be using the funds to cover... View Article
Business workshop and project ideas MOT for theatre-makers. Hello from Spymonkey on lockdown! We are excited to be bringing you a series of workshops and online discussion groups to lift spirits, develop skills and help you to move forward with your current works-in-progress projects. We will host a series of Wednesday Workshops and Friday Garage of Broken Stupid Ideas sessions,... View Article
by Josie Cerise, Spymonkey 2020 bursary recipient ‘Naïve enough to start, stubborn enough to finish’ Ross Edgley, an extreme athlete’s mantra before starting a new physical challenge. I started my ‘clowning journey’ (how very yoga) 12 years ago, I was a naïve acting student who thought I would be really funny straight away. Guess what? I wasn’t. It takes patience... View Article
WEBINAR
Lucy Bradridge: Designing for Idiots – Weds 3rd Feb 4.30pm (UK time)
Lucy Bradridge has been associate artist with Spymonkey for more than 20 years, working on every show the company has made, and her visual sensibility has heavily informed the company’s highly visual sense of style. In this illustrated conversation with Spymonkey managing AD Toby Park, she talks about her creative process, influences, how she came to specialise in designing for physical comedy, advice for people starting out, and what a designer looks for in making funny theatre funny. 90 mins. Cap 40 people. On Zoom.
Tickets £12/ £15 / £20 depending on affordability
Stephan Kreiss: Funny & German – Tues 16th Feb 4.30pm (UK time)
The job description, for re-casting the part of undertaker Udo Keller in Spymonkey’s inaugural show ‘Stiff’, began a 20-year creative partnership between Spymonkey and Stephan Kreiss, one quarter of the Spymonkey ensemble. The Vienna-based virtuoso prat-faller, slapstickeur extraordinaire and world-class idiot will be in conversation with Spymonkey managing AD Toby Park, talking about his life in physical comedy: mime, illusion, air guitar and nosebleeds.
90 mins. Cap 40 people. On Zoom.
Tickets £12/ £15 / £20 depending on affordability
WORKSHOP
Arts Council England Project Grants – In Depth – Tues 23rd Feb 9.30am (UK time)
With Producer Emily Coleman
*PLEASE NOTE THE DATE HAS CHANGED FROM ORIGINAL LISTING*
This session will explore each section of the application in detail using examples from Spymonkey’s successful grants, as well as a guide to uploading your application onto ACE’s Grantium portal.
“I am really happy to report that ten days after taking part in the online course I submitted our application for a (under £15,000) grant. Five weeks after that we received the news that our application for a new (covid safe online children’s series: Three Loud Knocks) had been successful. I am sure the Spymonkey course and Emily’s advice and clear communication of her knowledge paid a part in our success. I would strongly recommend this course to anyone who hasn’t attempted a ACE grant application before. Emily totally demystifies the process. It’s a great course and has proved to be great value.” Nicky McRoy – joint artistic director of Beggars Belief Collective
4 hours. Cap 20 people. On Zoom.
Tickets £35 / £50 / £70 depending on affordability
Aitor Basauri: Turning points – Tues 23rd Feb 4.30pm (UK time)
Life is a series of turning points and cross roads. In this webinar conversation with Spymonkey managing AD Toby Park, Aitor talks about his childhood dream of becoming an actor, the succession of turning points that carved out his life in physical comedy and his newest dream … to become a pro surfer!
“Like in clowning, in surfing you know the outcome of your action, you will fall from the wave, the laughter will die, in the wave you will have to go back to the line up, to the break, to the peak to wait to catch the next wave. In clown you will go back to the zoom to wait for the laugh to ride it all the way to the end …To leave the audience satisfied and wanting more…”
90 mins. Cap 40 people. On Zoom.
Tickets £12/ £15 / £20 depending on affordability
Spymonkey Under the Influence – Tues 2nd March 4.30pm (UK time)
Spymonkey are excited to offer an exciting new webinar with Spymonkey Artistic Directors Toby Park and Aitor Basauri who take stock, with the help of some choice illustrative clips and images, on the influences on their work: from those whose practices have steered their lives such as the great clown teacher Philippe Gaulier, Spymonkey director Cal McCrystal, Swiss action heroes KKG, through to greats of physical comedy – Keaton, Normand, Marx Bros, Sellers, Python, Conway & Korman.
90 mins. Cap 40 people. On Zoom.
Tickets £12/ £15 / £20 depending on affordability