Spymonkey (Petra Massey)

Massey's Spymonkey work includes physical-comedy productions such as Cooped, Stiff, Bless, Oedipussy, Moby Dick, and The Complete Deaths. These shows use clowning and ensemble disruption to rework genres ranging from Gothic melodrama to Shakespearean tragedy.

Spymonkey was formed in 1995 by Petra Massey, Toby Park, Aitor Basauri, and Stephan Kreiss. The company later became based in Brighton and toured its physical-comedy productions internationally.

Her work combines character comedy, slapstick, direct audience contact, dance, and deliberate theatrical failure. In Spymonkey shows, the performers' competing stage personalities are often as important as the story they are supposedly presenting.

Spymonkey currently describes Massey as a founding associate, while Toby Park and Aitor Basauri serve as artistic directors. Her long association with the company remains central to productions including Cooped and The Complete Deaths.