I last saw Spymonkey on the Royal stage staggeringly in 2016, and the world and Spymonkey themselves have changed dramatically since then. The production then,
The Complete Deaths (a staging of all Shakespeare's written deaths), was one of their finest moments, certainly the finest I had seen. However, here, returning to the Royal stage so many years later, with fifty percent of that company, their production of Aristophanes'
The Frogs lacks much of the quality of that show and sadly dwells a little too much on life as a Spymonkey member.
So, let's have a quick catch-up, Spymonkey, as it stands, now consists of the magnificent clown Aitor Basauri and his straight man Toby Park. Missing from the fab four of old are Petra Massey, gone to Las Vegas, we are told and, more tellingly, Stephan Kreiss, gone, sadly forever, following his untimely death in 2021. This is where the original story of The Frogs is delved into by Spymonkey as their mourning show, for Stephan, especially. The Frogs tells of Dionysus (Park) and his "lackey" Xanthius (Basauri) and their journey into hades to search for the lost Euripides, however, within their mourning, Spymonkey makes Euripides into Stephan.
As a result, the audience can feel a mixture of prying on two brilliant performers' grief; a feeling of witnessing a large amount of self-indulgence; or, perhaps, if this is your first Spymonkey show, feeling left out in what they are watching. Often during this show, it feels that you need to be with the in-crowd to fully enjoy, or, understand this production, you have to have that key knowledge of Spymonkey's history. That is dangerous to alienate so many potential audience members, however, if the show is crisp, clever, and hysterical, maybe you could get away with it?
Sadly, most of the time, The Frogs simply is not. While the brilliant Basauri can bring a laugh from just a look, and Park brings laughs from his aloofness and delusions of acting grandeur, there is not enough consistency, and often far too much repetitiveness, suggesting a lack of ideas. There is too much treading through old ground and while the show follows the original story most of the time, the storytelling can get lost, when, the whim of the production feels the need to deal with company history once again.
In the middle of this is Jacoba Williams, who, as the third performer, and as a multitude of characters, looks on as Basauri and Park spill their emotions across Spymonkey and Carl Grose's adaptation. You can't help but feel sorry for Williams at times, who, as much a part of this show as she is, plays a very evident third fiddle to the two.
This all reads like a proper downer on The Frogs, and yes, by Spymonkey standards, this is a poor showing, but even when they are less than perfect, they bring a lot of comedy to the stage. From brilliant clowning and neat visual jokes, there is much to love. The addition of several dancing frogs featuring a community cast looks and sounds excellent, but, they feel underused within just this one single scene. Frogs, ironically, feature in all the best scenes of the show, from that community scene, to, the licking of the frogs scene, and Basauri's spectacular end-of-show costume. Sadly, this magic is few and far between.
So, while
The Frogs might represent a low point in Spymonkey's adventures on stage, there is hope that with the pair moving on from the past and this one indulgence, they can return in the future back to the full-fledged crazy form we all love.
As comical as ever at times, but often a little too maudlin for its own good.
⭐⭐⭐
Performance reviewed: Wednesday 24th January 2024 at the Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton.
Spymonkey's The Frogs runs at Royal & Derngate until Saturday 3rd February 2024.
For further details about the Royal & Derngate and to book tickets see their website at http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk
