Company History

Spitz & Co was formed in 2014 by Susie Donkin and Pauline Morel after meeting at a Spymonkey .workshop led by Aitor Basauri.

Their first show “GLORIATOR” is a two woman version of the Hollywood film Gladiator, starring French actress Gloria Delaneuf.  It has toured all over the UK, including many rural tours, festivals,  and a Christmas run at the Theatre Royal Plymouth’s Drum.

The follow-up show “GLORILLA” (or “Gloria In the Mist“) is about Gloria’s life-changing experience with the gorillas of the Kungalunga Jungle , and has also toured all over the UK.

“LES GLORIABLES” is the third and final show in the Gloria Delaneuf trilogy, inspired by Victor Hugo’s classic novel, Les Miserables.  As well as going out on rural and theatre touring, it was commissioned by  Without Walls and Seachange Arts as an outdoor show and has played at Outdoor Arts festivals throughout the UK.

Recently Susie has been collaborating with Joe Reeve – an Elvis impersonator and comedy writer/performer also from Stroud.  Together they created “ELVIS BLUE HAWAII CHRISTMAS” for the Stroud Subscription Rooms.   With support from Gloucester Culture Trust they have now adapted the show – “ELVIS in BLUE HAWAII” – for rural touring and outdoor performances from March 2022 onwards.

BIOGRAPHIES

SUSIE DONKIN

Susie is a comedy writer/performer.  She was a member of the sketch group Bearded Ladies (Radio 4, BBC2, Channel 4), and has been involved in BAFTA winning “Horrible Histories” (CBBC) as both a writer and a performer since the first series.  She has created and performs in all of Spitz & Co’s shows.  Her first book “Zeus is A Dick” was published by Hodder Studio in November 2020, and the follow-up “The Good, The Bard and The Ugly” also published by Hodder came out in August 2023.

JOE REEVE

Joe is a musician, comedy performer and popular Elvis impersonator.  As Gloucestershire’s Premiere Elvis Tribute Act he has performed all over the country everywhere from private parties to Blackpool’s Ballroom.

 

PAULINE MOREL

Pauline is an actress and producer. She was awarded a “Gold Medal” in Drama at the Conservatoire National de Région in Troyes and went on to run her own theatre company in Paris. Her clown training with Nose to Nose, Gerry Flanagan, Franki Anderson, Spymonkey, and Mick Barnfather.

Associate artists

ANGUS BARR (Director) is artistic director of Publick Transport whose productions include ‘Discombobulated’, ‘Very Hard Times’, ‘The Dept. of Smelling Pistakes’ and ’20,000 Leagues Under the Office’.  Over the years he has collaborated with Desperate Men, Gonzo Moose, and Ridiculusmus. His solo show “Ukele Banjo Warrior” is currently touring.

RINA VERGANO (Director/Dramaturg) is a Bristol-based playwright and dramaturg with a background in European theatre-making, specialising in new work for younger and family audiences. Her work has been developed and/or commissioned by the egg theatre, Grid Iron, Tobacco Factory Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Ferment @ BOV, Trestle Theatre Unmasked, Polka Theatre, Show of Strength, The Theatre Orchard, The Holland Festival, Vitrage Women’s Theatre Company (Amsterdam). She was a Leverhulme Scholar on the egg’s Incubator 2016, and believes in theatre for the people by the people, and in taking live theatre into non-theatre spaces.

GREG BANKS (Director) is a writer and director who has has written over thirty original scripts many of which are currently being produced at Theatres and other venues  throughout The States and Canada. Some are also available through ‘Plays For Young Audiences’.  In his work the audience is not just a passive observer,  that they are acknowledged by the actors and that the story being told is shared by everyone in the room.

AITOR BASAURI (Associate Director) is joint artistic director of internationally renowned clown company Spymonkey with whom he also performs. He is a regular tutor at the Philippe Gaulier School in Paris, and leads Spymonkey clown workshops all over the world. He is one of the most eagerly sought-after teachers in the field.

SUE CONDIE (Designer) is a Stroud-based theatre designer with a wealth of experience from “Aladdin” at the Everyman Theatre Cheltenham to “A Midsummer Nights’ Dream” in the round at Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough. She is a talented, innovative artist and excellent collaborator who immediately understood the homespun ethos of “Gloriator”.

 

We would like to thank the following people and organisations for their invaluable help:
Abigail Collins, Tweedy, Natasha Bolonkin, Isla Craik, Thomas Baxandall, Pepa Zelada Tomé, Elena Montobbio, Emma Bettridge, Carrie Rhys-Davies, Sarah Blowers, Russell Hancock, Lina B. Frank, Rina Vergano, Gregg Banks, Ed Rapley, Anita Taylor, Bristol Old Vic, Tobacco Factory Theatres, Theatre Bristol, The Painswick Centre, Stroud District Council (The Subscription Rooms)