Jack Michael Stacey and Matthew Howell are co-writers of Spy Movie: The Play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
This hilarious parody of Bond movies and fringe theatre promises an hour of fun, silliness, and laughter. The show follows a frustrated screenwriter who invites an audience of producers to a one-night-only showing of her spy movie masterpiece, using creative, low-budget tricks to capture the essence of a Hollywood action movie.
Spy Movie: The Play is a collaboration between Stacey and Howell, both alumni of Mischief Theatre. The show combines their love for fringe theatre and Hollywood movies, particularly the Bond franchise.
Audiences can expect a unique blend of comedy, action, and theatrical ingenuity.
Spy Movie: The Play runs from July 31st to August 26th (excluding the 6th, 13th, and 20th) at Pleasance Courtyard, with performances at 12:00. Tickets are available now.
You’re bringing Spy Movie: The Play to Pleasance Courtyard at Edinburgh Fringe. What can you tell us about the show?
Jack: SPY MOVIE: The Play! Is… The Greatest Spy Movie (n)Ever Made!
Matt: It is about a screenwriter (Emily Waters) staging their epic Hollywood blockbuster script as low-budget play after the producer (Matthew Howell) fails to find funding for the movie. The play-within-the-play stars an Actress (Jo Hartland) as Jane Blonde, a super spy, conquering the forces of EVIW (Every Villain in World) in a race against time to save the world.
The unique thing about our show is that the audience can witness two shows at the same time; he Play of the characters who are trying to stage the movie and the movie itself, brought to life on stage using all the cheap tricks at their disposal, no expense not spared. Imagine a blockbuster Hollywood action movie shoved into a tiny basement theatre in the heart of Edinburgh. Can’t? Well, come and see the show!
The show is a parody of Bond movies and fringe theatre. How did you come up with the concept for Spy Movie: The Play?
Matt: Jack and I met while working on The Play That Goes Wrong (West End), and we started writing together in 2019. Since then, we’ve written multiple projects, including The New Musketeers (Published by Methuen) and Section 13, a sitcom pilot that did pretty well in the BAFTA Rocliffe competition, and inspired us to write SPY MOVIE: The Play! when we were first offered a slot to stage a show at The Hope Theatre in London.
Jack: Although a parody of the spy genre, SPY MOVIE: the Play! is born of a combination of our mutual love of spy movies and our varied and often hilarious experience in staging shoe-string budget fringe shows. If you love genre film, or you’ve ever dreamt of making a movie, staging a play, or been party to a dream bigger than your capabilities or budget allow, our show will
resonate with you. We want to show how, no matter what your budget, at the heart of any blockbuster movie or low-budget theatre show, the most powerful tool at a creative’s disposal is imagination, and we ask our audience to use the limitless budget of their minds to imagine a Hollywood-scale epic unfolding before their very eyes in a pokey theatre in Edinburgh.
Matt: After getting some excellent 4-star (Reviews Hub, Broadway World, Broadway Baby) and 5-star (West End Best Friend) reviews at The Hope, we decided to approach The Pleasance, where we were lucky enough to be offered a slot at our favourite venue at the fringe!
Spy Movie: The Play uses creative, low-budget tricks to capture the essence of a Hollywood action movie. Can you share some examples of these tricks and how they enhance the performance?
Jack: One of the things we wanted to do with SPY MOVIE: The Play! was to have only the budget and capabilities that our characters would have at our disposal whilst trying to stage an epic cinematic masterpiece on an Edinburgh fringe stage.
Matt: This means we ask the audience to fill in the gaps and use their imaginations until their heads ache. Our show is suitable for ages 9 to 99, and we encourage people of all ages, fans of the genre and newcomers of all ages to come to the show to revel in the joy that is poking fun at fringe theatre and the movie business. We use party poppers for million-dollar explosions, cardboard cutouts for scenery rolling past during epic car chases with toy cars, and Barbie dolls in place of our actors for wide shots and stunts.
Jack: This freedom to do anything on stage means that the possibilities for the story are endless, and we deem nothing as impossible, including even going into space in an epic finale that rivals any big-budget Hollywood movie.
How has your experience with Mischief Theatre influenced your work on this show?
Jack: Nearly all of the company has worked with Mischief Theatre, and our experience with them has been invaluable in learning how to approach comedy. But, as we were happy to see reviewers pick up on in the show’s first run, our style is very different from the Mischief shows. The joy of a ‘Goes Wrong’, for example, is what fails, whereas what we want to delight audiences with our show is how the completely impossible ‘Goes Right’ (to hilarious effect).
The show aims to appeal to a broad audience, from comedy fans to stressed parents. What do you hope different audience members will take away from the performance?
Jack: We wanted to make a show that was as enjoyable to watch for a 9-year- old as it was for a 99-year-old. This means there are jokes of all kinds, from slapstick, impossibly fast multi-rolling, and big visual gags to wordplay, puns, and groan-worthy dad jokes.
Matt: Whether you’re an avid fan of the Bond movies and will love all of the in-jokes, or you want to come and laugh at some classic farce and slapstick, we hope this show has something for everyone, no matter their taste or age! It’s a joke-a-minute race across the world with impossible stunts, an improbable plot, and implausible characters, full of energy, laughs and SEX SEX SEX!*
Jack: *Suitable for the whole family.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see Spy Movie: The Play?
Jack: If you want to see a serious drama, pick another show.
Matt: But if you want to see something fun that’ll make you laugh with your mates, your family or the kids, then come and see The Greatest Spy Movie (n)Ever made!
