Details

Monkey: Journey to the West is a new opera for the 21st century based on the ancient Chinese legend of spiritual enlightenment. This reworked version is a dazzling spectacle involving nearly 40 Chinese circus acrobats, martial artists and singers from China with an orchestra of Western and traditional Chinese instruments. Monkey, the headstrong, self-important hero of the story, is hatched from a stone egg on the Mountain of Flower and Fruit. After crossing the all-powerful Buddha, Monkey is given the opportunity to redeem himself by travelling to India with the young monk Tripitaka to bring the Holy Scriptures back to China. "Monkey manages to smite demons and defeat fiends with his superior Kung fu skills, protect his friends, obtain the scriptures, and finally, to gain the ultimate prize for himself, the attainment of Buddhahood, " says director Chen Shi-Zhen. "Our Monkey: Journey to the West retells this 400-year-old story in the hope of bringing it into the 21st century for new audiences around the world." Jamie Hewlett has created a unique visual universe with his designs, populated by a cacophony of characters from Spider Maidens to Skeleton Demons. Damon Albarn's score deftly weaves Chinese and Western influences to provide a sparkling setting for the story as it moves between heaven and earth. Performed in Mandarin with English surtitles, Monkey is a thrilling experience, an unforgettable sensual and spiritual journey.

Creatives/Company

Author: Chen Shi-Zhen
Music: Damon Albarn