Monkey - ProfilesArchive

About Me

FOOTAGE FROM THE SHOW, AND CHAT WITH DAMON, JAMIE AND CHEN SHI-ZHENG:-
Monkey : Journey To The West is a dazzling circus opera for the 21st century, based on an ancient Chinese legend, reworked as sheer spectacle involving over 40 Chinese circus acrobats, Chinese vocalists and performing martial artists.
For centuries the epic tale of the Monkey King's journey of enlightenment has been an omnipresent part of Chinese culture, delighting young and old with the heady mix of adventure, mystery and magic.
Now East meets West in this new production, which has been adapted and directed by Chen Shi-Zheng whose credits range from Chinese opera and theatre to the Hollywood movie Dark Matter, starring Meryl Streep.
The music is composed by Damon Albarn and the design and animation by Jamie Hewlett, the artists behind award-winning virtual band Gorillaz. Monkey: Journey to the West reinvents the legend as a thrilling combination of music and action.
Clip from the documentary film "Imagine: Damon and Jamie's Excellent Adventure".
Show footage:-
PLEASE NOTE: THIS MYSPACE IS NOT A POINT OF CONTACT WITH THE OFFICIAL PARTIES BEHIND THE PRODUCTION MONKEY : JOURNEY TO THE WEST.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 5/6/2007
Band Members: Director -
Chen Shi-Zheng

Composer -
Damon Albarn

Visual Concept, Costume, Design and Animation -
Jamie Hewlett

Dramaturgy -
David Greenspan

Record Label: unsigned
Type of Label: None

My Blog

MONKEY DATES IN BERLIN CONFIRMED

Monkey dates in Berlin are now confirmed:8/9/10/12/13/14/15th July 2008 monkey journey to the west Musiktheater-Performance von Chen Shi-Zheng --> --> Koproduk...
Posted by Monkey on Sun, 30 Sep 2007 03:39:00 PST

Monkey the rock opera - LA Times

Rock opera in a post-'Tommy' world As walls fall between classical and pop, the genre gets a fighting chance. By Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer .. MEDIUM RECTANGLE AD -->MANCHESTER, ENGLAND...
Posted by Monkey on Sun, 12 Aug 2007 05:34:00 PST

MONKEY WEB STORE NOW ONLINE!

The Monkey web store is now online! You can buy Monkey tshirts and the official show programme, featuring the epic artwork of Gorillaz artist Jamie Hewlett! The shop ships worldwide. More products com...
Posted by Monkey on Thu, 26 Jul 2007 09:17:00 PST

Monkey article from the New Yorker

FROM THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE High-wire ActDamon Albarn scores an opera.by Sasha Frere-Jones July 30, 2007It was a clear and cool Friday evening in Manchester, England, the streets still full of summer...
Posted by Monkey on Tue, 24 Jul 2007 05:55:00 PST

Monkey review in the New Statesman

NEW STATESMAN Arts & Culture Monkeying aroundDan Hancox Published 12 July 2007 An ambitious stage work composed by Damon Albarn proves there is hope for "fusion". Recent attempts to popularise ope...
Posted by Monkey on Fri, 13 Jul 2007 07:43:00 PST

Monkey article from City Life, Manchester newspaper

City Life - Manchester International Festival supplement Not Just Monkeying Around Damon Albarn gets serious as his latest collaborative project, opening the Manchester International Festival, takes G...
Posted by Monkey on Mon, 09 Jul 2007 06:58:00 PST

More footage from the show

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Posted by Monkey on Thu, 05 Jul 2007 05:59:00 PST

Another press review

Review from Manchester Confidential Monkey: Journey to the West Gordo delivers a verdict on the International Festival's blockbuster as he gets lost on his way to a restaurant The Ma...
Posted by Monkey on Wed, 04 Jul 2007 05:18:00 PST

More reviews of the show

LA TIMES With Manchester Festival, England's second city bids for cultural spotlight. By Mark Swed, Times Staff Writer "Monkey: Journey to the West" an opera composed by Damon Albarn and designed by...
Posted by Monkey on Tue, 03 Jul 2007 05:53:00 PST

Monkey review from The Observer UK newspaper

Totally catchy monkeyManchester hails a triumph of flying acrobats, Gorillaz sets, Damon Albarn's music and ancient myth Kitty EmpireSunday July 1, 2007The Observer Monkey: Journey to the West Manche...
Posted by Monkey on Mon, 02 Jul 2007 04:01:00 PST