Monkey

Synopsis

Over a thousand years ago in ancient China, a cheeky Monkey King roams the land with nothing on his mind but joking and playing. Born from an egg at the beginning of Time, the mischievous Monkey is not only brave and heroic, but cocky. One day Monkey gets a bit too big for his boots and disobeys Buddha, who locks him up in a mountain for 500 years to teach him a little patience... But the nature of Monkey is irrepressible! Giving him one more chance, Buddha sends Monkey on an important spiritual journey - to help Tripitaka, the holiest monk in the land, collect and return Buddha s sacred teachings. Hitching a ride on Monkey s magic cloud are his two wild friends - Pigsy, the pig monster and Sandy, the water monster. Together they must battle demons, dragons and Yama, the God of death. Monkey can only succeed by using all of his amazing powers and it s not going to be easy! With its magical mix of dance, drama, martial arts, crazy encounters, bold humour, live musicians, a big cast of colourful characters and a healthy dose of Enlightenment, Monkey is a spectacular, action-adventure not to be missed. This large-scale family show is recommended for everyone from 8 years to 108 years.

Our Review:

20 June 2008

The Chinese legend of the Monkey King seems ubiquitous. Last year Manchester staged the Anglo-Chinese opera Monkey: Journey to the West, in Manchester and recently the touring Chinese Circus featured the Monkey King as a dancing, clowning bridge between the acts. This West Yorkshire Playhouse staging uses Colin Teevan’s 2001 adaptation for the Young Vic.

Teevan shapes the narrative around Monkey’s challenge to the King of Death who sets out to claim his life. In the early scenes Monkey’s constant pranks bring imprisonment in a mountain for 500 years, but the main story is of his great journey to the Western Heavens as protector to Tripitaka, the monk seeking to bring back the holy scriptures that will restore peace to China. There are encounters with demons and monsters, but the main emphasis is on the recruitment of more disciples (banished from the Heavens for various misdemeanours) and, of course, the final triumph.

Much to their cred...

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Latest User Review

Ian - 20 June 2008:

How does the review (date reviewed 20th June) appear on site by 19:45 on the 20th when there was no matinee today? I travelled over to see the show on the 18th and it was cancelled :(...

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