On Saturday 6 July I went to see Monkey: Journey to the West. I went because I knew that the show was a project of the producers of the band Gorillaz. I knew that the show would be performed in Chinese language and I presumed that it would be musical but I did not know more.
It was an acrobatics show. I was amazed and I enjoyed the story greatly. After the show I read more about it, and found that it was actually a presentation of a 16th-century story called Journey to the West. I read a synopsis of the story online and realized that the show matched it closely, and I felt gratified that in watching the show I had learned a traditional Chinese story.
The band Gorillaz is known for having virtual musicians who appear as cartoons, and in this show between set changes cartoons fill in story gaps. Both the cartoons and the stage show are accompanied by an orchestra. I love epics, and in the show Monkey seeks to demand immortality from the gods who respond by tasking him with challenges in exchange for this boon. Monkey is a bit of a jerk – he responds to almost every difficulty by attacking everyone on stage, and he does it theatrically as a martial arts exposition. There really is no character development and many of the relationships are set up then not examined again, which I feel leaves it to the viewers’ imagination and which I like a lot.