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Albarn's Monkey opera marks Chinese new year
Louise Jury, Evening Standard31 Jan 2008
A version of Damon Albarn's hit opera Monkey will have its London premiere as part of Chinese new year celebrations at the British Museum.
The Monkey Suite is taken from Monkey: Journey To The West, a modern re-telling by the ex-Blur star of a 16th-century Chinese story.
It will be presented on Saturday 9 February with visual effects created by Albarn's Gorillaz collaborator Jamie Hewlett.
Two thousand free tickets for the performance will be available on the day but there will be plenty of other events for those unable to get one. These include performances of Chinese folk tales by the Beijing Bailing Shadow Puppet Troupe and the RDFZ Dance Troupe. Visitors to the museum will have the chance to try painting and making Chinese lanterns and terracotta warriors.
There will be storytelling and gallery talks in Mandarin and Cantonese as well as English and screenings of silent Chinese movies.
Jung Chang, the best-selling author of Wild Swans, will be among guest speakers and stalls will sell Chinese food, tea and beer.
