Damon Albarn's Monkey Opera Coming to London
Monkey: Journey To The West, the opera created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, is to be performed in a specially built theatre in London. The exhilarating modern opera is based on the characters and music from the BBC's coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The new theatre, named 'Monkey's World', will be built next to the O2 Arena in the Meridian Gardens. Monkey's World has been designed to house the opera's unusual blend of animation, martial arts and acrobatics. This striking mix has gone down well with critics at the show's premiere at the Manchester international Festival.
Creators Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett are best known as the men behind animated rock band, Gorillaz. Albarn is also lead singer of britpop band, Blur. Hewlett is the lesser known of the creative duo. An English comic designer, Hewlett was co-creator of the phenomenally popular Tank Girl series of comics, which later went on to become a high budget film with a cult following
The Evening Standard described Monkey: Journey To The West as, “a sensual delight and a life-enhancing triumph”. Tickets went on sale September 12th 2008 at 9am and sales have reportedly been strong. The show runs from November 8th until December 5th 2008.
Published by: Jonathan Dudley
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