The Nature Of Sūn Wùkōng Was Irrepressible

I don't like opera.
Never have done. Never will.
I dislike it's pomposity and its smugness
and all that declamatory prima-donna
haute-contre Monteverdi stromentato-ing
for no good reason.
Infact I dislike musical theatre in general
(I learnt too much Stanislavski in school is what it is).
But this? Now this is different. For this is 'Monkey'.
I grew up with the story of Sūn Wùkōng;
the Stone Monkey God made of primal chaos,
who journeyed to India during the Táng dynasty
to collect religious sutras from the blue hand of The Living Buddha.
It was Nippon Television who first adapted it for the small-screen.
And it was David Weir and the BBC who bought the rights
to 39 of the 52 episodes
and then dubbed them into English. Badly. But badly on purpose.
Friday nights in 1980 were all about fish & chips and 'Monkey'.
Friday nights were the undisputed highlight of the week.
Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett
were both born in the Chinese year of the Monkey (1968).
I always wanted to be a Monkey too, but I'm not.
I'm just a dog. And a good-for-nothing Steel Dog at that.
I'm not sure I'll ever be able to fully forgive my parents on that score.

Monkey: Journey To The West

Albarn & Hewlett's BBC 'Monkey' Olympics Trailer

'Monkey Bee': a short film by Jamie Hewlett