Monkey – an epic tale of cosmic struggle
For five nights only, Students of the University of NSW perform Monkey: an epic tale of cosmic struggle
Directed by Ben Winspear, written by Les Winspear
and developed through the UNSW Creative Practice Lab
at the Io Myers Theatre
an average rehearsal
Ben Winspear actor/director, and soon to take up the reins at Griffin, is directing an experimental Media and Arts student production of Monkey at the Io Myers Theatre at the University of NSW. For the Creative Practice Lab, the in-house production team that functions as part of the university’s Theatre Studies department, this is the annual showcase of just what extraordinary things they can do.
Monkey looks like “post-apocalyptic-grunge-slapstick” with a deliberate choice, “to have the sticks and strings exposed” says director Ben Winspear.
Winspear’s direction for the theatre production looks to be a humorous slapstick affair, with hints of darkness for this performance piece. The look stated by Ben will be, “post-apocalyptic-grunge-slapstick” affair with the, “fake and real revealed” at the same time with the “sticks and strings exposed”. For those unaware Monkey is an English rendering of the Chinese folk tale written by Wu Cheng’en, a tale of journey and redemption for the characters of Monkey, Tripitaka, Pigsy and Sandy along with “fun, life and magic of the tale of journey” and redemption for the characters who are human, saintly, spirits tackling demons along the way.
Those young or old enough to remember the Japanese television program series dubbed in English called Monkey Magic which aired during the early eighties will take delight in this revisit of the story. The television series sports an aesthetic from the time when computer graphics CGI and prosthetic make up and costume were not so technically advanced and sophisticated as today. This is one of the charms of the program, and of the mode of the period, which lends to this student production what looks to be a wabi-sabi grunge delight. The director, having grown up during the period of Monkey Magic, surprised the young cast, who were as yet uninitiated into this much loved story and its colourful characters.
The story, essentially a folk tale of a redemptive road trip for Tripitaka and her three disciples, is ingeniously set in the centre of the theatre on the ground. The seating builds upwards on either side of the stage, envisioned as the moving road travelled where the set pieces moves forward, making for a unique visual experience. Ben says it represents the ‘temporal nature of the experience… trying to grasp a mirage” with the set pieces moving through the space where things reveal “a tongue in cheek transformation well suited to the “fun and magic – the perfect mixture of performance.” There are tones of a “world in change… distorted yet revealing” to bring this eccentric epic tale to life.
Creative Spaces’ Anna Grieg, who plays the principal character, Tripitaka, says that director Ben Winspear brings a “great approach” and “understanding” being both professional actor and director. Ben, working with the students, notes that with a small production the possibilities are wide and broad, and that young people today are more “competent” and “flexible” than ever. They are more “open to the possibilities”, with a fluid approach to change. The future looks bright for those at the University of New South Wales Creative Space at the Io Myers Theatre.
Ben is not looking like slowing down, and when he takes up his new post at the Griffin Theatre in the role of Associate Artistic Director, the first thing on the agenda is the Festival of New Writing uncovering new theatrical writing and possibilities of staging new pieces.
The performances will be held in the iconic Io Myers studio which is a prized teaching space but also home to major school productions throughout the year.
Performances are open to the public, but the run is short!
What: Monkey!
When: Tues 11 – Sat 15 March at 7:30pm
Where: Io Myers Theatre, University of NSW (Gate 2 High Street)