Those of us, of a certain age in Ireland, were reared on some dodgy telly! One such programme was a BBC import from Japan called Monkey Magic. It told the story of the irrepressible and cheeky Monkey who was accompanying, the emperor appointed monk Tripitaka, to India to recover valuable scrolls. Monkey was the protector against all kinds of evil spirits and humans on this long and arduous journey. His equally helpful and unhelpful companions were Sandy and Pigsy!
The story was based on the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West. The programme was very slap-dash in its production values and the dubbing was so awful that it became part of the series' unique charm!
In 2001 Kíla were asked to write the music for a stage adaptation of the The Young Vic's Christmas show, in London's West End. The play was written by Ireland's Colin Teevan and directed by Mick Gordon. The Guardian described the play as '..kaldeidoscopically lively..'
The cd is a collection of all the music written and recorded for the theatre production, including the wonderful Monkey Song, (co-written by Rónán and Colin Teevan) with Brian taking lead vocals!
We are including a copy of the play in book form with each cd purchased.
