SINGAPORE, 12 June 2024 – Paper Monkey Theatre and Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre jointly present the last instalment of the Journey West series with Journey West: Mount Fiery this August. For the first time, the puppet show for this series will be presented in a ‘manual cinema’ format – a technique involving paper puppets and real-time puppet manipulation, a different form of puppetry as compared to the past two editions.

Journey West: Mount Fiery brings to life the beloved Chinese classic novel that illustrates core Chinese cultural values such as filial piety, perseverance and righteousness through the story of familiar characters Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, Tang San Zang and others, as they strive to extinguish the flames of Mount Fiery and continue with their journey to the West.

Interactive and unconventional puppetry experience with real-time puppet manipulation

This year’s production involves a unique puppetry technique known as ‘manual cinema’ format. Unlike typical shadow puppetry where actors operate the puppets from behind a screen, actors will manipulate the paper puppets in real-time with the use of video cameras and projectors, allowing audiences to take a peek at what goes on behind the magical moments on stage. The production also uses extensive graphic design to create a storyboard to guide the actors during the performance. Unconventional puppetry techniques will also take centre stage, with fade-in and fade-out elements similar to animation.

 A multi-award winning collaboration of talents

Paper Monkey Theatre often collaborates with award-winning talents, contributing to the artistry behind productions. Award-winning local martial arts trainer Soh Thian Poh is involved in choreographing the live kungfu fight between Sun Wukong, the Iron Fan Princess and Bull Demon King. This fight scene will be performed by Soh Thian Poh (Sun Wukong), Justinn Lee (Iron Fan Princess) and Wong Wai Kit (Bull Demon King). Flame of the Forest, an award-winning local multi-racial music group has also come on board to create Xinjiang music with traditional Indian and Persian musical instruments. The main theme song for this production is composed by a team led by local composer Alex Oh, whose previous credits include local films 1965, It’s a Great Great World and King of Hawker.

About Journey West: Mount Fiery

In order to extinguish the flames and allow Tang San Zang, the White Dragon Horse, Sha Wujing, and Zhu Bajie to cross the mountain smoothly, Sun Wukong borrowed the Banana Leaf Fan from Iron Fan Princess, the mother of the Crimson Boy. However, due to her resentment over the incident with her son, Iron Fan Princess created numerous obstacles and even expelled Sun Wukong tens of thousands of miles away using her Banana Leaf Fan. Sun Wukong then transformed into a fly and accidentally entered Iron Fan Princess’ belly to retrieve the fan. After a battle of wits, Iron Fan Princess was finally defeated and turned to her husband, the Bull Demon King, for help.

Upon learning that his beloved wife had been mistreated by his sworn brother, the Bull Demon King confronted Sun Wukong, leading to a fierce confrontation between the two. In the end, Crimson Boy, son of Iron Fan Princess and Bull Demon King, came home and stopped the fight. Sun Wukong successfully obtained the Banana Leaf Fan and extinguished the flames of the Mount Fiery. With this obstacle overcome, Tang San Zang and his disciples continued with their journey to the West.

Exemplifying several core values cherished by the Chinese community, Journey West: Mount Fiery is a show for everyone in the family to enjoy, especially for parents with children. Prior to the show, visitors can also check out the SINGAPO人 exhibition at Level 2 at SCCC to learn more about these values and  our distinctive local Chinese culture.

Event Details:

Date: 30 August to 1 September 2024

Venue: Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre Auditorium, Level 9

Language: Chinese (with English subtitles)

Ticket prices: $24, $26 and $30 (not inclusive of booking and administrative fees)

Tickets can be purchased via TicketMaster with an early bird discount of 20% till 30 June 2024: https://ticketmaster.sg/activity/detail/24sg_jwmountfiery