What do you get when you combine a 16th century work of Chinese literature, a renowned Chinese theatre director and a British rock star?

The result is Monkey: Journey to the West, a show which blends acrobatics, music, animation and martial arts to tell the story of Sun Wukong and his travelling companions on their journey of redemption.

Performed in Mandarin to sell-out crowds in London's Royal Opera House last week, the show is a stage adaptation of the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West.

"An unclassifiable extravaganza" was how The Guardian described the show, while another reviewer said it was a performance that "left no genre untouched and whose scale of ambition could only be marvelled at."

Indeed, for director Chen Shi-zheng, bringing the wildly imaginative Chinese tale to a 21st century Western audience was a creativechallenge that allowed him and his team to mix together a wide range of influences.

The score was composed by British musician Damon Albarn, lead singer of Blur and co-creator of the virtual cartoon band Gorillaz. It is played by an orchestra that uses both Western instruments and the traditional Chinese pipa, guzheng and zhongruan.

Another aspect which makes this show stand out is the use of animation, which is projected onto a large screen behind the stage. Director Chen said "the integration of animation and sound was really a work of genius."

The Monkey King, as Sun Wukong is known in English, as well as Pigsy, Sandy and a host of other characters and monsters are brought to life by 40 acrobats from the Dalian circus troupe.

Even though The Monkey King is less well-known outside North-East Asia, many British people fondly remember a cult 1970s TV series called Monkey.

And this isn't the last British people will be seeing of The Monkey King this summer.

The team behind the stage show have produced an animated title sequence for the BBC's Olympic coverage which shows Monkey and his friends battling monsters on their way to Beijing's Olympic Stadium.

• combine [kəm´bain]   v.(使)结合；联合企业   (初中英语单词)
• literature [´litərətʃə]   n.文学；文献；著作   (初中英语单词)
• director [di´rektə]   n.指导者；....长；导演   (初中英语单词)
• monkey [´mʌŋki]   n.猴子 v.乱弄；胡闹   (初中英语单词)
• performance [pə´fɔ:məns]   n.履行；行为；工作   (初中英语单词)
• ambition [æm´biʃən]   n.雄心，野心；企图   (初中英语单词)
• western [´westən]   a.西的；西方的   (初中英语单词)
• audience [´ɔ:diəns]   n.听众；观众；接见   (初中英语单词)
• challenge [´tʃælindʒ]   n.&vt.向....挑战；怀疑   (初中英语单词)
• singer [´siŋə]   n.歌手，演唱者   (初中英语单词)
• aspect [´æspekt]   n.面貌；神色；方向   (初中英语单词)
• screen [skri:n]   n.银幕 vt.遮蔽   (初中英语单词)
• well-known [,wel´nəun]   a.著名的，众所周知的   (初中英语单词)
• series [´siəri:z]   n.连续；系列；丛书   (初中英语单词)
• renowned [ri´naund]   a.有名的，有声望的   (高中英语单词)
• guardian [´gɑ:diən]   n.监护人；保护人   (高中英语单词)
• musician [mju:´ziʃən]   n.音乐家，作曲家   (高中英语单词)
• orchestra [´ɔ:kistrə]   n.管弦乐队   (高中英语单词)
• circus [´sə:kəs]   n.马戏(团)；圆形广场   (高中英语单词)
• seeing [si:iŋ]   see的现在分词 n.视觉   (高中英语单词)
• martial [´mɑ:ʃəl]   a.战争的；象军人的   (英语四级单词)
• adaptation [ædæp´teiʃən]   n.适应；改写(本)   (英语四级单词)
• creative [kri:´eitiv]   a.有创造力的；创作的   (英语四级单词)
• composed [kəm´pəuzd]   a.镇静自若的   (英语四级单词)
• traditional [trə´diʃənəl]   a.传统的，习惯的   (英语四级单词)
• fondly [´fɔndli]   ad.喜爱地；愚蠢地   (英语四级单词)
• sequence [´si:kwəns]   n.继续；顺序；程序   (英语四级单词)
• untouched [ʌn´tʌtʃt]   a.原样的；未触动过的   (英语六级单词)
• imaginative [i´mædʒənətiv]   a.富于想象(力)的   (英语六级单词)
• cartoon [kɑ:´tu:n]   n.漫画；(电影)卡通片   (英语六级单词)
• animated [´ænimeitid]   a.栩栩如生的；活跃的   (英语六级单词)