To bring the Year of the Monkey to a happy climax, W!LD RICE’s award-winning Monkey Goes West will be returning for a strictly limited season to the Drama Centre Theatre for the holidays.
Monkey Goes West completely sold out its first run in 2014, playing to an audience of more than 15,000 at the newly refurbished Victoria Theatre.
It dominated the 2015 Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards with seven nominations – more than any other production that year. It eventually took home the awards for Production of the Year, Production of the Year (Reader’s Choice) and Best Costume Design (Tube Gallery).
Ivan Heng, Artistic Director of W!LD RICE sayid, “The W!LD RICE pantomime is a unique annual tradition for family audiences in Singapore, and Monkey Goes West set a new benchmark in terms of the artistic excellence that we always strive for.”
With an affectionate, cheeky script by W!LD RICE Resident Playwright Alfian Sa’at, music by acclaimed composer Elaine Chan and direction by Broadway Beng Sebastian Tan, Monkey Goes West is the first W!LD RICE pantomime to take inspiration from the East, relocating beloved Chinese literary classic Journey To The West to modern-day Singapore.
Tan, who earned a Straits Times Life! Theatre Award nomination for Best Director for his work, will return to direct the production, which he describes as a “dream come true”.
“Monkey Goes West turned out to be this award-winning show that audiences loved and couldn’t get enough of, which is really why we are bringing it back so soon,” Tan explains with pride.
Young talents from Martial House – Singapore’s leading wushu academy – will be showing off their impressive martial arts skills on stage.
The cast of Monkey Goes West includes some of Singapore’s finest veteran actors and rising stars. Familiar faces like Chua Enlai (The Importance of Being Earnest, TV’s The Noose), Siti Khalijah Zainal (HOTEL, Best Of) and Darius Tan (Army Daze, Twelve Angry Men) will share the stage with Sugie Phua (Project SuperStar, Liao Zhai Rocks!) Joshua Lim (My Mother Buys Condoms, Café), Frances Lee (Beauty World, Fat Pig) and Kimberly Chan (High Class, Hotpants).
Monkey Goes West
In the Year of the Monkey, W!LD RICE looks East for its 13th holiday musical extravaganza for the whole family! Named Production of the Year at the 2015 Straits Times Life!
Theatre Awards, Monkey Goes West is an affectionate and cheeky re-telling of the beloved Chinese fantasy classic.
When orphan Ah Tang runs away from home after quarrelling with his adoptive family, he finds himself transported to a new, strange land. There, he befriends a trio of fellow travellers: Wukong, the cheeky Monkey King; Pigsy, a brave but always-hungry warrior; and Sandy, a stubborn but loyal river ogre.
Together, the fearless foursome embark on the adventure of a lifetime, one fraught with trials and dangers aplenty. Can they contain the rowdy mischief of the fire-breathing Red Boy? Will they be able to defeat the monstrous shape-shifting King Bull? How in the world will they get their hands on the magic fan of the man-eating Princess Iron Fan? Most importantly, will Ah Tang ever find a place that he can call home, truly?
Giving the gift of theater
The academy will also work closely with the children of W!LD RICE’s FIRST STAGE! programme, aged 5 to 12, in preparation for their stage debuts.
In celebration of the year-end holiday season, W!LD RICE is working with several charities to give underprivileged children and young people the opportunity to experience the magic of live theatre.
The theatre is a wonderful place for children and young people.
Not only does it give them a place to share laughter and tears, and the space to imagine new worlds and possibilities, it challenges them to think and to empathise with those who are different from themselves.
Courtesy of generous donations from individuals and corporations like Shaw Foundation and Keppel Care Foundation, the Gift of Theatre project has sponsored close to 1,400 beneficiaries and their caretakers from 16 homes and charities to watch W!LD RICE’s pantomimes, The Emperor’s New Clothes (2015) and Monkey Goes West (2014).
These include HELP Family Service Centre, Down Syndrome Association, Children Cancer Foundation, Arc Children’s Centre, MCYC Community Services Society, Business Times Budding Artists and Association For Persons With Special Needs.
For Monkey Goes West, W!LD RICE are hoping to raise $25,000 to pay for tickets for 400 beneficiaries. SPH Foundation and other kind donors have already signed on to be a part of this initiative. More donations are welcome. As W!LD RICE is a registered charity and an Institution of a Public Character (IPC), all donations will be eligible for a 250% tax exemption.
For enquiries and donations, W!LD RICE’s contact is at [email protected].
Show Dates : 18 November – 17 December 2016
Ticket Prices : S$45 – S$70
(Previews: 18 November, 7.30pm
& 19 November, 2.30pm & Thursday matinees @ 2.30pm) S$50 – S$75
(Tue, Wed & Thu 7.30pm) S$55 – S$80
(Fri & Sat 7.30pm, Sat & Sun 2.30pm)
Prices exclude $4 SISTIC handling fee
Priority Booking : 19 September – 2 October 2016
20% Discount for OCBC Cardmembers only
Early Bird : 3 – 26 October 2016
20% Discount for OCBC Cardmembers, PAssion
and SAFRA Card Members
15% Discount for General Public
Family Package : Save 25% when you purchase 4 Cat 1 tickets for the price of 3 with your OCBC Credit/Debit Card. Valid for 2 adults & 2 children (16 years & below).
Corporate & Group Deals : For bookings of 20 or more tickets, please contact
Ross Toh at 6292-2685 or [email protected].