imagine... S11E05 - Damon and Jamie's Excellent Adventure

Alan Yentob presents a documentary about cartoon pop group Gorillaz' foray into the world of Chinese opera, with Damon Albarn composing his first full length score and Jamie Hewlett designing a myriad of gigantic sets and elaborate costumes. Drawing on the 1970s cult television series, Monkey - Journey to the West has a cast that includes the cloud-hopping, mountain-somersaulting Monkey, his mates Pigsy, Sandy and Tripitaka, plus acrobats, martial artists, umbrella-twirling girls, a horse-eating dragon, a skeleton demon and a giant Buddha. Produced by Théâtre du Châtelet (Paris), in co-production with Manchester International Festival and the State Opera House in Berlin, they present a new contemporary opera entirely in Mandarin directed by Chen Shi-Zheng.

This film follows Albarn and Hewlett on a journey from Beijing to Paris, working with martial artists and acrobats; leading up to its world premiere at the Manchester International Festival.