“On the top of the mountain, there is a magic stone with a magic core inside. One day it bursts open to produce a ball-sized stone egg. By the touch of the wind, it turns into a stone monkey. It has five features and all four limbs, with his eyes move, two beams of golden light shoot toward the Jade palace.” This is the birth of a stone monkey that we call today “Sun wukong” in Wu Cheng-en’s Journey to the West. The stone monkey passed through the Shuilian Waterfall in Mountain of Flowers and Fruit and became the Monkey King. After being given the name of Sun Wukong, he learned Cloud of Somersault and the Seventy-two Transformation. He obtained the golden-banded staff from the Dragon King of the East Sea, and wiped his name out of the Book of Life from the Hell. The supernatural power of Sun Wukong alerted the heavens and the four-dimensional world. All the way from Bimawen (horse keeper in Jade palace) to The Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal, he stole the magical peach and magical elixir, wreaked havoc across the Jade palace. Finally, Buddha pressured him under the Wuzhi Mountain.

 Following the adaptation of the role “Ole” of Hans Christian Andersen’ s fairy tale in 2016, FOCA’ s newest production – Wukong: Before the Journey to the West is based on the first seven chapter of Wu Cheng-en’ s Journey to the West, rediscovering the adventure story of Sun Wukong. The entire show features circus performances such as aerial silk, cyrl wheel and hoop diving. Being coupled with high-technical tumbling and acrobat, the show interprets the story of Sun Wukong constantly challenging himself and authority.

 The stage is his Paradise of Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, where he runs, leaps, climbs, and plays. As a metaphor of Shuilian Waterfall, the aerial silk is also the stream of flowing desires. The full range of juggling props is weapon that transforms, is an obstacle, and a challenge.