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This Guy Plays Piano For Hundreds Of Thai Monkeys, And It’s Cute But I’m Traumatised

There are some things that, once you see them, unlock a  deeply buried fear; and this video of a guy being mobbed by hundreds of monkey did it for me.

Paul Barton is a British musician who plays piano, alone, for hundreds of hungry wild monkeys across Thailand. That’s all well and good, it’s cute even. But what happens next is the stuff of my nightmares.

Barton gets absolutely drowned in the curious, hungry monkeys he plays for. Speaking to Reuters, he says the climb all over him and his piano, tugging his hair, and stealing his music while he plays.

That’s an absolute no from me. No, thank you very much. At all. Goodbye.

Barton is a long-time resident of Thailand, and has seen the effects of the pandemic on the country’s tourism. His mini-concerts – played across four venues in Lopburi, a province renowned for its monkeys – hope to provide some calm to the macaques who have been abandoned both by visitors and funds going toward their welfare.

“We need to make an effort to make sure that they eat properly. And when they eat properly they will be calmer and will not be aggressive,” he said.

That’s cute, but I’m still terrified.

The macaques seem to thoroughly enjoy monkeying around (lol) as Barton tickles the ivories. Some sit beside him (v cute), others climb over the keys (how he stays focused, I’ll never know), and others climb on his shoulders and play with his ears.

This isn’t his first attempt at animal concerts, Barton has has played all kinds of classical music for elephants in retirement sanctuaries.

He has also been swarmed by monkeys during his mini-concerts in an abandoned hardware store and derelict cinema.

His monkey-concerts are a valiant (but, personally, very stressful) effort to raise awareness of the monkeys’ hunger, and to study their responses to classical music.

“A wonderful opportunity to see the wild animals just being themselves,” he said.

Again, very cute. But definitely not for everyone. I don’t think I will ever be able to un-feel the panic of seeing hundreds of monkeys clambering all over the temple and this guy while he’s playing. Or the sound of random keys being pressed by money paws while Barton plays ‘Greensleeves’.

Never. I am forever changed.

Image Sources: Twitter (@reuters)

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