2nd-Year Cast Revealed for My Neighbour Totoro in London's West End

The stage show is based on Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved 1988 animated Studio Ghibli film.

February 25, 2026 By Margaret Hall

Victoria Chen, Dai Tabuchi, and Helen Chong (Matt Crockett)

My Neighbour Totoro has found a new cast for its second year in London's West End!

The production, currently running at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, is adapted by Tom Morton-Smith (Oppenheimer) from Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 animated Studio Ghibli film.

Beginning in March, the multi-award winning show will welcome Helen Chong to the company to play the role of Satsuki, alongside continuing stars Victoria Chen as Satsuki’s younger sister Mei, Dai Tabuchi as their father Tatsuo, and Jacqueline Tate as Granny and Ai Ninomiya as the Singer.

Joining the show’s unique Kazego puppetry ensemble are Karen Barredo, Melisa Camba, Jeffrey Chekai, Chui Yen, Eero Chen Liu, Natsumi Kuroda (Tsukiko), Yui Minari, Michelle Miners, Gun Suen, Si Rawlinson, Sango Tajima (Miss Hara), and Bai Zhijin. Continuing in their roles are Rachel Clare Chan, Phyllis Ho, Victor Itang, Gabriel S. Janoras, Kumiko Mendl (Nurse Emiko), Steven Nguyen (Kanta), Richard P. Peralta, and Jamie Zubairi. The swings include Ronnie Lee, Wenhsin Lee, Amber Lin, and Sera Maehara.

My Neighbour Totoro is directed by Improbable co-founder Phelim McDermott. It follows two young girls, Satsuki and Mei, whose father moves them to a rural village so they can be closer to their mother, who is ill at a nearby hospital. In the forest, the girls encounter a host of spirits, including the gentle, and giant, Totoro.

Totoro the stage show first premiered in 2022, where it quickly sold out the Barbican box office. It returned to that theatre in 2023, where it ran until early 2024. It also won six Olivier Awards, including Best Entertainment or Comedy Play, and Best Director for McDermott.

My Neighbour Totoro features production design by Tom Pye, puppetry design and direction by Basil Twist, costume design by Kimie Nakano, lighting design by Jessica Hung Han Yun, and movement by You-Ri Yamanaka. The production features music from Joe Hisaishi’s score in a new orchestration by Will Stuart, performed live with sound design by Tony Gayle. Video design is by Finn Ross and Andrea Scott, the dramaturg is Pippa Hill, the casting director is Hannah Miller, and the sound effects and soundscape designer is Nicola T Chang.

Artwork for the stage adaptation of My Neighbour Totoro includes a hand-drawn title by Toshio Suzuki, Producer for Studio Ghibli and Producer of the original animated film. The show is brought to the stage by executive producer Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Shakespeare Company, in collaboration with Nippon TV and Improbable.

Visit TotoroShow.com.