My Neighbour Totoro may have been running in London since 2022, but the production had not released photos of the titular character, a forest spirit named Totoro that brings joy and hope to two young girls. Until now. While in the animated movie Totoro is a collection of lines and colors, on the stage, he is brought to life using puppetry by Basil Twist.
Totoro is currently running at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in the West End until March 2026. 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.
The show is brought to the stage by executive producer Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Shakespeare Company, in collaboration with Nippon TV and Improbable.
Adapted by Tom Morton-Smith (Oppenheimer) from Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 animated Studio Ghibli film, the production is directed by Improbable co-founder Phelim McDermott.
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.
The cast includes Victoria Chen in the role of Mei, Ami Okumura Jones as Mei’s older sister Satsuki, Dai Tabuchi as Tatsuo, Jacqueline Tate as Granny, and Ai Ninomiya as the Singer.
The show’s unique Kazego Puppetry Ensemble includes Rachel Clare Chan, Sally Cheng, Sabrina Pui Yee Chin, Victor Itang, Gabriel S Janoras, Anna Kato, Heather Lai, Ronnie Lee, Matthew Leonhart, Kumiko Mendl as Nurse Emiko, Annakanako Mohri, Lucy Park, Richard P. Peralta, Chloe Ragrag, and Shaofan Wilson as Miss Hara.
Completing the company are Phyllis Ho as Yasuko, Steven Nguyen as Kanta, Jamie Zubairi as Hiroshi, and Deanna Myers as Tsukiko, and Swing puppeteers Boaz Chad, Wenshin Lee, Amber Lin, Sera Maehara and Nathaniel Tan.
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.
Visit totoroshow.com
Company of My Neighbour Totoro
Dai Tabuchi and Phyllis Ho in My Neighbour Totoro
Jamie Zubairi and Steven Nguyen in My Neighbour Totoro
Ami Okumura Jones and Victoria Chen in My Neighbour Totoro
Kumiko Mendl and Phyllis Ho in My Neighbour Totoro
Steven Nguyen and company of My Neighbour Totoro
Victoria Chen in My Neighbour Totoro
Victoria Chen in My Neighbour Totoro
Dai Tabuchi in My Neighbour Totoro
Ai Ninomiya in My Neighbour Totoro
Phyllis Ho, Ami Okumura Jones, and Victoria Chen in My Neighbour Totoro
Victoria Chen, Dai Tabuchi, and Ami Okumura Jones in My Neighbour Totoro
Company of My Neighbour Totoro
Ami Okumura Jones in My Neighbour Totoro
Victoria Chen, Dai Tabuchi, and Ami Okumura Jones in My Neighbour Totoro
Ami Okumura Jones in My Neighbour Totoro
Victoria Chen in My Neighbour Totoro
Company of My Neighbour Totoro
