My Neighbour Totoro

The ‘utterly spectacular’ (Telegraph), ‘remarkably beautiful’ (Financial Times) winner of 6 Olivier Awards My Neighbour Totoro is now in its final booking period.

The production follows Satsuki and Mei, two sisters adjusting to a new home in the Japanese countryside, who encounter a world of spirits, sprites and other playful creatures. Their story turns on whether their experiences are a dream or whether they have befriended a large, good-natured guardian of the forest called Totoro.

The staging relies on large-scale puppetry, with the puppets designed by Basil Twist and Mervyn Millar, and includes songs from the film. The production is presented by the Royal Shakespeare Company with Joe Hisaishi as Executive Producer, in collaboration with Improbable and Nippon TV. The adaptation is by Tom Morton-Smith and the direction is by Phelim McDermott.

The show is built around the power of imagination and the natural world, and is pitched at audiences who enjoy visual theatre and family storytelling. The Gillian Lynne Theatre is situated on Drury Lane in the West End.