WEST END CAST ANNOUNCED FOR MY NEIGHBOUR TOTORO

Executive Producer Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), in collaboration with Nippon TV and Improbable, announce the full company for the multi-award winning stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbour Totoro last month. The production will run from Saturday 08 March – Sunday 02 November 2025, with an opening night on Thursday 20 March at the Gillian Lynne Theatre.

Victoria Chen joins the company to play the role of Mei. Returning to their roles are 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 will once again include Matthew Leonhart, Heather Lai, Shaofan Wilson (Miss Hara) and Anna Kato, who will be joined by new members, Rachel Clare Chan, Sally Cheng, Sabrina Pui Yee Chin, Victor Itang, Gabriel S Janoras, Ronnie Lee, Kumiko Mendl (Nurse Emiko), Annakanako Mohri, Richard Peralta, Lucy Park and Chloe Ragrag.

Phyllis Ho (Yasuko), Steven Nguyen (Kanta), Jamie Zubairi (Hiroshi) and Deanna Myers (Tsukiko) complete the cast.

Adapted by Tom Morton-Smith (Oppenheimer) from Hayao Miyazaki’s celebrated 1988 animated feature film, the production is directed by Improbable Co-Founder, Phelim McDermott. Winner of six Olivier Awards and five WhatsOnStage Awards, My Neighbour Totoro broke the Barbican’s Box Office record for most tickets sold in a single day in April 2022, ahead of its global premiere in October 2022. Following both critical and audience acclaim, the production returned to the Barbican Centre for a strictly limited run in Autumn 2023. The production closed at the Barbican Centre in March 2024.

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 iconic 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, Casting Director is Hannah Miller CDG and Sound Effects & 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, who was involved in the planning and production of the original  animated film.

Satsuki and Mei’s mother has taken ill. In order to be closer to her while she recovers in a rural  convalescent hospital, their father moves the two sisters from their home in a city to the countryside. And though the countryside is beautiful and the people friendly, it’s hard not to be scared when the  wind rustles the trees at night. As the sisters explore their new surroundings, young Mei encounters  magical creatures and the ancient protector of the forest she calls “Totoro” – and they are to be the  girls’ neighbours.

Although Satsuki doesn’t believe her little sister at first, they are soon both swept up in exciting  adventures with their new neighbours – transported to a long-forgotten realm of spirits, sprites, and  natural wonder.

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s mission is to bring people together to experience stories that deepen our understanding of ourselves, each other and the world around us, and that bring joy. Shakespeare’s restless exploration of all of human nature is our inspiration and touchstone.

The Company’s roots lie in the bold vision of a local brewer, Edward Fordham Flower, who in 1879 established a theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon with his son Charles. The RSC as we know it today was formed by Sir Peter Hall, whose ambition was to produce new plays alongside those of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. We continue this today across our three permanent theatres in Stratford – the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Swan Theatre and The Other Place – and indeed online and around the globe. We believe everybody’s life can be enriched by culture and creativity. Our transformative Creative Learning and Engagement programmes reach over half a million young people and adults each year. We have collaborated with generations of the very best theatre makers and we continue to nurture the talent of the future.

Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 by animated film directors Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, and has produced twenty-five feature-length films.  Most Studio Ghibli films ranked number one at the box office in Japan in the year in which they were released.  The Studio’s Spirited Away (2001), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) and Princess Mononoke (1997) are among Japan’s top 10 grossing films.  Studio Ghibli films have garnered numerous awards and critical acclaim from film critics and animation specialists around the world.  Spirited Away was awarded the Golden Bear as the Best Feature Film at the 52nd Berlin International Film Festival and won the 75th Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature Film.  In 2001, Ghibli Museum, Mitaka designed by Hayao Miyazaki, opened in Mitaka, Tokyo.  The Wind Rises (2013), The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013), When Marnie Was There (2014) and The Red Turtle (2016) earned the studio four consecutive nominations for the Academy Awards® for Best Animated Feature Film, and Earwig and the Witch (2020) was an official selection for the 73rd Cannes Film Festival.  In 2022, Ghibli Park, a park that represents the world of Studio Ghibli, opened in Nagakute, Aichi.  The studio’s latest film, The Boy and the Heron (2023) was awarded the Golden Globe Award, the BAFTA Film Award and the Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature Film in 2024.  The studio received Honorary Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.

Nippon TV Nippon Television Holdings, Inc. is a media and content company whose core  operation is broadcasting. At the nucleus of its businesses is subsidiary Nippon Television  Network Corporation, Japan’s first commercial television broadcaster that hit the airwaves in  1953. Celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, the country’s leading linear platform enjoys  widespread support from viewers, propelling it to win the annual Triple Crown Title for the  11th consecutive year in 2021 by ranking No 1 in individual viewer ratings across all three timeslot  categories. Since October 2023, Nippon TV has owned Studio Ghibli as a subsidiary.  As part of the same group, Nippon TV continues to support Studio Ghibli.

Improbable are pioneering improvisers, inventive creators, imaginative collaborators, authentic  conversation facilitators. Improbable is led by Artistic Directors Phelim McDermott and Lee  Simpson and occupies a vital space in the landscape of UK theatre. At the heart of their artistic  practice is improvisation. Whether in performance, rehearsal or development Improbable use the  practice and philosophy of improvisation in the process of creation.

Improbable have staged epic spectacles like Sticky, which was seen by over 250,000 people,  theatrical classics like The Tempest at Northern Stage and the Oxford Playhouse, intimate  puppetry like Animo in studios across the country, adaptations like Theatre of Blood at the  National Theatre, operatic triumphs like Satyagraha and Olivier and Grammy Award winning Akhnaten at the English National Opera, London and the Metropolitan Opera, New York,  female led impro project Permission Improbable which nurtures an improvisation culture grown  by women and fully improvised productions like Lifegame which toured internationally and at the  National Theatre. Our shows are live events encouraging conversation between us and our  audience.

LW Theatres owns and operates six of the most prestigious theatres in the world, including the  iconic London Palladium and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Wholly owned by Andrew Lloyd  Webber, one in three of all visits to a London musical is at an LW Theatres venue.

LW Theatres is the venue of choice for some of the world’s best musicals and plays, as well as a  variety of star-studded concerts, spoken word and comedy events. The portfolio also includes His  Majesty’s Theatre, home of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera for 37 years in  London, the Cambridge Theatre, the Gillian Lynne Theatre, and the Adelphi Theatre (co-owned  with Nederlander International Limited).

All profits from LW Theatres are proudly reinvested into the theatres for their ongoing  conservation and development. More than £100m has been put back into this business since  2006.

Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England,  working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and  libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to  collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves  and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest  £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National  Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the  country. www.artscouncil.org.uk

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