MY NEIGHBOUR TOTORO announces new end date
Photo credit: Manuel Harlan
It has been announced that the multi-award winning stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbour Totoro will now end on 3 January 2027.
Adapted by Tom Morton-Smith from Hayao Miyazaki’s celebrated 1988 animated feature film, the production is directed by Improbable Co-Founder, Phelim McDermott. The cast includes Victoria Chen in the role of Mei, Helen Chong as Mei’s older sister Satsuki, Dai Tabuchi as Tatsuo, Jacqueline Tate as Granny, and Ai Ninomiya as Kaze No Koe/Singer.
The show’s unique Kazego Puppetry Ensemble is made up of Karen Barredo, Melisa Camba, Rachel Clare Chan, Jeffrey Chekai, Chui Yen, Phyllis Ho (Yasuko), Victor Itang, Gabriel S. Janoras, Natsumi Kuroda (Tsukiko), Eero Chen Liu (Principal Puppeteer), Kumiko Mendl (Nurse Emiko), Yui Minari, Michelle Miners, Steven Nguyen (Kanta), Richard P. Peralta, Gun Suen (Principal Puppeteer/Puppetry Captain), Sango Tajima (Miss Hara/Principal Puppeteer), Bai Zhijin and Jamie Zubairi (Hiroshi). The swings include Ronnie Lee, Wenhsin Lee, Amber Lin, Sera Maehara and Si Rawlinson (Movement Captain).
My Neighbour Totoro features production design by Tom Pye, puppetry design and direction by Basil Twist, costumes by Kimie Nakano, lighting by Jessica Hung Han Yun, movement direction by You-Ri Yamanaka, music from Joe Hisaishi’s iconic score in a new orchestration by Will Stuart, performed live with sound design by Tony Gayle, video design by Finn Ross and Andrea Scott, dramaturgy by Pippa Hill, casting by Hannah Miller CDG, and sound effects & soundscape design by Nicola T Chang.
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.
