My Neighbour Totoro extends West End run and releases new puppet photos

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of My Neighbour Totoro will extend its West End run until 30 August 2026, with new production images released to mark the announcement.

Presented by executive producer Joe Hisaishi and the RSC in collaboration with Nippon TV and Improbable, the production is based on Studio Ghibli’s 1988 animated feature by Hayao Miyazaki and adapted for the stage by Tom Morton-Smith. Directed by Phelim McDermott, the show first opened at the Barbican in 2022, later returning for a limited run in 2023 before transferring to the Gillian Lynne Theatre earlier this year.

RSC co-artistic directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey said the story “is one of kindness, courage and the power of the imagination,” adding that audiences have responded warmly to the show’s characters and puppetry. Kenichi Yoda of Nippon TV and Studio Ghibli said the production entering its third year in London was “a heartfelt wish come true” and hoped audiences would “share this story with loved ones.”

The cast features Victoria Chen as Mei, Ami Okumura Jones as Satsuki, Dai Tabuchi as Tatsuo, Jacqueline Tate as Granny, and Ai Ninomiya as the Singer. The 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, Annakanako Mohri, Lucy Park, Richard Peralta, Chloe Ragrag and Shaofan Wilson. Also appearing are Phyllis Ho, Steven Nguyen, Jamie Zubairi and Deanna Myers, with swing puppeteers Boaz Chad, Wenshin Lee, Amber Lin, Sera Maehara and Nathaniel Tan.

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The creative team includes Tom Pye (set design), Basil Twist (puppetry design and direction), Kimie Nakano (costume design), Jessica Hung Han Yun (lighting), You-Ri Yamanaka (movement), and Will Stuart (orchestration). The music features Joe Hisaishi’s original score performed live, with sound design by Tony Gayle and additional sound effects by Nicola T Chang. Video design is by Finn Ross and Andrea Scott, dramaturgy by Pippa Hill and casting by Hannah Miller.

Artwork for the stage adaptation includes a hand-drawn title by Toshio Suzuki, producer for Studio Ghibli.

Set in rural Japan, My Neighbour Totoro follows sisters Satsuki and Mei as they move with their father to the countryside to be closer to their ailing mother. When Mei encounters a mysterious forest spirit named Totoro, the sisters find themselves drawn into a world of nature and imagination.