Video

My Neighbour Totoro releases new trailer – including a first look at the forest spirits

The Studio Ghibli stage adaptation continues its West End run at the Gillian Lynne Theatre

| London |

9 July 2025

catbus — A still from the video, supplied by the production

The producers of My Neighbour Totoro have released a brand-new trailer with footage from the show.

My Neighbour Totoro explores the magical fantasy world of childhood and the transformative power of imagination, following one extraordinary summer in the lives of sisters Satsuki (played by Ami Okumura Jones) and Mei (Victoria Chen).

The West End cast also includes Dai Tabuchi (as Tatsuo), Jacqueline Tate (as Granny), Phyllis Ho (as Yasuko), Steven Nguyen (as Kanta), Jamie Zubairi (as Hiroshi) and Deanna Myers (as Tsukiko), while the show’s Kazego puppetry ensemble features Rachel Clare Chan, Sally Cheng, Sabrina Pui Yee Chin, Victor Itang, Gabriel S Janoras, Anna Kato, Heather Lai, Ronnie Lee, Matthew Leonhart, Kumiko Mendl (also Nurse Emiko), Annakanako Mohri, Lucy Park, Richard Peralta, Chloe Ragrag, and Shaofan Wilson (also Miss Hara). The Swing puppeteers are Boaz Chad, Wenshin Lee, Amber Lin, Sera Maehara and Nathaniel Tan. Also performing is singer Ai Ninomiya.

The RSC production broke the Barbican Theatre’s box office record for most tickets sold in a single day when it was first announced and received critical acclaim in 2022. Since then, it has gone from strength to strength, winning five WhatsOnStage Awards and six Olivier Awards, and returning to the Barbican for a second sell-out run in 2023.

You can watch the full video below:

Based on Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 animated classic, it is adapted for the stage by Tom Morton-Smith and directed by WhatsOnStage Award winner Phelim McDermott.

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 and sound effects and soundscape designer is Nicola T Chang.