My Neighbour Totoro

My Neighbour Totoro is a theatre production at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London, adapting the Studio Ghibli film of the same name for the stage.

The show follows the sisters Satsuki and Mei, who move with their family to the Japanese countryside and encounter a world of spirits, sprites and other creatures, including a large, playful forest guardian called Totoro. The story turns on whether the events are imagined or real, and on the power of imagination and of nature.

The production uses large-scale puppetry, and the puppets were designed by Basil Twist and Mervyn Millar. Songs from the film are included in the staging. The show 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 production is aimed at audiences who know the film as well as those who do not, and it is staged in a theatre rather than as a screening. The Gillian Lynne Theatre hosts concerts and shows in London.