Interest
Totoro British Stage Play Extract Performed to Japanese Emperor and Empress
posted on by Andrew Osmond
The event was part of the visit of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to the Young V&A in Bethnal Green. Fully costumed actors from the play, including the leads Mei Mac as Mei and Ami Okumura Jones as Satsuki, performed the Soot Sprite Song from the play. The Young V&A is currently hosting an exhibition called Japan: Myths to Manga (until 8 September 2024), which includes a set-design model from the play.
Footage of the visit is at the link below, with a glimpse of the My Neighbor Totoro performance at 9-40 in the video.
After the performance, the actors met the Emperor and Empress. Ami Okumara Jones commented, “The Emperor and Empress were very warm and curious to know more about us and the production... They were interested to hear about the international collaboration between the UK and Japanese artists who created the show.”
My Neighbor Totoro was presented by the RSC and Hayao Miyazaki's longtime composer Joe Hisaishi, who created the music for the original film and serves as the play's executive producer. Tom Morton-Smith (Oppenheimer) adapted the story, and Phelim McDermott (Akhnaten) directed the production. The play was made in collaboration with the English theatre company Improbable and Japan's Nippon TV.
The play debuted as a 15-week run at London's Barbican Centre, from its premiere on October 8, 2022 until January 21, 2023. Its second run was also at the Barbican, from November 21 2023 to March 23, 2024.
The play's upcoming third run will be in London's West End at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, near Holborn and Covent Garden underground stations, from March to November 2025. A report on the Deadline website referred to this as an "initial period."
The play won six awards at the Olivier Awards in April 2023, and was nominated for three more. The play had the most number of nominations and wins, with nine nominations and six wins. The play also won five awards at the theatrical WhatsOnStage Awards in February 2023.
The RSC describes the production on its website:
"This enchanting coming-of-age story explores the magical fantasy world of childhood and the transformative power of imagination, as it follows one extraordinary summer in the lives of sisters Satsuki and Mei.
The original anime film My Neighbor Totoro is the story of two young sisters, Mei and Satsuki, who move to the countryside and encounter Totoro, wonderful creatures which only children can see.
