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Free Totoro Play Event on Zoom for Barbican Members on Thursday

There will be Zoom event on Thursday July 14 called My Neighbour Totoro Insight: Designing for the Stage at 6 p.m. The event is for Barbican members and patrons only, with tickets available here. The event is described as follows:

"Hear from members of the My Neighbour Totoro design team as they talk about the process of adapting the iconic film for the stage.

"Joe Hisaishi and the RSC bring Studio Ghibli's enchanting classic coming-of-age film to the stage in a landmark new adaptation in collaboration with Improbable and Nippon TV.

"Exploring the magical fantasy world of childhood and the transformative power of imagination, My Neighbour Totoro follows one extraordinary summer in the lives of sisters Satsuki and Mei as they are swept up in exciting adventures with their new neighbours – transported to a long-forgotten realm of spirits, sprites, and natural wonder.

"Learn more about how the on-screen magic will be brought to life on stage at this event."

It was previously announced that Jim Henson's Creature Shop will be supplying live-size puppets for the My Neighbor Totoro stage play at London's Barbican Centre.

Tickets are available at this link. The play will have a 15-week run from October 8, 2022 to January 21, 2023.

Tom Morton-Smith (Oppenheimer) is adapting the story, and Phelim McDermott (Akhnaten) directs the production. The play is made in collaboration with the English theatre company Improbable and Japan's Nippon TV.

The RSC describes the production on its website:

The global premiere of Studio Ghibli's My Neighbor Totoro comes to London's Barbican stage this autumn.

"The celebrated 1988 animated feature film by Hayao Miyazaki will be brought to the stage by its original composer Joe Hisaishi in a landmark new adaption by the RSC written by playwright Tom Morton-Smith.

"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.

"My Neighbor Totoro will play a strictly limited 15-week season from 8 October 2022 - 21 January 2023 and promises to delight all generations.

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.