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My Neighbor Totoro Stage Play Wins 6 Olivier Awards
posted on by Joanna Cayanan
The play won:
- Noël Coward Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play
- Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director - Phelim McDermott
- Best Costume Design - Kimie Nakano
- d&b audiotechnik Award for Best Sound Design - Tony Gayle
- Blue-I Theatre Technology Award for Best Set Design - Tom Pye
- White Light Award for Best Lighting Design - Jessica Hung Han Yun
The play was also nominated for:
- Gillian Lynne Award for Best Theatre Choreographer - Basil Twist (puppetry direction)
- Best Original Score or New Orchestrations - Joe Hisaishi (music) and Will Stuart (orchestrations, arrangements)
- Best Actress - Mei Mac
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.
My Neighbor Totoro had a 15-week run from its premiere on October 8, 2022 to January 21, 2023. It 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.
Entertainment news website Variety reported last Wednesday that the play will return to the Barbican Centre from November 21 through March 23, 2024 for a limited run.
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."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.
Sources: The Mainichi, Variety (Naman Ramachandran)
