My Neighbour Totoro will close at the Gillian Lynne Theatre on Sunday 3 January 2027, the producers announced today. The stage adaptation of the Studio Ghibli film is directed by Phelim McDermott, with Joe Hisaishi as executive producer.
My Neighbour Totoro will now end its run at the Gillian Lynne Theatre on Sunday 3 January 2027. The announcement sets a firm closing date rather than an extension, and group bookings are on sale to the same day.
The production is presented by executive producer Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Shakespeare Company, in collaboration with Nippon TV and Improbable. It is adapted by Tom Morton-Smith from Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 animated film, and directed by Improbable co-founder Phelim McDermott.
The cast is led by Victoria Chen as Mei and Helen Chong as her older sister Satsuki, with Dai Tabuchi as Tatsuo, Jacqueline Tate as Granny and Ai Ninomiya as Kaze No Koe. They are joined by the production’s Kazego Puppetry Ensemble, which operates the forest spirits and the Catbus.
Puppetry is designed and directed by Basil Twist, with production design by Tom Pye, costumes by Kimie Nakano, lighting by Jessica Hung Han Yun and movement by You-Ri Yamanaka. Hisaishi’s score for the film is played live in a new orchestration by Will Stuart, with sound design by Tony Gayle and sound effects by Nicola T Chang. Video design is by Finn Ross and Andrea Scott, dramaturgy by Pippa Hill and casting by Hannah Miller CDG. The hand-drawn title used on the artwork is by Toshio Suzuki, the Studio Ghibli producer who worked on the original film.
Four assisted performances remain before the closing date: a signed performance on Sunday 11 October, a relaxed performance on Sunday 8 November, an audio-described performance on Saturday 5 December and a captioned performance on Sunday 6 December, all at 2pm.
My Neighbour Totoro runs at the Gillian Lynne Theatre until Sunday 3 January 2027.
