My Neighbour Totoro – Royal Shakespeare Company / Barbican, London

A review of My Neighbour Totoro, the beloved Studio Ghibli film come to life thanks to the RSC and Jim Henson’s puppet studio. This is so flipping charming you should get a ticket right now.

My Neighbour Totoro

Firstly, let me say – if you’re planning to see My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican and you haven’t seen the film yet, watch it before you go (it’s on Netflix). The 1988 animation by Studio Ghibli and directed by Hayao Miyazaki is a classic. It’s a story about two girls and their dad. They move to the countryside in Post-War Japan while their mum is in hospital. In between scenes of home life and nature, they meet some incredible creatures in the forest near their home. Most notably the eponymous Totoro, and a Catbus, which is indeed a cat who is a bus.

I wrote a while ago in a review of The Ocean at the End of the Lane about how there are scenes that you just can’t imagine on stage. How can you depict a bucket with a whole ocean inside? Or in this case, how are they going to create a Catbus or a 2 metre tall Totoro? This anticipation is actually half the fun of going to see this new adaptation by Tom Morton-Smith. It does not disappoint. In fact the audience burst into spontaneous applause several times on the night I saw it. And the RSC know full well that that’s what audiences are coming for, given they have not released any production images of the puppets! So – watch the film, then go see the play, and prepare to be surprised and delighted.

My Neighbour Totoro is not just an adaptation and some puppets, though: it’s a real creative group effort. Joe Hisaishi, who wrote the original film score, is back to provide the music. It is played live on stage with Ai Ninomiya singing in Japanese and English. Phelim McDermott directs, staying faithful to the original while leaving room for his own imagination and that of the cast as developed during the rehearsal process. And what a cast it is! Loads of talent from British East Asian actors led by Ami Okumura Jones and Mei Mac as the two young sisters Satsuki and Mei.

The Magic And Struggles Of Childhood

One of the things that is wonderful about the original My Neighbor Totoro is the world it creates from the perspective of the children. There is plenty of wonder and magic, but also scary things: illness and the fear of losing a parent. The stage version goes to great lengths to construct its own version of this child’s-eye view. That four-year-old Mei and her primary school-aged sister are played convincingly by adults tells you that it is successful. Partly this is the energy and physicality of Okumura Jones and Mac. Partly clever touches like scaled costumes that help us to believe these are children before us.

The puppets and puppeteers also add to the whimsy. And not just Totoro and the Catbus. There are also some very spirited chickens, a goat, and of course soot sprites. They are manned by a group of at least 15 puppeteers in black costumes (by Kimie Nakano) which hearken back to traditional Japanese dress. They play up this invisible-yet-present quality, breaking through into the action of the play at times with moments of physical humour.

I was absolutely drawn into this world, and didn’t want it to end. The production has the confidence of Miyazaki’s original. It incorporates moments which are still or quiet, rather than always driving the action forward. It gives room to ‘sit’ in Totoro’s world, and is truly a delight.

Lastly just a note on representation. As well as the contingent of talented actors I mentioned earlier – a strong bit of casting which puts a lot of actors of Japanese heritage into this universal yet specifically Japanese story – there was another small detail I appreciated. This was the inclusion of Asian names in their original scripts (Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese) in the programme. What a lovely way to value heritage and inclusion, and how nice it must be to see your name in print as you wish to see it. I haven’t seen this done elsewhere but hope to see it again.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 5/5

My Neighbour Totoro on until 21 January 2023