‘My Neighbour Totoro’ to return to London

The nine-time Olivier-nominated production, based on the popular 1988 Studio Ghibli film, will play a second season at the Barbican in autumn 2023.

After a record-breaking world premiere in London, My Neighbour Totoro will return to the capital later this year. My Neighbour Totoro will run at the Barbican from 21 November to 23 Mar. 2024.

My Neighbour Totoro is currently nominated for nine Oliviers, the most of any production this year. It's nominated in categories including Best Entertainment or Comedy, Best Actress (for Mei Mac,) and Best Director (for Phelim McDermott.) The Olivier Awards take place this Sunday, 2 April. Find out more about My Neighbour Totoro at the Olivier Awards.

Based on Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 Studio Ghibli film, My Neighbour Totoro follows Satsuki and Mei, two sisters who discover ancient spirits in their new surroundings. Tom Morton-Smith adapts the film for the stage. My Neighbour Totoro is a collaboration between the Royal Shakespeare Company, Improbable, and Nippon TV.

"My Neighbour Totoro is a story of imagination and courage which asks us to trust the youngest amongst us to see further than most of us dare to dream. With our return to the Barbican, many more audiences will be able to experience the joy of Totoro and we can’t wait to welcome them," said Griselda Yorke, RSC executive producer.

In a five-star London Theatre review, our critic said: “Behind the curtains, a giant silhouette gradually appears, and when those curtains swing open, we finally see [Totoro]: a huge shaggy mass, so enormous, so peculiar and so utterly beguiling that the audience breaks into rapturous applause… It’s a reminder to take time to savour our surroundings, and to find joy even in the toughest times. Theatre at its most magical.”

Phelim McDermott directs, with production design by Tom Pye, costume design by Kimie Nakano, lighting design by Jessica Hung Han Yun, and movement by You-Ri Yamanaka. Puppetry design and direction is by Basil Twist, created with puppetry associate Mervyn Millar’s Significant Object and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. The 2023 cast will be announced at a later date.

When is My Neighbour Totoro in London?

My Neighbour Totoro will be back in London in 2023. The show runs at the Barbican from 21 Nov. 2023 to 23 Mar. 2024.

Book My Neighbour Totoro tickets on London Theatre.

Photo credit: My Neighbour Totoro (Photo courtesy of production)