The world premiere of *My Neighbour Totoro* triumphed at the 2023 Olivier Awards, winning six categories out of its nine nominations at the ceremony. It’s a good time for the Studio Ghibli stage adaptation, too, as *My Neighbour Totoro* will open in the West End next year, with performances at the [Gillian Lynne Theatre](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/gillian-lynne-theatre) from 8 March.

Based on Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 Studio Ghibli film, *My Neighbour Totoro* follows Satsuki and Mei,...

Here's why 'My Neighbour Totoro' deserved all the Oliviers

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Based on Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 Studio Ghibli film, *My Neighbour Totoro* will return to London later next year, opening at the Gillian Lynne Theatre.

Next year, the [Royal Shakespeare Company’s](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/stars-on-stage/royal-shakespeare-company) triumphant 2022 stage adaptation of [*My Neighbour Totoro*](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/25389-my-neighbour-totoro) heads to the West End's [Gillian Lynne Theatre](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/gillian-lynne-theatre) for a third run due to enormous popular demand. The show won six Olivier Awards and broke the Barbican’s box office record for the most tickets...

What to expect from London shows based on Studio Ghibli films

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Studio Ghibli is a renowned Japanese animation film studio founded in 1985. They are known for creating imaginative movies, including *My Neighbour Totoro* and *Spirited Away*.

A stage adaptation of television comedy *Inside No 9* will arrive in the West End next year. The show opens for a 12-week run at Wyndham's Theatre from 18 January 2025.

The TV show's original writers and performers Steve Pemberton (*The Pillowman*) and Reece Shearsmith (*A Very Expensive Poison*) will star in the West End show, titled *Stage/Fright*, which will blend original material with familiar characters from the series. 

Speaking about the announcement, Pemberton and Shearsmith said:...

Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's 'Inside No 9' to be adapted for the West End 

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The TV show's original creators Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith will star in the West End adaptation when it opens next year. 

The hit musical comedy *Titanique* has confirmed plans for a West End run later this year. The show is currently performing at Off-Broadway venue the Daryl Roth Theatre.

The musical, which is co-written by Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle, and Constantine Rousouli, has received critical acclaim and multiple awards since its premiere off Broadway at Asylum Theater in 2022.

The parody of James Cameron's Oscar-winning *Titanic* film features a raft of Celine Dion’s iconic songs including “My Heart Will...

'Titanique' confirms planned West End run

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The musical has received critical acclaim and multiple awards since its premiere off Broadway at Asylum Theater in 2022. It is currently at the Daryl Roth Theatre.

The British writer James Graham is on an incredible run at the moment. He just won the Olivier Award for Best New Play for *Dear England*, a fantastic drama about football manager Gareth Southgate, which enticed new audiences into theatre, and the musical *Tammy Faye*, for which he supplied the book, is opening on Broadway this autumn.

He’s also a prolific screenwriter, with recent hits including the crime series *Sherwood* and the dystopian drama *The Way*. Graham has that rare combination of...

Learn more about James Graham’s career ahead of 'Boys from the Blackstuff'

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From plays *Dear England* and *This House* to TV hits like *Sherwood*, Graham is unstoppable – and now his *Boys from the Blackstuff* is coming to the West End.

The bright lights of West End theatres are always appealing, but there are also a number of exciting Off-West End venues in the capital, such as the small but mighty [Bush Theatre](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/bush-theatre), which is nestled in west London.

This theatre has always punched above its weight, launching the careers of hugely successful writers such as James Graham and Lucy Kirkwood, as well as actors like Victoria Wood, Alan Rickman, Andrew Scott, and Phoebe...

A complete guide to the Bush Theatre

Bush Theatre credit Philip Vile

Get to know this exciting new-writing venue in west London, which has launched the careers of Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Victoria Wood, among others.

The acclaimed screen and stage actor Ben Whishaw is back in town, starring in the premiere of Margaret Perry’s *[Bluets](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/39930-bluets)* at the Royal Court. The play is an adaptation of Maggie Nelson’s book and follows someone obsessed with the colour blue – taking in artists like Joni Mitchell and Billie Holiday as they navigate a devastating heartbreak.

Whishaw is joined in *Bluets* by *House of the Dragon* star Emma D’Arcy and *The Girl Before*’s Kayla...

Learn more about Ben Whishaw's career ahead of 'Bluets' at the Royal Court

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The James Bond and *Paddington* actor is co-starring in this new adaptation of Maggie Nelson's book *Bluets* with Emma D'Arcy and Kayla Meikle.

It’s another fantastic year for [Shakespeare plays](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/whats-on/shakespeare) in London, and as the weather (finally!) improves, you can start getting those outdoor shows in the diary, as well as all of the brilliant productions in the West End and beyond.

If you’re after a fresh take on the Bard, you’re definitely in luck. Sir Ian McKellen is already wowing audiences, giving his Falstaff a dynamic new spin in Robert Icke's adaptation of *Henry IV*, *[Player...

See modern adaptations and outdoor productions of Shakespeare plays in London

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Player Kings. Ian McKellen (Falstaff) & Toheeb Jimoh (Prince Harry). Credit - Manuel Harlan. 029

From Ian McKellen in *Player Kings* to an incredible open-air season at Shakespeare's Globe, there's a wide variety of shows on offer in London.

You just can’t beat family when it comes to riveting drama. Perhaps that’s because no one gets under your skin quite like the people you love and who know you best – and who are bonded to you by blood, like it or not. From Greek tragedy through Shakespearean slanging matches and contemporary clans, shows with family drama at their centre have always ruled our stages.

That’s certainly true of London theatre this year, which features a range of bickering families – from plays like *[Long Day's...

Watch West End family dramas on the London stage

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Enter the homes of these loving but fraught families in West End plays such as *Long Day's Journey Into Night* and musicals like *Back to the Future*.

Get ready for what promises to be the most talked-about play of the year. Hollywood star John Lithgow will play Roald Dahl in a new drama, *[Giant](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/show/39984-giant)*, which sees the famous author about to release his children’s book *The Witches*, but then rocked by a scandal surrounding anti-Semitic comments he made in an article.

Mark Rosenblatt’s debut play, directed by Nicholas Hytner (artistic director of the Bridge Theatre), also stars Elliot Levey...

Learn more about John Lithgow's career ahead of him playing Roald Dahl in 'Giant'

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The Tony and Emmy-winning Hollywood actor is starring in Mark Rosenblatt’s provocative new play *Giant* at the Royal Court in London this autumn.

See the actors visiting the Donmar Warehouse! The cast has been set for the European premiere of *The Band's Visit*, David Yazbek and Itamar Moses's musical, which won multiple Tony Awards on Broadway.

Leading the cast are award-winning stage and screen actor Alon Moni Aboutboul as Tewfiq, and seven-time Israeli Female Singer of the Year award winner Miri Mesika as Dina. She is also a judge on the Israeli version of *American Idol*.

The cast also includes Sharif Afifi as Haled, Marc Antolin as Itzik, Harel Glazer as Papi, Levi Goldmeier as Zelger, Ido Gonen as Sammy, Michal Horowicz as Iris, Emma Kingston as Sammy's Wife (and Dina at certain performances), Yali Topol Margalith as Anna, Ashley Margolis as Telephone Guy, Carlos Mendoza de Hevia as Camal, Peter Polycarpou as Avrum, Maya Kristal Tenenbaum as Julia, and Sargon Yelda as Simon. Shira Kravitz and Nitai Levi are understudies.

The musical's onstage band includes Jason Alder, Ant Romero, Idlir Shyti, and Baha Yetkin.

Based on the film written by Eran Kolirin, *The Band's Visit* follows a group of musicians who find themselves lost in a remote town. In the short time they're figuring out how to get back on the road, they meet the locals and bring the town unexpectedly to life. The show premiered in New York in 2017 and won 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

Michael Longhurst directs *The Band's Visit* at Donmar Warehouse, which runs from 24 September to 3 December. It is his latest musical following his revival of *Caroline, or Change* starring Sharon D Clarke, which had acclaimed runs in both London and New York.

The creative team for *The Band's Visit* also includes composer/lyricist David Yazbek, book writer Itamar Moses, set designer Soutra Gilmour, lighting designer Anna Watson, sound designer Paul Groothuis, choreographer and movement and intimacy director Yarit Dor, musical director Tarek Merchant, and musical supervisor Nigel Lilley.

Check back for information on *The Band's Visit* tickets on London Theatre.

*Photo credit: Moni Aboutboul as Tewfiq and Miri Mesika as Dina. (Photo by Helen Murray)*

'The Band's Visit' sets cast at Donmar Warehouse

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Genre: Play

The Band's Visit

In a quiet desert town way off the beaten path, a band of musicians arrive lost. As they wait for the next bus out, these unexpected visitors bring the town to life in surprising ways, proving that even the briefest visit can stay with you forever.

*The Band’s Visit* rejoices in the way music makes us laugh, makes us cry, and ultimately, brings us together.

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Sometimes a simple mistake can change everything. This acclaimed musical tells the story of a simple encounter that reshapes the lives of an orchestra and a small town.
Based on the award-winning Israeli film, the musical also collected 10 Tonys during its Broadway debut. 
Book your tickets to *The Band’s Visit* at the Donmar Warehouse today.

“Who can live without hope?” That’s the quietly profound takeaway from David Yazbek and Itamar Moses’s exquisite gem of a show, *The Band's Visit*, which swept the Tonys in 2018 – winning 10 awards, including Best Musical. An adaptation of the 2007 film of the same name, it’s a modest premise: in 1996, an Egyptian orchestra travels to Israel to play at the opening of a new Arab cultural centre, but accidentally wind up in a dead-end town instead. 

A wry introduction downplays it even further, teasingly saying of this event “You probably didn’t hear about it. It wasn’t very important.” And, in the grand scheme of things, that might be true. But just by spending time with this small group of people, we witness the miraculous truth that you can find the extraordinary within the ordinary, that wider international conflicts melt away when you put human beings together, and that music and stories are the lifeblood of any community.

This happy accident stems from a mispronunciation: the band mean to travel to Petah Tikvah, and instead find themselves in (the fictional) Bet Hatikvah. That leads to the gloriously incongruous sight of the Alexandra Ceremonial Police Orchestra, in their perfectly pressed pale-blue uniforms, awkwardly milling around the dusty café of this desert wasteland – and gawped at by the idling locals. 

The latter bemoan in song that this is a place where nothing happens: it feels like they’re “moving in a circle” laments one man, as he literally spins around on the stage’s revolve – one of numerous deliciously witty touches in Michael Longhurst’s meticulous production. But they’re not the only ones who are stuck, and, as the locals accommodate these strangers for the night, an unlikely exchange occurs that sets them all on a new path.

The most intense of these is between the buttoned-up conductor, Colonel Tewfiq Zakaria, and blunt café owner Dina. The former won’t even remove his hat initially; the latter is all frank, earthy sensuality and passionate outbursts. She even chops watermelon with furious abandon. But the mismatched pair begin to find connections: both are lovelorn and lonely, and they share a love of Arab culture. In the ravishing “Omar Sharif”, Dina recalls her adoration of the actor in the movies she watched as a girl – a song so suffused with longing and desire that you almost feel voyeuristic.

And yet that’s topped by the moment in which Tewfiq shows Dina how to conduct, in silence. Each has cracked the other open, and what passes between them is now beyond words. This dynamic is handled with tender dignity by Alon Moni Aboutboul, who gradually sheds Tewfiq’s gruff layers, and Miri Mesika, the Israeli superstar singer. The latter is simply a knockout: her voice is so rich, so velvety, that you get lost in its depths.

The subplots all have sweet moments and comic value, but are more variable. Most charming is the roller disco double date, in which the lothario trumpeter Haled (a suitably flirtatious Sharif Afifi) helps Papi (an endearing Harel Glazer) to overcome his romantic anxieties. Meanwhile violinist Camal and a local boy known only as Telephone Guy get into a hilarious stand-off over who has possession of the only payphone (Carlos Mendoza de Hevia and Ashley Margolis are a fantastic double act).

Clarinettist Simon confesses his writer’s block to host Itzik, his wife Iris, and her father Avrum (a great turn by Peter Polycarpou). The men bond over how music can fuel love, as Avrum recalls meeting his late wife, and Simon and Itzik start to inch forward in their lives. However, Iris gets the short straw: she’s written as grumpy and hysterical, when in fact her response is pretty reasonable: she works fulltime as carer, while her husband remains unemployed, and she also looks after their newborn baby and both men. Generally, the women – other than Dina – are underdeveloped here. A shame in a piece that otherwise takes such care with its characterisation; it slightly broke the spell for me.

But you forgive an awful lot thanks to the sheer wonder of Yazbek’s score, which mixes traditional Arabic music with Broadway ballads, rhythmic jazz and beguiling klezmer to stupendous effect. And the performers are equally phenomenal, especially woodwind player Andy Findon and percussionist Ant Romero. The boundaries blur between actor and musician, song and speech, and between languages and nationalities.

Soutra Gilmour’s set gives them free rein, with minimal furniture and stone steps at the back where the band congregate, while Anna Watson’s lighting smoothly shifts us into the intimate, confessional night where kindess, patience, just listening helps to unburden the soul, climaxing in the yearning plea of song “Answer Me”. Not much happens here – and yet everything happens. Captivating.

*The Band's Visit at the Donmar Warehouse to 3 December.*

*Photo credit: Alon Moni Aboutboul and Miri Mesika in The Band's Visit at the Donmar Warehouse (Photo by Marc Brenner)*

'The Band's Visit' review — this exquisite gem of a show finds the extraordinary in the ordinary

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Read our four-star review of *The Band's Visit*, the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical now premiering at the Donmar Warehouse in London to 3 December.

The Donmar Warehouse opened on 18 Jul. 1977, as the Royal Shakespeare Company acquired the space as a theatre. The Donmar is a thrust theatre, meaning actors perform to audiences on three sides.

The theatre quickly became a testing ground for [Royal Shakespeare Company shows](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/whats-on/rsc) and Stratford-upon-Avon transfers. After half a decade of RSC ownership, Nica Burns took over as artistic director from 1983 to 1989.

In 1992, the Donmar Warehouse became an independent producing house in 1992, and Sam Mendes took over as artistic director for ten years. Under Mendes, notable shows include *Cabaret* in 1993, starring Alan Cumming and [Jane Horrocks](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/actor-profile/jane-horrocks), as well as revivals of *The Glass Menagerie*, *Endgame* and *Into the Woods*. Michael Grandage then took over as the Donmar’s artistic director in 2002; it was his first London theatre leadership.

In 2021, the Donmar Warehouse partnered with Wessex Grove, a UK based production company. The companies will develop new shows and take the theatre’s work to a wider audience.

## Donmar Warehouse Seating Information

The Donmar Warehouse seats 251 people across two levels - Stalls and Circle.

The Donmar Warehouse auditorium is on an upper level, and is approached by stairs. The Donmar is wheelchair accessible, with three wheelchair spaces in the auditorium.

In the stalls, seating is on one level, with side seats on the rake. As there are few rows on each side, there is good visibility of the stage in all stall seats.

The circle seats offer good visibility also, with a maximum of three rows of seating. There is a safety rail, but this does not impede on viewing. 

'The Band's Visit' sets cast at Donmar Warehouse

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