Five honors were given out at the WhatsOnStage Awards for the stage adaption of My Neighbor Totoro by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) at London's Barbican Centre in 1988.
The play won:
- Best Set Design - Tom Pye and Basil Twist
- Best Lighting Design - Jessica Hung Han Yun
- Best Sound Design - Tony Gayle
- Best Direction - Phelim McDermott
- Best Musical Direction/Supervision - Bruce O'Neil and Matt Smith
The play was also nominated for:
- Best Performer in a Play - Mei Mac
- Best Video Design - Finn Ross and Andrea Scott
- Best Graphic Design - Toshio Suzuki and Dewynters
- Best New Play
The play garnered eight more nominations than Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! at the Young Vic, which it edged out by one. Best New Play was won by Prima Facie.
The theatrical run of My Neighbor Totoro, which began on October 8, 2022, lasted 15 weeks until January 21, 2023. It was performed by the RSC and longtime Hayao Miyazaki composer Joe Hisaishi, who also serves as the play's executive producer and wrote the music for the original movie. The story was adapted by Tom Morton-Smith (Oppenheimer), and Phelim McDermott (Akhnaten) oversaw the production. The show was created in association with Nippon TV in Japan and the English theater company Improbable.
The director Phelim McDermott specifically stated in an interview with the Deadline website that two of the story's girls are unlikely to be played by children.
"We have to use performers who can do many things …puppetry, physical stuff, so there are choices to be made."
Additionally, he stated that although there will be a band performing live music onstage, the show would not be considered a musical in the traditional sense.
McDermott added that composer Phillip Glass had introduced him to Joe Hisaishi in London six years prior; Hisaishi wanted to talk about staging My Neighbor Totoro. When playwright Tom Morton-Smith and director Hayao Miyazaki met in Japan to discuss the play, Miyazaki queried Morton-Smith on his feminist views. "I answered 'yes,' and that was extremely important to him and that the girls are fundamental," Morton-Smith said.
Morton-Smith said he had permission "to expand on the beats (in the film) that are already there and show some scenes that aren't in the film.”
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.
Check out the trailer to the film the play adaptation is based off of!
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