Phelim Macdermott: Last News

Following two sold-out limited seasons at London’s Barbican, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s acclaimed stage version of Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli classic My Neighbour Totoro will transfer to the West End early in 2025.

Studio Ghibli classic Spirited Away is set to arrive on the West End Stage next year.Hayao Miyazaki’s 2001 animated film – about a 10-year-old girl, Chihiro, entering the spirit world after her parents are turned into pigs by a witch – will transfer to London’s Coliseum for a limited run from April through to July 2024.The new arrival follows the success of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of My Neighbour Totoro last year, and will be helmed by Tony Award-winning director John Caird. Fans can sign up for priority booking to access tickets once they go live from here.The Japanese-language production will feature English captions, and the actors from last year’s world premiere in Tokyo, Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi, will perform in the main role as Chihiro, alongside puppets.“I am proud and delighted to present the original Japanese stage production of Spirited Away at the Coliseum Theatre next year,” Caird said in a statement.

Naman Ramachandran The Royal Shakespeare Company’s theater adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s “My Neighbor Totoro” swept the Olivier Awards on Sunday, taking home six out of the nine categories it was nominated in, including the Sir Peter Hall Award for best director, awarded to Phelim McDermott and the Noël Coward Award for best entertainment or comedy play. The Almeida Theatre also had a successful night, with three of its productions taking home awards. Will Keen won best supporting actor for his performance in “Patriots” and “Tammy Faye” garnered two acting awards – Katie Brayben for best actress in a musical and Zubin Varla for best actor in a supporting role in a musical. Rebecca Frecknall’s revival of Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire” won best actor for Paul Mescal’s portrayal of Stanley Kowalski and best actress in a supporting role for Anjana Vasan’s performance as Stella. The play also won the best revival award.

The 2023 Olivier Awards are here!

Jodie Comer and Paul Mescal are among the big winners at the 2023 Olivier Awards, which are being revealed this evening at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Scroll down for a list of the winners that will be updated as the names come in. 

Naman Ramachandran The smash hit stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s “My Neighbor Totoro” will return to London’s Barbican Theatre for a limited run this fall. The production is from executive producer Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), in collaboration with Improbable and Nippon TV. The global stage premiere of Hayao Miyazaki’s celebrated 1988 animated feature film, adapted by Tom Morton-Smith (“Oppenheimer”), was announced in April 2022 and broke the Barbican’s box office record for most tickets sold in a single day. The production opened at the Barbican in October 2022 and was nominated for nine Olivier Awards, the most nominations for any production this year.

Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company is bringing back its barnstorming stage adaptation of famed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s hand-drawn 1988 classic My Neighbour Totoro for a second season at London’s Barbican in November.

Robin Hood. He co-founded the theatre company Improbable in 1996. The company’s first production, 70 Hill Lane, was based on McDermott’s childhood experience of a poltergeist.

Jim Henson’s Creature Shop animatronics and visual effects studio, based in Los Angeles, has teamed with Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company to produce life-size puppets for the RSC’s stage adaptation of legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 hand-drawn classic My Neighbour Totoro.

Studio Ghibli classic My Neighbour Totoro.The world premiere of the stage adaptation, directed by Phelim McDermott and featuring puppets created by Basil Twist, will have a limited 15-week run at London’s Barbican from October 2022 until January 2023.My Neighbour Totoro follows sisters Mei and Satsuki, who move to an old house while their mother recovers from a pretty severe illness. While exploring the neighbouring forest, Mei stumbles upon a magical world of cryptids, creatures and monsters, including the titular Totoro.Erica Whyman, the RSC’s acting artistic director, said: “Adapting this deeply loved magical story for the stage is the next chapter in our longstanding commitment to making spectacular and accessible productions that see the world through the eyes of children,” adding that the show would attract “a wide range of theatre audiences as well as loyal fans of the original film”.Ranking it the ninth best Studio Ghibli film in 2018, NME described My Neighbour Totoro – created by Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki – as “an iconic film that captures so purely how we find strength in our families” as well as “the perfect introduction to Ghibli and the antidote to the rainy-day blues”.The RSC’s stage version will be adapted by Tom Morton-Smith, who praised the film as a “very wholesome, beautiful world that washes over you”.“These young girls are discovering nature for the first time, so there are long shots of a snail on a leaf or a fish in a stream or a frog jumping in a puddle,” he said.

Naman Ramachandran Executive producer and composer Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) are readying a stage adaptation of Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved 1988 Studio Ghibli film “My Neighbor Totoro.” It will open at London’s the Barbican this fall in collaboration with Improbable and Nippon TV.Hisaishi was the original composer of the film. Written by playwright Tom Morton-Smith (“Oppenheimer”) and directed by Phelim McDermott with production design by Tom Pye, costumes by Kimie Nakano, lighting by Jessica Hung Han Yun, and movement by You-Ri Yamanaka, the production will feature puppetry created by Basil Twist and music from Hisaishi’s score in a new orchestration by Will Stuart, performed live with sound design by Tony Gayle. Artwork for the adaptation includes a hand drawn title by Toshio Suzuki, producer for Studio Ghibli, who was involved in the planning and production of the original animated film.

Famed Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi has partnered with the U.K.’s Royal Shakespeare Company to create a stage version of Japanese animation legend Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 hand-drawn classic My Neighbour Totoro, a beloved film that follows the adventures of two young sisters who move from Tokyo city to the countryside.