Tom Morton: Last News

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.