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My Neighbour Totoro

Royal Shakespeare Company / Joe Hisaishi

An illustration of the Totoro character with green watercolour washes of paint. Inside Totoro's face is the silhouette of two small characters holding a red umbrella.

Find your spirit with the “awe-inspiring” (Time Out) and “dazzling” (Guardian) My Neighbour Totoro, as this five-star, award-winning production returns for a strictly limited season.

Winner of six Olivier Awards and five WhatsOnStage Awards, this “utterly beguiling” (The Stage) and “jaw-dropping” (Metro) staging of the celebrated 1988 animated feature film is brought to you by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Executive Producer Joe Hisaishi, in collaboration with Improbable and Nippon TV and adapted by Tom Morton-Smith (Oppenheimer). 

Hailed as “a tender and remarkably beautiful show” (Financial Times), My Neighbour Totoro is an enchanting coming-of-age story exploring 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. Book now for this unmissable, “huge, healing hug of a show” (The Stage). 

Running time: approx 2 hrs 40 mins (including interval)

Please note that evening performances start at 7pm. Latecomers may not be admitted.

Age guidance:
We suggest 6+, but younger guests are welcome. The show is 2 hours and 40 minutes, quite loud in parts and possibly scary for some younger children at moments. Children need to occupy their own seat at all times through the performance. This production is not suitable for children under four years of age (including babes in arms). Younger children and babes in arms are welcome at our relaxed performances.

The show features puppets, some large scale that will interact in audience space. The show contains themes of an ill parent in hospital. It also features live music and sound effects that will be loud at times.


 

Presented by the Barbican. 

The RSC is supported using public funding by Arts Council England
The work of the RSC is supported by the Culture Recovery Fund 
Miranda Curtis CMG – Lead Production Supporter of My Neighbour Totoro
New Work at the RSC is generously supported by The Drue and H.J. Heinz II Charitable Trust
The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation
RSC £10 Tickets are supported by TikTok

© Studio Ghibli. © RSC

Press

‘A dazzling staging of the Studio Ghibli classic‘
‘A tender and remarkably beautiful show‘
‘A huge, healing hug of a show... utterly beguiling‘
‘Jaw-dropping‘
‘Ingenious ‘
‘Utterly charming ‘
‘Wow is too small a word‘
‘Theatre at its most magical‘
‘A magical creature of a show‘
‘Delightful‘
‘Totoro truly enchants‘
‘Amazing‘
‘Intoxicating‘
‘My Neighbour Totoro breaks Barbican box office record‘
‘Muppet power! RSC uses puppet legends for My Neighbour Totoro extravaganza‘

Discover

Accessibility

The show features puppets, some large scale that will interact in audience space. The show contains themes of an ill parent in hospital. It also features live music and sound effects that will be loud at times.

There are a range of Audio Described, BSL-integrated, Captioned and Relaxed performances across the run.

Audio Described
Wed 28 Feb, 7pm (Touch Tour 5.00 – 5.30pm)

Listen to the audio introduction notes

Captioned performances
Wed 28 Feb, 7pm

Relaxed Performance (Audio Described & Captioned)
Sat 17 Feb, 2pm (Touch Tour 12.00 – 12.30pm)

View the BSL synopsis
Read the visual story
View the sonic story
Read the intro notes

My Neighbour Totoro Teacher Pack
The activities provided in this pack can be used by teachers either as stand-alone practical approaches to this story or as supporting activities for students seeing the production.

Find out more about Accessible Events at the Barbican.

Relaxed performances

A Relaxed performance is ideal for those who would benefit from a more informal approach to noise and movement in the auditorium or would feel more at ease knowing they could enter and exit freely. There will be a relaxed performances on 17 Feb, 2pm.

For this production:

- The house will be opened early to allow you more time to find your seats.

- The Front of House team are briefed on providing a more informal service and relaxing the standards in regard to audience behaviour during the performance.

- Latecomer and re-admittance points will be relaxed to allow people to leave and re-enter the auditorium more freely.

- The house lights will remain slightly raised to during the performance to ensure your safety if you need to move about.

- The performers are briefed about Relaxed performances and know that you may need to move around and make noise.

- A quiet chill out space is provided with comfortable seating.

- This production is suitable for babes in arms

- The performance has not been sensory adapted.

Please get in touch with us if you would like to discuss further before making a booking.

Contact the Theatre team at [email protected]

Read our visual story

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RSC Supporters

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