Spectacular puppetry in adaptation of classic anime

My Neighbour Totoro is a popular Japanese anime children’s film. The Royal Shakespeare Company stage adaptation, said the critics, is spectacular, offers superb puppets, is faithful to the film, and will appeal to adults as well as children. They also said it was a little light on plot, which essentially is about two sisters who move to the countryside and discover magical creatures in a nearby forest. Below are extracts reviews from its earlier runs at The Barbican.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
5 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
The Stage’s Sam Marlowe pointed out, ‘It could so easily be tacky or saccharine. Instead, it’s exquisite, every detail of design and execution painstakingly considered.’ She summed up, ‘It’s unadulterated joy: a huge, healing hug of a show, generous and utterly beguiling.’
Arifa Akbar in The Guardian, compared it to the film and decided the theatre show is ‘just as enchanting and perhaps more emotionally impactful’. She continued, ‘The puppetry by Basil Twist creates much of the magic. Farm animals bring comedy, especially a mop-head of characterful hens, while otherworldly creatures supply the wow factor: the soot sprites are black pom-poms on sticks that move like a murmuration while Totoro is formidable, rumbling, eerie, comic and endearing at once.’
The Financial Times‘ Sarah Hemming took a similar view, describing how ‘The stage responds with its number-one asset: the audience’s imagination. The result — in the hands of playwright Tom Morton-Smith, director Phelim McDermott, designer Tom Pye, lighting designer Jessica Hung Han Yun and puppeteer Basil Twist — is a gorgeous, uplifting tribute to the link between theatre and the imaginative realm of children’s play.’
Gary Naylor of BroadwayWorld is a huge fan of the film, so what he said was praise indeed: ‘The acid test for Phelim McDermott’s production is the iconic bus stop scene, one of the greatest in movie history, the moment Setsuko learns to trust her sister and discovers the true nature of Totoro and what it can summon. I could watch that scene every night of the run and not tire of its beauty, nor of its underpinning of one of the film’s central messages – that we must trust the mysteries of nature, give them protection and they will, in turn, protect us.’
Will Stone for The Morning Star had his favourite memories: ‘ it is Tom Pye’s tremendous set, which has a live band and singer Ai Ninomiya perform atop treehouse-like platforms, and Basil Twist’s breathtaking puppetry, from the Totoros of varying sizes to the soot sprites and even the flock of funny hens, not to mention the Catbus that is in danger of knocking out the front row, that leave the most indelible mark.’
The Observer‘s Susannah Clapp noted, ‘As the sisters, adult performers Ami Okumura Jones and Mei Mac have to do some big Child Acting – massive smiles and scampers – but end by transmitting real warmth.’
Saskia Baron at TheArtsDesk called it ‘a dazzling show’ and enthused, ‘Over the course of the evening, we are treated to beautifully choreographed puppeteers manipulating ingenious creations’. She said, ‘Musicians play live perched high on tree-house platforms in full view, while Ai Ninomiya dazzles on stage, singing in both Japanese and English.’
4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑
The Times’ Clive Davis enjoyed it but disagreed with Saskia Baron at TheArts Desk (above): ‘it’s just a pity that the music itself – including songs performed by Ai Ninomiya – (is) so insipid…Would I recommend this family-friendly show to neutrals? Yes, with reservations.’
Time Out’s Andrzej Lukowski said, ‘it’s a faithful transposition of the film… every set piece you’re willing to be a stunner, is a stunner, an endless cavalcade of sweet, strange joy.’
The Telegraph’s Dominic Cavendish wrote, ‘It’s a pleasure to report that what fans loved about the film has been beautifully served in this stage version’. He was particularly impressed by the friendly furry giant creature of the title: ‘The wow-factor of his spectacular appearances, worth the price of admission alone, is matched by the hallucinogenic, 12-legged ‘Cat-bus’, a bright yellow, internally lit inflatable sight to behold, with search-light eyes and serrated grin.’
3 stars ⭑⭑⭑
The Standard’s Nick Curtis said it was ‘full of dazzling visual magic but short on plot’.
Critics’ Average Rating: 4.5⭑
Value rating 46 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price)
My Neighbour Totoro is at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, currently booking until 29 March 2026. Buy tickets from the theatre here.
If you’ve seen My Neighbour Totoro at The Gillian Lynne Theatre or The Barbican, please add your review and rating below