‘My Neighbor Totoro’ to be brought to London stage by Royal Shakespeare Company
12:03 JST, April 28, 2022
LONDON (Jiji Press) — The Royal Shakespeare Company on Wednesday said that Japanese anime giant Hayao Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro” will be given a stage adaptation.
The famous animation film directed by Miyazaki and produced by Japanese animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli Inc. will be adapted into a stage play to be performed in London from October.
It is unusual for a major Japanese animation film to be brought to a theater in the British capital, a center of the global theatrical world.
Joe Hisaishi, who composed the music for the film, will serve as the play’s executive producer, while British playwright Tom Morton-Smith will adapt the work into the play. It will run between Oct. 8 this year and Jan. 21, 2023, at London’s Barbican Centre.
“This is a ground-breaking project,” Hisaishi said in a statement.
“If the story is universal, as I believe it is, it will have a global reach even if it is performed by people from different cultural backgrounds speaking different languages,” he added.
Hisaishi also revealed that he had told Miyazaki that he wanted to see a stage adaptation of the film. The celebrated anime director replied that he would support the idea only if Hisaishi was in charge of the play, according to Hisaishi.
Royal Shakespeare Company Acting Artistic Director Erica Whyman said, “After many years of development I am proud our collaboration with Joe Hisaishi and Studio Ghibli is taking flight at the Barbican in what is set to be a ground-breaking and spectacular theatrical event.”
"Culture" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Yoasobi To Be Invited to White House Dinner During Kishida’s State Visit; Kishida To Gift Wajima Lacquerware to U.S. President Biden
-
Precious Literary Manuscript Found in Antique Wooden Box; Written Kamakura-Period Poet Teika in His Own Hand
-
Old Friend Breathes New Life into KyoAni Arson Victim’s Picture Book; Japan’s Veteran Voice Actors, Animators Create Anime Film
-
Hiroyuki Sanada Pursues Authenticity of Feudal Japan in ‘Shogun’; Pushed for Detailed in Depiction of Characters
-
‘Kanta on Manga’ Column Published in 2 E-Books
JN ACCESS RANKING
- China Mutes Memorialization of Reformer Hu Yaobang; Memories Could Spark Critique of Xi Administration
- Shinkansen Services Suspended After Man ‘Searches for Phone’ on Tracks; Disruption Affects About 14,000 Passengers
- U.S. 7th Fleet officer Arrested on Suspicion of Stealing Sushi, Sashimi, Chicken at Kanagawa Shopping Mall; Suspect Caught Mid-Meal
- UNRWA Director Describes Catastrophic Destruction in Gaza; Says Relief Trucks Robbed, ‘People’s Hearts Destroyed’
- JAL Airplane Experiences Radio Malfunction During Flight, Lands Safely By Relying on Light Signals