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Time to book a Christmas treat? My Neighbor Totoro awaits

By John Freeman on October 25, 2025 • ( 0 )

With Halloween almost upon us, thoughts for many surely turn to Christmas – no, really, you’re well advised to plan! – and what show might be worth taking in as part of the festivities. The hosts of your local pantomime will, of course, welcome you: but if you’re after something big, how about My Neighbour Totoro, at London’s Gillian Lynne Theatre?

If your Christmas treats already planned, the good news is that this award-winning show’s West End run has been extended up until August 2026, so there’s still plenty of time to book.

Find your spirit with this “profoundly magical experience” (Elle) and winner of six Olivier Awards, as the five-star, widely acclaimed adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s animated feature film appears on stage.

Join sisters Satsuki and Mei as they move to their curious new home in the countryside. Exploring their unfamiliar surroundings, they soon encounter a world of spirits, sprites and magical creatures. Maybe it was all a dream? Or perhaps they really are now friends with the giant, ancient protector of the forest named “Totoro” and his friend the “Catbus”…

The cast of My Neighbour Totoro includes Victoria Chen (The Night Before Christmas) as Mei, alongside the stars of the show’s Barbican run: Ami Okumura Jones (Scandaltown) as Mei’s older sister Satsuki, Dai Tabuchi (Usagi Yojimbo) as their father Tatsuo, Jacqueline Tate (Murder on the Orient Express) as Granny, and Ai Ninomiya (Les Misérables) as the Singer.

With “blockbuster awe-inspiring puppets” (Time Out) from Puppetry Director & Designer Basil Twist and Puppetry Associate Mervyn Millar (War Horse), My Neighbour Totoro 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) with direction from Phelim McDermott. To date, the show has won six Olivier Awards and five WhatsOnStage Awards.

• Book your tickets for My Neighbour Totoro through the official site at totoroshow.com

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.