Mei Mac, Ami Okumura Jones and Dai Tabuchi in My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican Centre, London. Picture Manuel Harlan (c) RSC, with Nippon TV
My Neighbour Totoro continues at the Barbican Centre, London until 21 January 2023.
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Right, so Barbican customer support has denied putting hallucinogens in any of their food and drink. And it couldn’t have been a dream – it’s impossible to sleep soundly as a theatre reviewer, monsters that we are. So, there can be only one explanation: the Royal Shakespeare Company’s My Neighbour Totoro is actual magic.
This much-anticipated production is adapted by Tom Morton-Smith from the beloved 1988 Studio Ghibli animated feature (written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki). The story follows two young girls as they move to the countryside with their father to be close to their sick and hospitalised mother. As they explore their apparently haunted new house and the surrounding woodlands, they encounter spirits of the forest who bring wonder into their lives.
For us in the audience, the magic begins long before anything supernatural gets involved. Central to this show is the puppetry work of Basil Twist. Before the curtain even opens, we are greeted by an adorable menagerie of critters. The programme lists no fewer than 20 puppeteers in the cast, whom on many occasions operate multiple creatures at once. The stage is expansive and production designer Tom Pye’s scenery work is truly epic (complemented perfectly by Jessica Hung Han Yun’s brilliant lighting design), but it is the work of these puppeteers that gives the show a feeling of life and energy like nothing I have seen before.
Even better: the role of puppeteer is treated as unseriously as it should be. There are innumerable hilarious moments where the fourth wall is broken, but somehow the magic is never lost. This is because My Neighbour Totoro is playful down to the bones. We are seeing this giant world (and this staging really does feel giant) from a child’s perspective. Everything feels possible, everything is exciting, and everything is tinged with irresistible silliness.
However, to speak only of the impressive production design of this show would do a great disservice to the remarkable performances of the cast. As the four- and ten-year-old sisters Mei and Satsuki, Mei Mac and Ami Okumura Jones are outstanding. Though they scream and giggle and topple around the stage as much as any excitable child, they are fully committed to the emotional weight of their roles. Throughout, there is a tonal sway, a push and pull as drama and comedy push up against one another. These two performers are able to respond to the energy of the room, and serve as the perfect audience gateway into this fantastical world.
Haruka Abe brings a calm and warm dignity as the girls’ ailing mother, contrasting sharply with the chaotic and sometimes childlike energy of Dai Tabuchi as their father. Jacqueline Tate turns in a delightfully heart-warming performance as Granny, playing well off the wild energy of the two young children in her charge. Expertly executed comic relief comes from local boy Kanta, performed with endearing awkwardness by Nino Furuhata.
When the otherworldly creatures finally do appear, it is a credit to the puppeteers and director Phelim McDermott that they have just as much personality as the human cast. It would be rude to spoil the surprises of this production’s stagecraft, but if you are a fan of the original film, you will be pleased to hear that all the iconic moments are brought to life here. Certain set pieces receive enthusiastic rounds of applause, and not just for recognition, but for the technical – and artistic – accomplishment.
Like all great works of cinema, like all transportive daydreams, this production is scored and driven by beautiful music. The film’s composer Joe Hisaishi has taken a leading role in bringing this work to the stage, and his music is very much at the forefront. Not only does the live orchestra underscore the action, but original songs feature throughout, performed exquisitely by vocalist Ai Ninomiya. Will Stuart’s orchestrations and arrangements sound marvellous on the keys, mallets and strings of music director Matt Smith’s band – on this evening conducted masterfully by Amy Hsu.
The score ties in perfectly with Tony Gayle’s sound design. Not only are we subject to the constant real-world noise of engines, telephones and the forest, but the spirits and monsters of the mysterious woods equally impinge on the sonic landscape. Totoro himself is known for his tremendous roar, and the curtain call reveals this to be not a pre-recorded effect, but the work of Dai Tabuchi and some clever real-time audio processing.
This adaptation of My Neighbour Totoro is without doubt one of those shows that you will remember for a lifetime. Beyond being technically mind-blowing and aesthetically beautiful, it perfectly captures the magic that made the original film such a classic. This isn’t a case of simply throwing a lot of expensive effects at an audience, the stagecraft is all carefully considered to build an atmosphere true to the original story. This is an almost-spiritual tale about childhood and nature that will enter straight into the heart of anybody lucky enough to see it.
Ian Bowkett
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