My Neighbour Totoro
31 October 2022
Barbican
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
I grabbed tickets for My Neighbour Totoro at the Barbican in the pre-sales, and I am so glad I did because the show sold out so quickly!
While there are some production photos out there, the actual puppets for the show are kept a secret, so I was very excited to find out what the show looked like. I headed off to the Barbican with a few friends and the atmosphere in the theatre was absolutely electric, you could feel the excitement throughout the packed auditorium.
And right from the start, we’re treated to the most adorable intro that mimics the film’s intro-credit sequence perfectly with adorable moving letters and critters bouncing around, while a live orchestra recite Hey Let’s Go. Ai Ninomiya beautifully accompanies the orchestra with her phenomenal voice, in both English and Japanese, throughout the production.
I don’t want to give too much away about the actual show, but I do want to stress that it is absolutely MAGICAL! It’s beautiful and emotional and so well presented. Faithful to the source material, but with extended content, it might just be the best stage adaptation I have ever had the privilege of witnessing live.
The puppeteering in this show is on a whole other level than anything I’ve ever seen before, from the smallest soot sprite to the humongous Cats, there is so much attention to detail that the puppets come to life and feel so full of life and character.
If you have a chance to grab a return or day seat ticket for this stellar show, please please do, it is the most stunning production I have seen in a long time!
I wish I could go back again and again to see this magical show come to life right in front of my eyes!