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Behind the Scenes: In the Rehearsal Room with My Neighbour Totoro

Posted 28th February 2025

With just over one week to go until performances begin at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, we’re thrilled to bring you rehearsal photos of the cast of My Neighbour Totoro!

The cast of My Neighbour Totoro  includes Victoria Chen (The Night Before Christmas) as Mei, and returning to their roles are 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.

The show’s Kazego Puppetry Ensemble will once again include Matthew Leonhart, Heather Lai, Shaofan Wilson (Miss Hara) and Anna Kato, who will be joined by new members, Rachel Clare Chan, Sally Cheng, Sabrina Pui Yee Chin, Victor Itang, Gabriel S Janoras, Ronnie Lee, Kumiko Mendl (Nurse Emiko), Annakanako Mohri, Richard Peralta, Lucy Park and Chloe Ragrag.

The cast is completed by Phyllis Ho as Yasuko, Steven Nguyen as Kanta, Jamie Zubairi as Hiroshi, and Deanna Myers as Tsukiko.

My Neighbour Totoro is adapted by Tom Morton-Smith (Oppenheimer) from Hayao Miyazaki’s celebrated 1988 animated feature film, and directed by Improbable Co-Founder Phelim McDermott.

The show is from Executive Producer Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), in collaboration with Nippon TV and Improbable.