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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!

Photos by Manuel Harlan

393359 The company of My Neighbour Totoro in rehearsals © Manuel Harlan The company holding up Soot Sprite puppets.
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Phyllis Ho fixing Ami Okumura Jones’ hair sitting and on a hospital bed with Victoria Chen behind them.
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The company holding bamboo staffs.
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The company, some sitting and some standing and watching.
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Victoria Chen wearing a hat and yellow bag with her hands in front of her and looking over.
393335 Victoria Chen and Dai Tabuchi in rehearsals for My Neighbour Totoro © Manuel Harlan Victoria Chen wearing a hat and yellow bag sitting on Dai Tabuchi’s knee as he holds up something in his hands.
Ai Ninomiya singing in to a microphone.
Victoria Chen, Dai Tabuchi, and Ami Okumura Jones all sitting on a bike and looking behind them.
Ami Okumura Jones with her arms out and the company behind her holding Soot Sprite puppets.
The company holding Soot Sprite puppets.
Dai Tabuchi standing with his arm around Ami Okumura Jones and looking out together.
Ami Okumura Jones holding a wooden bucket and Victoria Chen standing in front of a wall and reacting to the soot sprites.
Steven Nguyen holding a basket with a blanket in it in front of him.
393375 Ami Okumura Jones in rehearsals for My Neighbour Totoro © Manuel Harlan Ami Okumura Jones wearing a black top and jeans looking to the left with her arms in front of her.
Jacqueline Tate wearing a light denim shirt and smiling.
Victoria Chen wearing a blue shirt and holding her arms out and making a face.
Ami Okumura Jones standing with her hands together and Victoria Chen standing behind her with a yellow bag.
The company holding their arms up in varying poses.
The company all grouped together and posing.

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.