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My Neighbour Totoro

Royal Shakespeare Company / Joe Hisaishi

An illustration of the Totoro character with green watercolour washes of paint. Inside Totoro's face is the silhouette of two small characters holding a red umbrella.

Find your spirit with the “awe-inspiring” (Time Out) and “dazzling” (Guardian) My Neighbour Totoro, as this five-star, award-winning production returns for a strictly limited season.

Winner of six Olivier Awards and five WhatsOnStage Awards, this “utterly beguiling” (The Stage) and “jaw-dropping” (Metro) staging of the celebrated 1988 animated feature film 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). 

Hailed as “a tender and remarkably beautiful show” (Financial Times), My Neighbour Totoro is an enchanting coming-of-age story exploring the magical fantasy world of childhood and the transformative power of imagination, as it follows one extraordinary summer in the lives of sisters Satsuki and Mei. Book now for this unmissable, “huge, healing hug of a show” (The Stage). 

Please note that evening performances start at 7pm. Latecomers may not be admitted.

Age guidance: 6+. This production is not suitable for children under 4 years of age, including babes in arms. Younger children and babes in arms are welcome at our relaxed performances only.

Please note, the show features puppets, some large scale that will interact in audience space. The show contains themes of an ill parent in hospital. It also features live music and sound effects that will be loud at times.

Running time: approx 2 hrs 40 mins (including interval)

Presented by the Barbican. 

The RSC is supported using public funding by Arts Council England
The work of the RSC is supported by the Culture Recovery Fund 
Miranda Curtis CMG – Lead Production Supporter of My Neighbour Totoro
New Work at the RSC is generously supported by The Drue and H.J. Heinz II Charitable Trust
The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation
TikTok £10 Tickets sponsored by TikTok

© Studio Ghibli. © RSC

Wheelchair spaces and free companion seats will be bookable online. 

Please select the relevant preferences on the access registration page during your booking so we can provide you with the correct information and discounts.

Booking a wheelchair space: Select a seat displaying the wheelchair user icon and then select wheelchair user ticket type. The ticket will be priced at the lowest price for that event. If you need an essential companion, please select the E icon next to the wheelchair space you have selected. 

Booking essential companion tickets: Please select at least two tickets and one of them will be automatically discounted to zero in the basket. 

Booking British Sign Language or Captioned Seats: Select seats in the area appropriate to your needs.

Families*
Up to two half price tickets for under 18s with every full price paying adult. Not available on top two price seats. Not available on any November or December performances (or Saturday evenings for the remainder of the run). This production is not suitable for children under 4 years of age, including babes in arms.

Day Seats
A limited number of Day Seats available, online only, at £25 from 10:00am for that day’s performance - maximum 2 tickets per person.

TikTok £10 Tickets for My Neighbour Totoro have now sold out.
To find out more about the production, sign up to the Totoro mailing list.

*All discounts are subject to availability, at the discretion of the RSC/Barbican Box Office, and can be withdrawn at any time. Discounted tickets cannot be booked in conjunction with any other discount or offer. All discounts exclude peak weeks on w/c 25 Dec, w/c 1 Jan and w/c 12 Feb and 19 Feb 2024.

 

 

*Excludes £4 booking fee
Ticket prices for this performance may be adjusted over time in response to demand

Press

‘A dazzling staging of the Studio Ghibli classic‘
‘A tender and remarkably beautiful show‘
‘A huge, healing hug of a show... utterly beguiling‘
‘Jaw-dropping‘
‘Ingenious ‘
‘Utterly charming ‘
‘Wow is too small a word‘
‘Theatre at its most magical‘
‘A magical creature of a show‘
‘Delightful‘
‘Totoro truly enchants‘
‘Amazing‘
‘Intoxicating‘
‘My Neighbour Totoro breaks Barbican box office record‘
‘Muppet power! RSC uses puppet legends for My Neighbour Totoro extravaganza‘

Discover

Accessibility

There are a range of Audio Described, BSL-integrated, Captioned and Relaxed performances across the run.

Audio Described
Sat 16 Dec, 2pm (Touch Tour 12.00 – 12.30pm)
Wed 28 Feb, 7pm (Touch Tour 5.00 – 5.30pm)

Listen to the audio introduction notes

Captioned performances
Sat 16 Dec, 2pm
Sat 6 Jan, 2pm
Thu 25 Jan, 2pm
Wed 28 Feb, 7pm

Performance with Integrated BSL Interpreter
Friday 9 February, 7pm

Relaxed Performance with Integrated BSL Interpreter (Audio Described & Captioned)
Thu 1 Feb, 2pm (Touch Tour 12.00 – 12.30pm)

Relaxed Performance (Audio Described & Captioned)
Sat 17 Feb, 2pm (Touch Tour 12.00 – 12.30pm)

View the BSL synopsis
Read the visual story
View the sonic story

My Neighbour Totoro Teacher Pack
The activities provided in this pack can be used by teachers either as stand-alone practical approaches to this story or as supporting activities for students seeing the production.

Find out more about Accessible Events at the Barbican.

Relaxed performances

A Relaxed performance is ideal for those who would benefit from a more informal approach to noise and movement in the auditorium or would feel more at ease knowing they could enter and exit freely. There will be a relaxed performances on 1 and 17 Feb, 2pm.

For this production:

- The house will be opened early to allow you more time to find your seats.

- The Front of House team are briefed on providing a more informal service and relaxing the standards in regard to audience behaviour during the performance.

- Latecomer and re-admittance points will be relaxed to allow people to leave and re-enter the auditorium more freely.

- The house lights will remain slightly raised to during the performance to ensure your safety if you need to move about.

- Auditorium doors will be kept open during the performance to assist you in entering and exiting the theatre during the performance.

- The performers are briefed about Relaxed performances and know that you may need to move around and make noise.

- A quiet chill out space is provided with comfortable seating.

- This production is suitable for babes in arms

- The performance has not been sensory adapted.

Please get in touch with us if you would like to discuss further before making a booking.

Contact the Theatre team at [email protected]

Read our visual story

Unwrap the Barbican

Candlelit concerts, Christmas screenings and family shows – make this festive season one to remember at the Barbican.

Barbican Theatre

RSC Supporters

£10 TikTok Tickets for 14-25's
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