“There has been a lot of interest,” Griselda Yorke, the show’s executive producer for the RSC, told Deadline. “Lots of people are coming to see it, which is really gratifying. But there’s nothing more concrete than that it’s sparking a lot of interest at this stage of the game.
Creatives from Jim Henson Creature Shop was invited to join the project by puppetry director Basil Twist to help create Totoro, the magical forest spirit at the heart of the story. Totoro is discovered by two sisters — 10-year-old Satsuki and 4-year-old Mei — who move with their father to a Japanese village, close to where their mother is hospitalized with an illness. The Creature Shop also built the show’s cat bus, a vehicle that takes on passengers and flies.
McDermott said that the production, which he described as a play with music — he insisted that it’s not a musical because the performers do not sing, only a singer does — is not really an adaptation of the Studio Ghibli film. ”My dream is that it’s like a sister; a sister piece of art that sits alongside that extraordinary piece of film,” he said.
totoro_show It’s so wonderful. You have to pop over and experience it. I cried twice. Once with just pure laughter, the other because of their mother in hospital - just so much more powerful in this production. It adds new dimensions. A worthy piece of art alongside the film.