‘Spirited Away’ stage adaptation coming to the West End in 2024
A stage adaption of Studio Ghibli classic Spirited Away is set to arrive on the West End Stage next year.
Hayao Miyazaki’s 2001 animated film – about a 10-year-old girl, Chihiro, entering the spirit world after her parents are turned into pigs by a witch – will transfer to London’s Coliseum for a limited run from April through to July 2024.
The new arrival follows the success of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of My Neighbour Totoro last year, and will be helmed by Tony Award-winning director John Caird. Fans can sign up for priority booking to access tickets once they go live from here.
The Japanese-language production will feature English captions, and the actors from last year’s world premiere in Tokyo, Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi, will perform in the main role as Chihiro, alongside puppets.
“I am proud and delighted to present the original Japanese stage production of Spirited Away at the Coliseum Theatre next year,” Caird said in a statement. “We had a wonderful time creating the show in 2022 and I’m so happy now to be spiriting away a British audience into Hayao Miyazaki’s magical world.
“A world of gods and frogs, dragons and sorcerers, giant-sized babies and bouncing heads, spider-armed boilermen, no-faced loners and a young girl’s valiant quest for courage, identity and love.”
Last year’s My Neighbour Totoro received nine Olivier Awards and won in six categories, including best entertainment or comedy play and best director for Phelim McDermott. It’s due to return to The Barbican from November 21, 2023 to March 24, 2023.
Elsewhere, Miyazaki’s last Studio Ghibli movie is being called a “masterpiece”. Touted as the Studio Ghibli co-founder and animator Miyazaki’s final film, The Boy And The Heron (titled How Do You Live? in Japan) tells the story of a teenage boy who enters a magical world with a talking heron after discovering an abandoned tower in his new town.
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Hollie Geraghty
NME
