My Neighbor Totoro

I'd never heard of My Neighbor Totoro until PY booked tickets. Then, as usual, I tried not to read anything about the performance I was seeing. Tonight, we saw it at the Gillian Lynne Theatre.

It's set in 1950s Japan, where Professor Tatsuo and his daughters Satsuki and Mei move into an old house close to the hospital where the girls' mother, Yasuko, is recovering from a long-term illness. There are house spirits called susuwatari and a larger spirit that becomes known as Totoro. It's predominantly live-action, but it also features some fantastic pottery staging. The play is based on Studio Ghibli's 1988 animated film of the same name, and, in the interval, I overheard several people talking about the similarities and differences.

Overall, I loved it, but it was very strange, and I spent a lot of the time wondering if I was missing some higher meaning. It turns out I wasn't; it may seem childish sometimes, but it's adorable.