Spirited Away
Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi
7th May 2024
London Coliseum, ENO
Spirited Away, a stage adaptation by Maoko Imai and me of Hayao Miyazaki’s great animated film (千と千尋の神隠し) first opened at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo on 2 March 2022, before touring to Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo and Hakata through the rest of spring and summer 2022. It came back for a further run in Nagoya in the summer of 2023.
The original rehearsals were something of a challenge as they happened right on the middle of the Covid crisis. I was able to attend in person, but Jon Bausor, Toby Olié, Sarah Wright and Brad Haak were all obliged to attend remotely via Zoom from their homes in London, Cornwall and Chicago. Managing the time differences alone was something of a nightmare.
In January of 2024 the whole creative team finally met in the same rehearsal room to re-rehearse two performing companies, one to tour Japan and the other to play at the London Coliseum in the West End.
The Coliseum production of Spirited Away had two consecutive openings on the 7th May 2024, with Kanna Hashimoto and Romi Park playing Chihiro and Yubaba in the matinée show and Mone Kamishiraishi and Mari Natsuki playing the same rôles in the evening show. The rest of the ensemble played both shows back to back.
The production will have a limited run for 18 weeks at the Coliseum, closing on the 24th August 2024.
Spirited Away
| Based on 'Spirited Away' by | Hayao Miyazaki |
| Adapted and Directed by | John Caird |
| Co-adapted by | Maoko Imai |
The Creatives
| Adapted and Directed by | John Caird |
| Co-adapted by | Maoko Imai |
| Original Score by | Joe Hisaishi |
| Music Supervision, Orchestrations and Arrangements by | Brad Haak |
| Associate Music Supervision, Orchestration and Ableton Programming by | Conor Keelan |
| Set Designer | Jon Bausor |
| Puppetry Design and Direction | Toby Olié |
| Choreographer / Staging | Shigehiro Ide |
| Lighting Designer | Jiro Katsushiba |
| Sound Designer | Koichi Yamamoto |
| Costume Designer | Sachiko Nakahara |
| Hair and Make Up Designer | Hiroaki Miyauchi |
| Projection Manager | Satoshi Kuriyama |
| Music Director | Erika Fukasawa |
| Technical Manager / Stage Manager | Takashi Hojo |
| Opening & Ending Movie | Studio Ghibli |
| Title written by | Toshio Suzuki |
| Secial Thanks to | Studio Ghibli |
| Assistant to the Director | Maoko Imai |
| Makoto Nagai | Associate Director / Resident Director |
| Ryusei Onuki | Assistant Director |
| Scenic Advisor | Satoko Nakane |
| Associate Puppetry Director | Sarah Wright |
| Puppetry Co-Designer and Supervisor | Daisy Beattie |
| Associate Costume Designer | Mika Tominaga |
| Assistant Choreographer | Yukina Sakai |
| Head of Lighting | Atsushi Ozawa |
| Assistant Sound Designer | Mafuyu Kurokawa |
| Assistant Hair and Make Up Designer | Ayumi Sakura |
| Assistant Projection Designer | Xiaolei Qiu |
| Associate Producer | Yutaro Uno / Hayato Torisawa |
| Associate Producer | Lucy Wood |
| Associate Producer | Karl Sydow |
| Assistant Producer | Misa Shimizu / Sayaka Nakasone |
| Producer | Haruka Ogi |
| Co-Producer | Iain Gillie |
| Presented by | Toho Co., Ltd. |
| Co-Produced by | PW Productions |
Cast
| Chihiro | Kanna Hashimoto / Mone Kamishiraishi / Rina Kawai / Momoko Fukuchi |
| Haku | Kotaro Daigo / Hiroki Miura / Atsuki Mashiko (GENIC) |
| No Face (Kaonashi) | Hikaru Yamano |
| Lin / Chihiro's Mother | Fu Hinami / Yuki Hana / Rion Misaki |
| Kamaji | Tomorowo Taguchi / Satoshi Hashimoto / Tomu Miyazaki |
| Yubaba / Zeniba | Mari Natsuki / Romi Park / Hitomi Harukaze |
| Aniyaku / Chihiro's Father | Kenya Osumi |
| Chichiyaku | Sunao Yoshimura / Toshihiko Ito |
| Aogaeru | Obatanooniisan / Seiya Motoki |
| Kashira | Yuya Igarashi |
| Baby (Bo) | Mayu Musha |
| Understudies | |
| Chihiro | Marina Mori |
| Haku | Kaito Arai |
| No Face (Kaonashi) | Ryo Sawamura |
| Lin / Chihiro's Mother | Rico Takahashi |
| Kamaji | Norihide Mantani |
| Yubaba / Zeniba | Yoko Ose |
| Aniyaku / Chihiro's Father | Eiji Mizuno |
| Aogaeru | Yoshiki Fujioka / Toshiki Hirose |
Production Staff
| Production Coordinator | Janice Taylor |
| Production Management | Gary Beestone and Matt Noddings for GBA |
| Company Manager | Russ Spencer |
| Stage Manager | Osh Griffiths |
| Deputy Stage Manager / Show Caller | Maho Nakamura |
| Assistant Stage Manager / Book Cover | Kanoko Shimizu / Ben Dalton |
| Assistant Stage Manager | DAISAKU (Eddy) IIDA / Kumiko Nomura / Naoko Hiraishi / Fumie Fujimoto / Rieko Yamazaki / Georgia Dacey / Mathilde Reynolds |
| Puppetry Assistant Stage Manager | Chiemi Takanashi / Dan Cook |
| Assistant Stage Manager Swing | Em Dethick-Jones |
| Assistant to Stage Manager | Tadasuke Shiino / Shinpei Osawa |
| Production Carpenter | PJ Holloway / Graham Wells / John Burrows / Chris Carter / Frankie Tolmie |
| Automation Operator | Fi Britton |
| Stage Crew | Tony Collins |
| Head of Lighting London | Adam Povey |
| Adam Povey Ltd Associate | Ollie Patridge |
| Adam Povey Ltd Associate | Iris Willems |
| Lighting Programmer London | Michael Fox |
| Lighting Programmer Japan | Hiroko Suzuki for ENGINEER LIGHTING INC. |
| Masami Hirai | Follow Spot Chief |
| Lead Production Electrician | Adam Squire |
| Electrician | Dan Parrott |
| Production Electrician | James Bentley / Chris Mence / Beky Parry / Jana Marshall / Steve Andrew / Sam Floyd / David Wothemstow |
| Lighting 1 | Charlie Jones |
| Lighting 2 | Meg Mawhinney |
| Head of Sound London | Rob Bettle |
| Sound No1 | Mafuyu Kurokawa |
| Sound No1 | Shotaro Innami |
| Sound No2 | Tess Dacre |
| Sound No3 | Sophie Young |
| Senior Production Sound Engineer | Chris Payne |
| Production Sound Engineer | Elliot Williams / Ben Giller / Geoff Hixon / Ollie Durrant / Ross Charfield / Joe Tate |
| Senior Production Video Engineer | Alex Ramsden |
| Video Programmer | Neil McDowell Smith |
| Production Video Engineer | Jake Stebbings |
| Surtitle Operator | Shuko Noguchi |
| Head of Wardrobe | John Mannion |
| Deputy Head of Wardrobe | Inmaculada Cook |
| Wardrobe Assistant | Harriet Waterfall |
| Wardrobe Assistant | Abigail Hulse |
| Dresser 1 | Nozomi Shiba |
| Dresser 2 | Eliana Ruiz Vega |
| Assistant to Wardrobe | Naoko Masuda / Misao Sawashima |
| Wigs, Hair and Make-up | Saori Taniguchi / Yumi Fukuda / Kana Onuma |
| Assistant Company Manager | Yumi Morishita |
| Interpreter to the Director | Maoko Imai |
| Interpreters | Mayuko Kawai / Mana Seike / Shoko Fukui / Emi Yoshida / Yoko Tokita / Akiko Naito / Sonoko Ishii / Miwa Monden / Yuko Takada / Yoko Tokita / Aya Yamaguchi / Kenichi Eguchi / Hiroko Yamazaki / Sung Ja Foster / Tsuyoshi Kondo / Miki Kawamura / Yayoi Fujiwara / Akiko Sato / Hiroe Takei / Juna Shai / Mari Yoshida / Kimiko Shiga / Sumiko Okada / Nao Nagai / Azusa Ono / Wei Chen / Julia Hart / Riko Nakazono / Yuino Tokumaru |
| Technical Liason | Simon Reynolds |
| Technical Liason | John Page |
| Set Constructions | Souvenir Scenic Workshop / Andy Hardy Entertainment Engineering / TOHO STAGE CRAFT CO., LTD. |
| Production Draughting | Simon Jessel |
| Automation | Absolute Motion Control |
| Lighting Supplier | White Light |
| Set Electrics | Electric Foundry |
| Starcloth | Blackout |
| Sound Supplier | Stage Sound Services |
| Video Supplier | Bluei |
| Rigging | Unusual Rigging |
| Transport | Southern Van Lines |
| International Transport by | Takanori Matsute (Japan) and Tom Golubovic (London) for Rock-It Cargo |
| Props made by | TOHO STAGE CRAFT CO., LTD. / NIKE STAGE WORKS / Saki Kinoshita / Junko Fujii / Naoko Hatakeyama / Chihiro Kaneko / Katsuyuki Shimizu / Moeko Kato / Kanako Hashimoto / Marcus Hall Props Workshops London |
| Props coordinated by | Lalo |
| Props supplied by | TOHO STAGE CRAFT CO., LTD. |
| Puppetry developed with | Sarah Wright / Greg Bernstein / Fred Davis / Elisa de Grey / Michael Jean-Martin / Avye Leventis / Sophie Sierra |
| Puppets made by | Alison Alexander / Chris Barlow / Beez Barry / Daisy Beattie / Janet Beattie / Dulcie Best / Lotte Brockbank / Katy Clare Brooks / Cheryl 'Chuck' Brown / Laura Elias / Charlie Findlay / Helen Foan / Anna Garside / Richard Hackney / Max Humphries / Matt Hutchinson / Isobel Irwin / Maia Kirkman-Richards / Jo Lakin / Seb Mayer / Toby Olié / Hugh Purves / Yvonne Stone / Tobias Saunders / Joe Sumner / Charlie Thymus / Jude Munden / Lyndie Wright / Sarah Wright / Harbour Scenic Ltd / Stitches and Glue Ltd |
| Puppetry Cooperation | Yuichi Murakami / Kota Akiyama / Kusakari Design Studio / cotton boll / Miwako Sakurada / Yoko Sato / Asuka Nakagawa / Aiko Nakano / Makiko Horiuchi / Yoko Miura / Rumi Suzuko / Michiyo Sato / Mika Sato / Tadahira Nagaoka / Kyoko Komoda / Atelier B.S. / Toshiko Itahara / Atelier Inadome Co., Ltd. / Mari Tsujimoto / PUROPERA / Mieko Ito / Hiromi Yasuma |
| Costume Management | Masako Yagi |
| Shoes crafted by | Mitsue Kiguchi (MISHOE) |
| Shoes supplied by | Artis |
| Hatmaker | SHIMIZUBOUSHITEN |
| Wigs made by | M's Factory / Okumatsukatsura |
| Make-up Cooperation | COSME SOPHIA |
| Special Effects Make Up | Akiteru Nakada (ZOMBIE STOCK) |
| Production Accounts | Jenny Halsey and Mark Green for JH Theatre Finance Ltd |
| Marketing | EMG Media & Marketing |
| Press and Publicity | Raw PR |
| Production Insurance | Robert Israel and Michael Israel for Gordon and Co., Ltd. |
| Tax Consultant (JPN) | Manabu Nakamor, Richard Johnston and Rebecca McKavanagh (Ernst & Found Tax Co.) |
| Legal Consultant | Sean Egan for Sean Egan Consultants |
| Legal Consultant | Natasha Hotson for Clintons |
| Legal Advisors | Kensaku Fukui, Hisato Kitazawa and Rika Suzuki (Kotto Dori Law Office) Shigeru Nakayama and Yukito Nagaoka (TMI Associates) Akihiro Kudo (TMI Associates London) |
| Accountants | Anthony Pins for Nyman Libson Paul LLP |
| Graphic Design | MUSE Creative Communications |
| Japanese Poster Design | |
| (Kanna & Mone ver.) | |
| Designer | Taiji Furusato |
| Photographer | Yoshiharu Ota |
| Flower creator | Megumi Shinozaki (edenworks) |
| Image Production | Kazuya Kuriyama / Takeshi Morimoto |
| (Rina & Momoko ver.) | |
| Designer and Image Production | Toshiyuki Suzuki / Ryoko Kawagishi |
| Photographer | TAKAKI_KUMADA |
| Art set | Takayuki Mitsuizumi / Natsuki Fujioka |
| Make-up for advertising | Hiroaki Miyauchi |
| Advertising costumes | Sachiko Nakahara |
| Merchandise | Mari Maeta and Aya Nakatani for movie Co., Ltd. |
| Merchandise Management | Bobby Williamson for Creative Goods |
| Supported by | Japan Airlines / airweave |
| TOHO | |
| President | Hiroyasu Matsuoka |
| Managing Executive Officer in Charge of Theatricals | Atsuo Ikeda |
| Operating Officer in Charge of Theatrical Business | Norihiro Uda |
| Deputy General Manager Head of Live Entertainment Production Group Theatrical Dept. | Nahoko Yamazaki |
| Senior Manager | Kazuhiko Matsuda |
| Theatrical Dept. International Div. | Kenji Ogino / Masaki Fujiwara / Sae Nakazawa / Hiroki Goukon / Noa Sumita |
| Theatrical Dept. Promotion & Publicity Div. | Yuta Kikuchi / Kazue Tsukagoshi |
| Theatrical Dept. Planning and Production Div. | Jun Shibata / Atsuko Hirata / Masaki Takahashi |
| Theatrical Dept. IP Strategies Div. | Norifumi Furukawa / Yumiko Sato / Rikako Sasaki / Kyoko Suga |
| Theatrical Dept. Sales. Theatrical Production Div. | Norifumi Furukawa / Yumiko Sato / Rikako Sasaki / Kyoko Suga |
| Theatrical Dept. Business Management Div. | Satoshi Okano / Kenjiro Ikeya / Chigiri Kobayashi |
| Imperial Theatre | Hiromu Nakayama / Setsuo Suzuki / Kazuo Habara / Kosuke Takahashi |
| Legal Dept. | Hikaru Onoda / Yasutaka Nojiri / Jane Zheng / Eri Hamamura |
| Finance and Accounting Dept. | Tsuyoshi Fukiharu / Tomohiro Kato / Reiko Otsuki / Moemi Iwatsuki / Hirokazu Matsumaru / Hidenori Wakamura / Akiko Kadokura / Tomoko Hananoi |
| Group Management & Business Solution Dept. | Masaaki Ogai / Emi Haraguchi / Tomoshi Fujisawa |
| PW Productions | |
| Chief Executive | Iain Gillie |
| Finance Director | Daksha Vithlani |
| General Manager | Zoë Simpson |
| Chief Operating Officer | Lucy Wood |
| Associate Producer & Tour Booker | Brad Fitt |
| Production Coordinator Accounts | Rama Umanee |
| Production Coordinator | Janice Taylor / Amy Tribe |
| Production Assistant | Mari Katsuno / Angel Mika Kemp / Kate Cassidy |
| Spirited Away Developed with | |
| Production kids and babies | Ai / Alfie / Anne / Bertie / Casper / George / Haru / Haruki / Henrietta / Kazusa / Kanta / Keiichi / Konatsu / Konoha / Lin / Lochie / Luke / Megan / Nagi / Riley / Sae / Subaru / Tallulah / Toby / Toko / Yura / Daisy and Seb's baby due August 2024 |
| Programme | |
| Designers | Yumi Suganuma and Reiko Ueda for TOHO MARKETING CO.,LTD. |
| Photographers | Shunpei Tauchi and Masaru Abe for TOHO MARKETING CO.,LTD. / Hiromi Miyasaka / Eri Iwata / Aki Tanaka |
| Hair and Makeup | Hiroaki Miyauchi / Ayumi Sakura / Saori Taniguchi |
| Editors | Naoko Hanari / Haruka Nakamura for TOHO MARKETING CO.,LTD. / Ryoko Takahashi |
Ensemble
| Ensemble | Miyu Ayahashi / Hanano Teshirogi / Kaito Arai / Ayame Nakagami / Yoko Ose / Yuuki Nishinomiya / Wataru Oshige / Rei Hanashima / Motoko Orii / Yoshiki Fujioka / Akino Konna / Norihide Mantani / Ryo Sawamura / Eiji Mizuno / Mayu Suetomi / Miffy / Rico Takahashi / Mako Morita / Hayato Takehiro / Yuna Yasuno / Saya Chinen / YAMATO |
Swing
| Swing | Marina Mori / Kazuma Kimura / Annakanako Mohri / Toshiki Hirose |