Spirited Away

ghibli genius on stage

The stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli's timelessly beautiful anime movie Spirited Away comes to the London Coliseum for its European premiere in 2024. Based loosely on themes from Japanese folklore, the original movie is arguably seen as director Hayao Miyazaki's seminal work, bringing the studio's jaw-droppingly captivating animated stories, full of intrigue and otherworldly charm, to a wider audience. With the roaringly successful 2022 stage adaptation of Ghibli's My Neighbour Totoro proving beyond any doubt that their enchanting tales can translate to the stage to thrilling effect, Spirited Away continues the studio's breaking of new ground at the theatre.

Spirited Away follows 10 year old Chihiro who, during a house move with her family, falls into the world of the Kami - the spirits and deities of Japanese shintoism. Making friends with the iconic No-Face, Chihiro must find a way to escape the mystical world and return her parents to their human form, having been transformed into pigs. The production features Joe Hisaishi's haunting musical score and the play will be performed with its original Japanese dialogue, with English subtitles above the stage.