To Stranger Worlds: Spirited Away on Stage (2024)

Being both Ghibli lovers, my boyfriend and I decided to book tickets for his birthday trip to see the Spirited Away stage adaptation that ran in the West End. And I’ve been giddy with excitement since I came back from holiday, trying to turn my thoughts into a coherent post; because I just don’t wanna forget about all of it. I had such high expectations of the play, seeing the clips everywhere in social media. I was half-afraid that I built it up so much in my head that I’d be disappointed. But you know what? It was everything I hoped it would be – and more. It turned out to be the most beautiful and amazing stage productions I’ve ever watched live to date!

The Source

Spirited Away was adapted from the 2001 animated film of the same name – which tells the story of 10-year old Chihiro who, while travelling to her new home with her parents, inadvertently enters the world of kami (spirits) after her parents turned into pigs for angering a witch. She met the mysterious Haku who helped her navigate her way in the spirit world. While working in the bathhouse meant for the spirits and the gods, she tried to find a way to free herself and her parents, so they can finally return to the human world.

It put Studio Ghibli, and the name Hayao Miyazaki, in the world map – for producing quality animated films, as it won Japan’s first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature (which is crazy tbh, because of Japan’s history with animation). It also held the record of being the highest grossing film in Japan during it’s initial release (a record it held for 19 years until Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Train took over in 2020). In other words, the film is ICONIC and I feel that it will always be included in my list of greatest films of all time.

The initial 2022 stage adaptation in Tokyo was always in my radar – but since it was strictly in Japanese and had a limited release, I gave up the hope that I can actually watch it live. And then the European release happened and I was beside myself! I should’ve known that such brilliance can’t be hidden from the rest of the world forever. ✨

The Play

The moment those first few notes started playing in the beginning sequence (Chihiro and her parents, driving to their new place), I immediately began to tear up. It was probably a tad bit visceral of an effect but it spoke to how effective Joe Hisaishi‘s score is in transporting you to the whimsical world of spirited away. I was in awe at how they were able to capture the essence of the scenes, creating and transitioning scenes effectively – by simply moving pieces on stage! If there were things that definitely stood out for me, it would be the production design (specifically the staging) and the masterful use of puppetry and practical effects.

Spirited Away being a story rooted almost entirely in fantasy, one would wonder how they would be able to pull it off on-stage – but the whole production did! I particularly liked the play on perspective using practical effects, e.g., the use of differing size of the dragon puppet to convey the distance to which it flies in the sky – which made the whole staging more three-dimensional. The giant rotating bathhouse, that transforms and transports and zooms in on specific parts of the bathhouse, was so cool. Every step, every nook and cranny, every scene, every beat of the score – they were calculated and choreographed to give us a near perfect show.

All the beloved supernatural creatures, spirits, and gods are present and translated wonderfully on stage via the amazing costuming and puppetry. There is Kasuga-sama (the masked gods in red robes, with invisible bodies); Aogaeru, the green frog doorman of the bath house, that looked like he came straight out of a Murakami novel (reminds me so much of the talking frog in the Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman film); and of course, the dragon form of Haku. Personally, I really enjoyed seeing Oshira-sama (the giant radish god) in scenes the most, specially the elevator ones – or even when he’s holding a fan, joining the celebrations, and dancing. He’s just so cute, even if he didn’t have any lines!

It played in the London Coliseum, which is apparently the largest theatre in London’s West End. The theatre seats 2,300+ which spoke to how big the venue is. We were able to snag seats in the Dress Circle which I think are very nice considering the price. Although it is very pricey to me (almost £150 per ticket) considering I don’t usually splurge on theatre shows, these are still relatively so much cheaper compared to the more premium seats. It was a bit far from the stage still, but it is right in the center and have a very nice view of the whole production. The play was all in Nihongo and the English subtitles were flashed on both sides of the stage. I think they were big enough to be seen even all the way to the back. The seats were a bit cramped to be honest but the acoustics were very nice; imagine Joe Hisaishi’s score playing in an echo chamber – it was a gorgeous experience. We brought some small snacks to eat and drink throughout the play but there was an option to buy some Japanese snacks in the theater as well.

In Conclusion

This Sprited Away stage play was an almost 1:1 adaptation – it was amazing! We enjoyed the experience so much! As of writing, I still refuse to rewatch the original film so as to not overwrite my memories of the show. It was an expensive one – but it was so worth it and a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch brilliance like this. I am so glad they managed to bring it to the West End so the rest of the world can see. I wish they can bring more Japanese productions like this, without losing some of its essence through translation – imagine the possibilities! (If the Akatsuki no Yona musical is ever taken to the West End, I would definitely lose it. 😭)

Spirited Away
London Coliseum; August 11, 2024, 3:00 PM

* FUN FACT: Our Yubaba/Zeniba, Romi Park, is the voice of Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, Nana Osaki in NANA, and Hange Zoë in Attack on Titan, among others. On the other hand, our Haku, Kotaro Daigo, played Hinata Shoyo in the Hyper Projection Theatre production of Haikyū!!. These facts just made me so happy because I’m a huge fan of these shows and also amazed at how skilled they are at being chameleons and giving their all to their characters!