{"id":348257,"date":"2025-08-16T04:19:50","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T04:19:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/348257\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T04:19:50","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T04:19:50","slug":"my-neighbour-totoro-in-london-resident-director-iskander-sharazuddin-leads-puppet-workshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/348257\/","title":{"rendered":"My Neighbour Totoro in London: Resident Director Iskander Sharazuddin leads puppet workshop"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week a My Neighbour Totoro<\/a><\/strong> workshop took place at the Gillian Lynne Theatre<\/strong> in London, with the show\u2019s Resident Director Iskander Sharazuddin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Iskander led the puppetry workshop at the home of My Neighbour Totoro in London, hosted for teens by TikTok<\/strong> in partnership with the RSC, marking week three of the TikTok #SummerSkills programme.<\/p>\n

Talking about his favourite puppet in the show, Iskander said it was the goat, whose name is Gladys. \u201cDepending on the puppeteer, Gladys has a lot of character and a lot of attitude. She\u2019s puppeteered by three puppeteers, so there\u2019s a head puppeteer, a heart puppeteer and a hind puppeteer. But depending on who\u2019s on her head, she can be incredibly salty, she can be incredibly sweet, she can be sort of sheepish as a goat, or she can be quite bold and striking. I did enjoy so much the opportunity to puppeteer her and find a lot of nuance and character with the way she moves her head and the way she bleats, and ultimately, when I puppeteer her, which occasionally happens, I just think she\u2019s very naughty and fun\u201d<\/p>\n

My Neighbour Totoro \u2013 Puppet workshop<\/p>\n

Iskander is an award-winning theatre maker and creative producer, who trained at LAMDA as an actor, and then transitioned from acting to writing, producing and directing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I stopped working as an actor and moved into writing my own work, that was essentially about feeling like I wanted a bit more control within my career and my practice and being able to control the stories that I wanted to tell or be a part of\u201d, Iskander said. \u201cThen that very organically led me into movement practice and then directing. I also found another part of work that I enjoyed, and a lot of it was about self-research. So, a lot of it was me being interested in something and then doing my own studies, or workshops, external workshops, where I could learn about that particular part of the practice, whether that was puppetry or dance or movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working in theatre is not for the faint-hearted and requires dedication and passion. Iskander also gave advice for anyone wanting to break into a career in theatre: \u201cThere is no one clear route. There\u2019s not a straight, linear pathway to get to where you want to be. But having a clear sense of where it is that you want to end up is extremely useful. But know that that journey can be windy and stop start and littered and peppered with challenges, but if there\u2019s clarity on where it is that you\u2019re heading, trust the process. There has to be a sheer non-negotiable: I don\u2019t want to do anything else. This is my advice to people trying to get into this job. Follow your passion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MyMy Neighbour Totoro \u2013 First look at Totoro (Photo via PR)<\/p>\n

Last week the producers of the show unveiled a photo of Totoro for the first time.<\/p>\n

Following two sold-out seasons at the Barbican Theatre in London, the RSC\u2019s award-winning and critically acclaimed<\/a> production of My Neighbour Totoro is now playing at the West End\u2019s Gillian Lynne Theatre<\/strong>, booking to 29 March 2026.<\/p>\n

The cast of My Neighbour Totoro in the West End includes Victoria Chen<\/strong> (The Night Before Christmas) as Mei, and returning to their roles are Ami Okumura Jones<\/strong> (Scandaltown) as Mei\u2019s older sister Satsuki, Dai Tabuchi<\/strong> (Usagi Yojimbo) as their father Tatsuo, Jacqueline Tate<\/strong> (Murder on the Orient Express) as Granny, and Ai Ninomiya<\/strong> (Les Mis\u00e9rables<\/a>) as the Singer.<\/p>\n

See more photos and videos of My Neighbour Totoro in London<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The show\u2019s Kazego Puppetry Ensemble features Matthew Leonhart, Heather Lai, Shaofan Wilson (Miss Hara) and Anna Kato, who will be joined by new members, Rachel Clare Chan, Sally Cheng, Sabrina Pui Yee Chin, Victor Itang, Gabriel S Janoras, Ronnie Lee, Kumiko Mendl (Nurse Emiko), Annakanako Mohri, Richard Peralta, Lucy Park and Chloe Ragrag.<\/p>\n

The cast is completed by Phyllis Ho as Yasuko, Steven Nguyen as Kanta, Jamie Zubairi as Hiroshi, and Deanna Myers as Tsukiko.<\/p>\n

The show scored six Olivier Awards when it first premiered in London, and broke box office records at the Barbican Theatre across its two runs.<\/p>\n

The creators of My Neighbour Totoro<\/p>\n

My Neighbour Totoro is adapted by Tom Morton-Smith<\/strong> (Oppenheimer) from Hayao Miyazaki\u2019s<\/strong> celebrated 1988 animated feature film, and directed by Improbable Co-Founder Phelim McDermott<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The show is from Executive Producer Joe Hisaishi<\/strong> and the Royal Shakespeare Company<\/strong> (RSC), in collaboration with Nippon TV<\/strong> and Improbable<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The creative team also includes production design by Tom Pye, puppetry design and direction by Basil Twist, costume design by Kimie Nakano, lighting design by Jessica Hung Han Yun, and movement by You-Ri Yamanaka. The production features music from Joe Hisaishi\u2019s iconic score in a new orchestration by Will Stuart, performed live with sound design by Tony Gayle. Video design is by Finn Ross and Andrea Scott, the Dramaturg is Pippa Hill, Casting Director is Hannah Miller CDG and Sound Effects & Soundscape Designer is Nicola T Chang.<\/p>\n

Booking tickets to My Neighbour Totoro<\/p>\n

My Neighbour Totoro is now playing at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, booking to 29 March 2026.<\/p>\n

Book tickets to My Neighbour Totoro at the Gillian Lynne Theatre London<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

My Neighbour Totoro<\/p>\n

Gillian Lynne Theatre,\u00a0London<\/p>\n

Offer: Exclusive Prices<\/p>\n

Book tickets<\/p>\n

<\/a> \ud83d\udc64News Team<\/a> \ud83d\udcc515 August 2025
Tags: Ai Ninomiya<\/a>, Ami Okumura Jones<\/a>, Dai Tabuchi<\/a>, Gillian Lynne Theatre<\/a>, Hayao Miyazaki<\/a>, Iskander Sharazuddin<\/a>, Jacqueline Tate<\/a>, Joe Hisaishi<\/a>, My Neighbour Totoro<\/a>, Phelim McDermott<\/a>, Tom Morton-Smith<\/a>, Victoria Chen<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf7\u00a0Main photo: My Neighbour Totoro Resident Director Iskander Sharazuddin (Right) and with participants at a puppetry workshop hosted by TikTok at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (Photo via PR)<\/p>\n

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