Apr 4, 2022

The stage adaptation of Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" is coming to Hulu Japan for two days this summer

After being announced on May 9 last year, the buzz around stage adaptation hit the pitch of heat when the still images produced in early May were released.

Spirited Away Stage Play recently finished a theatrical run at Tokyo's Imperial Theater under the direction of John Caird, a pay-per-view event live on Hulu Japan this summer The Nippon Television affiliate- a streaming service that operates, has not yet announced whether the event will be available to anyone outside of Japan .

Miyazaki's Timeless Original was a classic from the day it first hit theaters in 2001 and finally won the Academy Award for best Animated feature at the 2003 Academy Awards. For stage adaptation, Caird, Honorary Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, was recruited for adaptation and director. Maiko Imai co-starred.

It is produced by Toho Co., Ltd.The legendary Tokyo-based production, sales and distribution company that has handled countless other Japanese live-action and animation classics, including Miyazaki's works as well as many Godzilla movies as well as most of Kurosawa Akira's works.

According to Hulu Japan, the performances will be performed live on Hulu 3 and 4 May, with stops in Fukuoka and Sapporo followed by a domestic performance at Nagoya's Misonoza Theater. The reason for the two performances means that there are two actors for each role, because the stage theater uses the Japanese "double cast" system.

The 3rd and 4th performances will feature Kanna Hashimoto and Moen Kamishiraishi (Chihiro), Kotaro Daigo and Hiroki Miura (Haku), Koharu Sugawara and Tomohiko Tsujimoto (No Face), Miyu Saki and Nichinan Fu (Hayashi/Chihiro's mother), Tomorowo Taguchi and Satoshi Hashimoto (Kamaji), and the original voice actors Mari Natsuki and Romi Pak (Yubaba/Zenibaba).

When stage production was announced last year, Studio Ghibli's Toshio Suzuki, the producer of the original film, was full of praise for Caird and his work. I also remembered that Miyazaki himself met Caird and gave the go-ahead for stage production immediately after hearing the pitch.

Caird was equally admired when referring to the work of the legendary filmmaker, not only for the emotional and intellectual integrity of his story, but also for "access to the child's spirit that equalizes him with some of the great storytellers like Charles Dickens, Hans Christian Andersen and Lewis Carroll." He also praised Miyazaki's knack for being a "good guy." I think he goes down in history as one of the great storytellers.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified the Walt Disney Company as the operator of Hulu Japan. The streaming service is not operated by Disney; it is owned and operated by Nippon Television Network Co., Ltd.

Top Court Toby Ollie and photo at the Toho Stage