Review: Spirited Away, at the London Coliseum

When you find out your favourite film of all time is being adapted for the stage, you have to snatch a ticket come what may. Right? 

After the success of My Neighbour Totoro, it seemed inevitable that another Studio Ghibli classic would be adapted for the stage and head its way to London. This one was already playing in Japan, and I believe, been screened to US cinemas. Now, it's playing at the London Coliseum. 

Considered among many to be Hayao Miyazaki's magnum opus, the magic of Spirited Away has burst onto the West End stage. 

And, I repeat, this is my favourite film of all time, and my gateway to anime: the hype was on

For those who haven't seen the film (where have you been), Spirited Away has an Alice in Wonderland-esque story, but rooted in Japanese lore and culture. Ten year old Chihiro and her family get trapped in the Spirit World whilst driving to their new home - and her parents are turned into pigs! 

To save her family, Chihiro must work in the Bath House, run by the ruthless Yubaba. With the help of other spirits who work in the bathhouse, especially Yubaba's apprentice Haku, can Chihiro reclaim her identity, save her parents and escape the Spirit World? 

Unlike Totoro, and Your Lie in April, Spirited Away is performed entirely in Japanese 

Don't worry, you don't secretly need a Japanese degree to experience the show. There are small screens at the side and very top of the stage playing subtitles for the audience to refer to. The Coliseum is home to the ENO after all; it is easy to forget it is well equipped to tackle pieces of work not in the English language for an anglophone audience. Thankfully too, the subtitles do not distract away from the action on stage. 

Spirited Away's stage version was a collaboration between Studio Ghibli and Tomo; they have, thankfully, all come with the production to London. Know that whilst it markets itself as a musical, it is more of a play with music, with new orchestrations of Joe Hishashi's beautiful original score. A play with music that has made a perfectly smooth translation from screen to stage. 

The true star of the show is the puppetry. It is masterful 

I am talking about puppets of all shapes and sizes here. We have some as small as a pom pom with eyes for the Soot Sprites, and the frog spirit leaping straight from the film, to Haku's dragon forms (cue gasps across the theatre). Studio Ghibli has truly no limits in terms of its creations, and this has extended to how the puppetry is performed. The best example I can think of is Yubaba's random green head henchmen: the design being one puppeteer dressed as a mariachi wrestler, and it is not only imaginative but also hilarious. 

The other puppet which is truly show-stopping is No-Face. No-Face is actually one of the few cast members I can call out with certainty by name, as a lot of the main parts are shared out between two or three actors each, and I (stupidly) forgot to get a photo of the cast list. (Just to stress though, the whole cast was completely endearing, and brought the same magic as their screen counterparts)

However, I can call out Hikaru Yamano for bringing out the mysteriousness of No-Face, and his creepiness when he got huge from greed. When he did get big, it compared to seeing Audrey II in Little Shop, or Totoro for the first time. 

With all these puppets and the huge cast, it is a good thing they have garnered a stage as big as the Coliseum's 

The only problem with a space as huge as this, comes when you sit up in the gods like I was. Similarly to the problem faced in Kiss Me Kate, when the action happens right at the front of the stage, it is cut off a bit for folks up at the top. And whatever view may have been there will likely be cut off even more due to the audience in front of you leaning forward (big pet peeve of mine). 

The staging, apart from that though is pretty good. The set is on a giant original-Les Mis style revolve, at various heights and random platforms sticking around everywhere. I know I just slandered being in the gods, but being (not too high) up means that you get to see all the different spirits on these levels. It's similar to Hamilton and Life of Pi in that being in the stalls would actually be a hindrance. 

Surprise surprise, this was the show I had booked first for my holiday. In fact, I built the rest of my week over seeing the matinee of Spirited Away 

It was also the only show (bar Standing at the Sky's Edge) that I didn't see on my own, seeing it with some friends who all love anime as much as I do. Seeing it with them, and us all taking in this magic together made the experience all the better for me. 

If you are able to get tickets, Spirited Away is 100% worth it! The Spirit World's magic truly shines throughout the whole thing - and you can truly escape the sweaty London streets and have a good time.