Arab News Japan

Hayao Miyazaki’s anime, Spirited Away will go from the screen to the stage after approval was given to playwright John Caird to direct the project.

https://twitter.com/JP_GHIBLI/status/1365211400239390721

Set to debut in February 2022 at the Tokyo’s Imperial Theatre, the production will gradually move around Japan, from Osaka in April, Fukuoka in March, Sapporo in June, followed by Nagoya in July.

The production will cast both Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi in the role of Chihiro—with the two recognized as popular singers and actresses in Japan.

Hashimoto tweeted about her casting, expressing her enthusiasm to have been selected and her dedication to the role.

本日発表となりました「千と千尋の神隠し」にて千尋役を務める事になりました。
日本の宝とも言えるこの原作の主役を演じる事が出来、心より光栄に思います。
私自身初舞台なので今からとても震えていますが、敬意を持ってこの作品に臨みたいと思います。#千と千尋の神隠し pic.twitter.com/5z9iGbmwUB

— 橋本環奈 (@H_KANNA_0203) February 26, 2021

“John Caird, Honorary Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, will write and direct the stage adaptation. Mr. Caird is internationally renowned for adapting and directing the world premiere of the monumental musical, Les Misérables, and for creating theatrical masterpieces such as Daddy Long Legs and Knights’ Tale,” the official website states.

Amplifying the extravagance of the event, the Imperial Theatre will be transformed into the infamous bathhouse from the Spirited Away film.

This theatrical venture will be released in celebration of Toho’s 90^th anniversary—a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company that is involved in the distribution of Spirted Away.

Around three years ago, Caird began making his mark in the theatre scene In Japan, working amongst a Japanese cast when he directed the play Knight’s Tale.