Mervyn Millar News

The multi-award-winning stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbour Totoro which recently wrapped up a successful return engagement the at Barbican Theatre, will transfer to London's West End in early 2025.

New York Theatre Workshop's 2024 Gala will honor theater and film visionary Liesl Tommy. Learn more about the gala and about Tommy!

Last night, (Thursday 30 November), Executive Producer Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) celebrated the official opening night of Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbour Totoro, which returned to the Barbican centre early this month for a strictly limited run.

Recently, we had the chance to speak with Ami Okumura Jones, who returns to the role of Satsuki, Mei’s older sister. We discussed what it has been like to be part of both the original and current production of the show, how it feels to be part of an adaptation of a classic Studio Ghibli film, and even her first reaction to seeing the puppets!

The full company has been announced for the multi-award-winning stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbour Totoro which will return to the Barbican theatre for a strictly limited run from Tuesday 21 November 2023 to Saturday 23 March 2024. Find out who is starring and check out a rehearsal video here!

Universal Theatrical Group (UTG), Universal Pictures’ live theater division, announced development of the musical IMITATION OF LIFE, based on the novel by Fannie Hurst and the Universal Pictures films, with book by Lynn Nottage, music and lyrics by John Legend, and directed by Liesl Tommy.

The record-breaking production of Studio Ghibli's My Neighbour Totoro will return to the Barbican Theatre for a strictly limited run in Autumn 2023.

Check out rehearsal photos of Rose Theatre and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Theatres' Richard III starring Adjoa Andoh.

Rose Theatre and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Theatres in association with Swinging The Lens have announced full casting and further creative team for William Shakespeare's Richard III, directed by and starring Adjoa Andoh (Lady Danbury in Bridgerton). 

Edinburgh's international festival of visual theatre and animated film, MANIPULATE, is a celebration of visually stunning work, with a focus on artworks which breathe life into the inanimate or tell stories primarily through imagery. 

Executive Producer Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) have announced that leading innovator in puppetry, animatronics, and digital animation, Jim Henson's Creature Shop, will create the puppets for the global stage premiere of Studio Ghibli's My Neighbour Totoro, opening at the Barbican on Saturday 8 October 2022.

Whilst the RSC are renowned for their world-class Shakespeare productions, they have also turned their hand to many successful musical adaptations over the years - most recently the global phenomenon Matilda the Musical, but Les Miserables, Carrie the Musical and many others also originated with the Stratford-upon-Avon-based theatre company. Enter The Magician's Elephant: a brand new family musical, based on Kate DiCamillo's award-winning 2009 novel.

The Royal Shakespeare Company today released the first images of new musical The Magician’s Elephant by Nancy Harris (book/lyrics) and Marc Teitler (music/lyrics) based on the novel by prize-winning children’s author Kate DiCamillo.

The world stage premiere of The Magician's Elephant will run in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from Thursday 14 October 2021 to Saturday 1 January 2022 with press night on Tuesday 26 October 2021. Learn more about the production here!

The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center has announced the 2021 summer season, which will be held in a hybrid format — both online and in-person. Support for artists, a welcoming environment for imaginative discovery and celebration, and the safety of our community are at the forefront of this #ONeillSummer.

Later this year, the three Shakespeare productions from the Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC) Summer 2019 Stratford season transfer to the Barbican from 26 October 2019. The Company features 27 actors, who each appear across two of the three productions:

Columbia University School of the Arts is proud to present Daniel Adams' (Columbia MFA Directing Candidate 2019) production of The Historical Range of Ursus Americanus.

For the first time the Royal Shakespeare Company will tour three productions in repertoire to six regional theatres, playing for two weeks in each venue. As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew and Measure for Measure will visit Salford in September 2019, and then Canterbury, Plymouth, Nottingham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Blackpool in early 2020. Performance dates at the end of the release.

Good morning BroadwayWorld! Today's top stories: Jesus Christ Superstar took home Emmy Awards last night, making Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Legend, and Tim Rice EGOTs, and more!

Theatre and puppetry director Mervyn Millar's latest book is a practical insight into the use of puppets in theatre. Millar is incredibly well-equipped to provide this thorough guide, having been part of the creative and performing teams of the National Theatre's War Horse from the very beginning, as well as extensive puppet design and direction for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Bristol Old Vic, Schauspielhaus Zurich and many others. He's also Chair of the Puppet Centre Trust, and regularly runs teaching sessions and workshops for a range of organisations.