Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away Stage Play Heads to the U.S. and Canada as World Tour Expands

The acclaimed Spirited Away stage adaptation is preparing for its biggest international expansion yet, with producers announcing an extended world tour that will bring the production to North America for the very first time.

Following successful runs across Japan, London, Shanghai and Seoul, the celebrated theatrical adaptation will now visit Taiwan, Canada, the United States and return to the United Kingdom over the next two years.

Originally released by Studio Ghibli in 2001, Spirited Away introduced audiences to Chihiro, a young girl who finds herself trapped in a mysterious spirit world where she must overcome countless challenges to rescue her parents and discover her own courage.

The stage production is produced by Toho and directed by acclaimed English playwright John Caird, who transformed Hayao Miyazaki’s Academy Award-winning animated masterpiece into a live theatrical experience.

The production premiered in Tokyo in March 2022 before touring major cities across Japan, later spending five months in London during 2024, followed by a two-month engagement in Shanghai during 2025 and a four-month run in Seoul earlier this year.

The newly announced tour marks the first time the production will be staged in North America, representing another major milestone in the show’s growing international success.

The overseas tour will begin at Taipei’s National Theater and Concert Hall, where performances are scheduled from December 17, 2026 through January 31, 2027.

Following its Taiwan engagement, the production will travel to Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre for its Canadian premiere, with performances running from May 6 through August 15, 2027.

The world tour will then continue into the United States, where Spirited Away will make its American debut at Los Angeles’ Ahmanson Theatre between September 2 and October 24, 2027.

The international schedule will conclude with a return to London, where the production will be staged once again at the London Coliseum between March and July 2028.

Alongside the overseas performances, a new Japanese tour has also been confirmed for 2027, with engagements planned for Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka and Sapporo.

The domestic schedule includes performances at Tokyo’s Meijiza from March through May, Nagoya’s Misonoza during June, Osaka’s Umeda Arts Theater between June and July, Fukuoka’s Hakataza during July and August, and Sapporo Cultural Arts Theater Hitaru during August 2027.

Although the cast for the upcoming productions has not yet been announced, previous performances have used a double-cast system for the lead roles, allowing alternating performers to appear simultaneously in both Japanese and overseas productions.

All international performances to date have featured the original Japanese cast performing entirely in Japanese, and with no changes currently announced, the same format is expected for the newly revealed tour dates.

Ticket information has not yet been released, with additional details expected to become available through the production’s official website closer to each performance period.