Theatre Review: My Neighbour Totoro

You might wonder why I'm posting about a stage show on a blog about toy trains'n'stuff. Well, this visit was inspired by something I spotted on an N gauge layout. 

Chatting to the owner, it turns out that this is a CatBus, from the 1988 film, "My Neighbour Totoro". Obviously this fascinates me, and I spend time I should be working falling down the CatBus rabbit hole on the internet. Fairly quickly, I find that there is a stage show put on by none other than the RSC. At this point, I decide to stop messing around, buy a ticket, and get back to work. 

Last week, I trotted off to London to the Gillian Lynne Theatre, which is in Parker Street, a good sign.  

Finding my seat, quite high up, but with an excellent view, I awaited the show. There is quite a lot online about it, but I'd tried to avoid reading too much. 

The story is a bit limited, but that's not what we are here for. The staging is amazing. I'd go so far as to say the whole thing is magical. 

Much of the work is done with puppets. Those operating them wear black, and are veiled when not being part of the ensemble cast. This works well, you simply don't see the people, like you don't see baseboard joints on model railways at a show. 

Totoro appears in several sizes, most notably about 25 feet high (or long, we meet him lying down), and while not the nimblest puppet, he can move around thanks to his team of helpers. I understand that the multiple scale is based on the film, where the artists drew him at convenient sizes. 

For me, the star was the CatBus - it is huge, pretty close to the size of a real bus!

Again, the puppet work is amazing. As he does the flying around, miniature buildings and even a train rush by underneath. Again, we get a different scale puppet for one sequence. 

Aside from this, there is a house that spins and splits up so we can see inside and out. Plants that erupt from the stage,  a forest that closes in, moving sweetcorn plants and a whole lot more. 

The show is funny, poignant, and always visually stunning. I really enjoyed myself, and am tempted by a repeat visit. There's so much to see, I know I will have missed some of it. 

Picky point? The family arrive on a piaggio ape, which is an Italian three-wheel transport, surely unlikely to be seen in Japan. Surely a Mazda K360 would be more appropriate?  

Stern work

 

Time to move outside the barge, and work on the stern. A series of wire pieces are cut and superglued in place. Over this, slips a couple of laser-cut card parts. To cover the wire ends, a thinner card piece fits over the top. 

This reads quicker than it turned out to be. I used a piece of MDF as a spacer for the bottom rib, but did the top by eye. It's not perfect, but OK. 

Leftover wire has been used for the tiller, although it deserves a bit more colour than the plain black I've painted it. 

To be honest, this double rib arrangement seems a bit of a fantasy to me - I don't recall seeing anything like it in real life, but I'm going with it. This isn't a kit to rebuild too much. Due to work commitments, it's already taken longer than a "quick build", and I won't argue that it looks nice. 

Acton haul

 

What I didn't buy - a signal head for £400. Too heavy to bring back on the train. Likewise a chunk of masonry from a Leslie Green station. 

LT railwayana isn't cheap. Numerous "Lift" direction signs for £100. Tiny squares of moquette for £20. Even the tube line stickers used in trains were pricey, and they didn't have a Bakerloo line one. 

Obviously, this didn't entirely stop me. A tote bag and guidebook (an excellent 100 page read with lovely photos) for £8 and 10 postcards (am I the only person who buys these?) for a quid. I'm wondering if the prospect of a house in Metroland for £750 is still possible? Is the 1932 advert a touch out of date? 

Weird buys - a pack of whitemetal oil drums and depot details, and 16mm scale Talyllyn Railway plans. No idea what they were doing there, but they are mine now!

Best buy? A great big paper label that says "Defective". I think I might put it on a lanyard and wear it around my neck...

Acton Depot

A chance spot on the Ian Visits newsletter presented me with the chance to tick off somewhere I've always wanted to visit, but never found the time - Acton Depot. Home to the bulk of the London Transport artefacts collection. 

The depot doesn't host that many open days, and by chance this time it was a Friday/Saturday session, so I quickly booked the end of the week off work, and bought myself a ticket. Weirdly, this works better for me than weekends, which are in short supply at this time of year. 

Entry is timed, but they were pretty relaxed about this, letting me in an hour early. I wasn't sure how long it would take me to cross town, less than expected thanks to an efficient underground system!

The depot is big. Eight platforms of underground (not just tube) trains, plus buses and a couple of trams. Plus half a million smaller items apparently. 

It was all a bit "woah!" to start with. I needed three circuits to get my head around it properly. I won't claim to be any sort of LT expert, but I can respect the work that goes into restoring these things. 

My favourite though, has to be a battery loco. 

Mainly because they are ugly workhorses, but also because I built a model of one years ago as a magazine project. This loco is still in "as used" condition, and all the better for it. I've only ever seen these from a distance before, and so loved the chance to get up close. 

A trip up on the mezzanine saw me with another item that I have a tiny connection with.

I often look at maps and find myself fascinated by places, and in the 1990s, one end of the tube map showed a place called "Ongar". I knew nothing about it, and there wasn't an internet to consult quickly, but when I read in Railway Magazine that services were to be abandoned, I took a day off my job at the Ministry of Agriculture, and hopped on a train. 

Ongar is Chipping Ongar, and the ride included an awful lot of countryside. Riding on an underground train through this was fascinating, and a bit weird. I spent a couple of hours wandering around and caught the train back into the smoke. The line closed in September 1994, and is now run by the Epping Ongar Railway. 

As a day out, it was well worth it. Not somewhere I feel the need to go regularly, but I hope to be back one day. If you've not been, add it to the list. 

There are more photos over on my Flickr album.  

Saturday Film Club: Exhibiting at the Bala model railway Exhibition on Llantaliog a 16mm scale layout

Some large-scale steam action at the Bala Lake Railway gala.