Theatre
Review
Review: Death Note The Musical
The killer thriller at the Barbican Theatre is a slick, confident hit
It’s a big stage to fill at the Barbican Theatre, but Death Note: The Musical fills it. The new adaptation of the popular manga and anime has some lofty expectations attached and a passionate fanbase to please, with anticipation only building since the concert staging at the London Palladium in 2023. Now the show returns for its full-fledged English language premiere, reimagined by a creative team including composer Frank Wildhorn, lyricist Jack Murphy, book writer Ivan Menchell and director Stephen Whitson, and fans of the original can rest assured – no one involved has taken their responsibility lightly.
The premise – not obvious musical material – is this: brilliant student Light finds a ‘Death Note’ dropped by a bored Shinigami (a Japanese death spirit) named Ryuk. He learns that if he writes a name on it, he guarantees that person’s death, and he uses this power to start picking off Japan’s murderers and criminals. As the death toll rises, Light becomes the anonymous ‘Kira’ to a crowd of devotees – but detective L is determined to stop him, before Light discovers his real name.
By necessity, big cuts to the original twelve-volume manga have been made. The multi-chapter cat-and-mouse game between L and Light is massively condensed, and as such L’s deductive powers feel a little closer to prescience at points, with breakthroughs in the case arriving whenever the plot requires. But to get this story to fit into the shape of a two-act West End musical is a feat in itself – to so do at a pace that feels both rapid and reasonable, with a story that new fans can easily follow, is an enormous achievement. What should be borderline unadaptable has become a show so slick and gripping that it’ll leave the naysayers silent.
Wildhorn’s pop-rock score and Murphy’s propulsive lyrics do well here, but the show’s design lifts it into blockbuster territory. From the moment the Barbican’s unusual fire curtain uncases the stage, Death Note: The Musical is a visual treat. Jon Bausor’s set divides the Tokyo from the heavens with a descending platform, moving us between scenes with a half-hidden revolve, whilst lighting designer Jen Schriever and video designer Akhila Krishnan bring the city alive with a neon, game-ified aesthetic. Sachiko Nakahara’s costuming is superb, subtly updating the design of the Shinigamis (Ryuk’s leather ribcage is a fantastic piece of work) and bringing an authentic dose of Tokyo street style to the stage.
Zander Pang leads the cast admirably as Light, descending from idealistic to power-drunk, whilst Colin Ryan is his hollow-eyed, darkly confident adversary, L. Telly Leung is excellent fun as the playfully evil Ryuk, and Grace Mouat as conflicted Shinigami Rem wins hearts with powerful ballad ‘When Love Comes’. Stephanie Zaharis, making her West End debut, is a bona-fide star as pop artist Misa, delivering a breakout performance that should make her one of London theatre’s most talked-about new faces.
No adaptation forced to shed this much of the original will ever please every fan, but Death Note: The Musical manages to represent its source material admirably whilst offering a genuinely electrifying theatrical experience for even the uninitiated. Here’s hoping London audiences embrace it with the enthusiasm it deserves.
Death Note: The Musical is booking at the Barbican Theatre until 12 September – find tickets here
