Manga adaptation at the Barbican takes Japanese original and delivers satisfying entertainment you should catch before it closes
Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here
BY JESS MADDISON
Death Note The Musical, first performed in London in 2023 as a concert, is back in the capital, this time with a full staging at the Barbican.
For those of us who missed out the first time round, it joins a growing trend of musicals based on books that don’t obviously lend themselves to song and dance numbers – Trainspotting, I’m looking at you.
But, like Adrian Mole: The Musical, I’ve been surprised before – those clever adaptors know how to have a character burst into a ballad without it seeming unnatural.
Death Note itself started in print as a manga in 2003 and has since become an anime series, a film and a TV show.
The premise is that Shinigami – death gods from Japanese folklore – each possess a notebook and if a person’s name is written into it, then that individual will die.
One Shinigami – Ryuk – seeks more excitement than an eternity condemning mortals, however, and drops their notebook into the human world.
Meanwhile on Earth a student named Light Yagami, is angered by the lack of fairness in the criminal justice system.
Light finds Ryuk’s notebook and begins writing down the names of people who are guilty of crimes, taking justice into his own hands and earning the nickname Kira in the media.
One of the fatalities is the murderer of popstar Misa’s parents.
Having been given her own notebook by a Shinigami called Rem, Misa is able to find Light and pledges to help him rid the world of criminals.
Naturally, this attracts the attention of the National Police Agency Of Japan and a great detective, known simply as: “L”.
Through attempting to remain undiscovered, Light’s power goes to his head until his actions are no longer about righteousness.
On stage, Xander Pang portrays Light’s arrogance and intelligence beautifully, while Colin Ryan embodies L’ s appearance and mannerisms perfectly.
Tokyo’s neon signs in the rain provide the ideal backdrop to the dark story at play and the costumes – particularly the Shinigami – create an enthralling illusion to effectively pull the viewer into the story.
The songs are far from the usual, light-hearted west end musical ditties and their inclusion adds to the drama of the plot, rather than pausing the action.
Fans of the manga will be relieved the story has retained Ryuk’s humour, Misa’s manic devotion and Rem’s indomitable compassion.
While the stage show strays from plot of the original stories – something not unexpected in a show that lasts two hours when there are 12 volumes to cover – the musical doesn’t leave me unsatisfied.
Much the opposite, in fact. The performance is exhilarating and I find my loyalties switching back and forth in a show that’s great fun and captivating to the end.
Go and see it while you can – you’ll probably catch me in the audience again.
****
4/5
key details: Death Note The Musical
Death Note The Musical is set to run at the Barbican until September 12, 2026.
Standard tickets start at £34. The show lasts two hours plus a 20-minute interval, with performances at 7.30pm and at 2.30pm on Thursdays and Saturdays.
Find out more about the show here
Read more: Find out more about Common Threads, coming to Cody Dock in September
Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here
Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here
