Review Roundup: Frank Wildhorn's DEATH NOTE in the West End

DEATH NOTE: THE MUSICAL is back in London, opening at the Barbican Theatre for a strictly limited six-week season this July. The cast is led by Xander Pang and Colin Ryan, with Stephanie Zaharis as Misa Amane, Telly Leung as Ryuk, Grace Mouat as Rem, Paolo Montalban as Soichiro Yagami, Chloe Saracco as Jerasu, and Elsie Buckley as Sayu.

The worldwide phenomenon DEATH NOTE: THE MUSICAL, based on the globally bestselling manga created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata, comes to the Barbican Theatre this summer in a newly reimagined musical production, featuring a revised script and newly written songs alongside the original acclaimed score by Frank Wildhorn, with lyrics by Jack Murphy and a book by Ivan Menchell. Following ten years of acclaimed sold-out productions across Asia and record-breaking concerts at the London Palladium, this much-anticipated reimagined production will open on 30 July for a limited six-week season. See what the critics are saying...

Andrew Pulver, The Guardian: Fortunately, the whole thing starts strong, with a floodlit opening scene that combines brilliantly athletic dance moves (by a supporting company that is excellent throughout) and a schoolroom debate about the ethics of justice, and just keeps going from there – with neat forced-perspective sets, flashy back projections and amusing sliding stage elements. Death Note purists might not be completely on board with the alterations, but I would challenge anyone not to have a good time with this.

Gary Naylor, The Arts Desk: Much of Death Note is, for all those faults, hugely entertaining, particularly for a younger demographic who will see versions of low level adolescent neuroses on stage and, as is the case for Dear Evan Hansen, will gain that glorious glow of understanding that they are not alone. To be fair, it’s not much different to the feeling us older theatregoers get watching Chekhov or Ibsen, so why not?

Musical Theatre Review, Musical Theatre Review: Whether fans of the original Death Note will be happy with some of the cuts and changes to fit the story into a two-act musical structure, there is no denying that the result is a taut, compelling tale that is accessible to anyone unfamiliar with the source material. Utilising the Barbican Theatre’s stage to its fullest extent, this is a musical that earns the hype.

Olivia Rook, London Theatre: Broadway’s Telly Leung offers some camp light relief as the mischievous Shinigami Ryuk, who plays with humans for his own amusement and devours apples at a rapid pace. His costume and make-up are far less terrifying than in the concert version at the London Palladium in 2023 (which more faithfully recreated the manga), though Nakahara’s exposed, black rib-cage design is imaginative. Grace Mouat, as the death spirit Rem (Ryuk’s foil in white), is heartbreaking in the ballad “When Love Comes”, when she sacrifices herself for a human.

Theatre & Tonic, Theatre & Tonic: This is a stunning adaptation of Death Note which will write its way into the history books. This short six-week run at the Barbican is the first of, hopefully, many revivals of this show. Death Note is triumphant, exhilarating and a pure shot of adrenaline from start to end. If you enjoy a magnificent cast, a phenomenal adaptation, brilliant sets and a stunning night out, then this is the perfect show for you this summer.

Kate Maltby, The Times: Vocally, all perform well with Frank Wildhorn’s rock opera score, but the breakout performance comes from Grace Mouat as Rem, a rival shinigami keeping an eye on Light’s love interest. Her power ballad When Love Comes gives the audience a hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck moment, as Rem realises she’s going to have to intervene even at the cost of her own immortality. Earlier, the gods have united for one of the show’s most memorable numbers in They’re Only Human. Rem, an ice goddess in white, fails to maintain this chilly attitude to mortals, but Ryuk, beautifully costumed by Sachiko Nakahara in black leather and exposed bones, stays deliciously aloof.

Mica Blackwell, BroadwayWorld.com: If there’s one word to describe this Death Note, it’s ambitious. Stephen Whitson’s direction treats the Faustian and often ludicrous material with Shakespearean levels of drama and camp that only a stage as large as the Barbican’s could fill. However, it occasionally feels ambitious to a fault. Ivan Menchell’s book carries fascinating ideas surrounding the moral ambiguity of vigilantism and mortality, but adapting a 12-volume manga into a two-and-a-half hour show leaves them feeling underexplored.

Katelyn Mensah, Radio Times: In every song and each scene, you find yourself drawn to the story, wanting to know what happens next and how each character will find their way out of the predicament. It’s easy to laugh off the story as a work of fantastical madness, but it’s almost impossible to not become engrossed. I’m not afraid to admit that Death Note: The Musical is the best show I have seen in the last decade.

Tom Wicker, The Stage: It’s a pleasure to see manga translate so well to the stage. It would be easy to draw a comparison with the recent success of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s adaptation of My Neighbour Totoro, but this is a very different beast. Whitson’s production thrives on a noirish intensity, reflected in the towering cityscapes of Akhila Krishnan’s video design, glimpsed through – and framed by – the sharp-edged brutalism of Jon Bausor’s massive, split-level set. Everything seems to loom over the characters.

Mary Pollard , Everything Theatre: The musical condenses the series into a 2 hour 20 minute show that serves plenty. It’s extremely polished with a talented cast and some belting voices. Pang and Ryan deliver powerful performances while Stephanie Zaharis as Misa Amane is a pocket rocket, commanding the stage.

Tim Robey, The Telegraph: You’d be hard pressed to send this music anywhere other than the bin: it serves up tranche after tranche of undifferentiated rock-opera sludge, with rudimentary lyrics, and far too many songs that run in circles getting the story nowhere. I can’t feel bad for the writers, but I do for the musically capable performers dragged into this abyss.

Average Rating: 75.5%