Death Note the Musical Turns Manga Justice Into Blade Runner Spectacle at the Barbican

Death Note: The Musical | Barbican Theatre until 12th September

A killer notebook, a Blade Runner-esque set and a score that finally fits Frank Wildhorn’s style — Surrender to the ridiculousness and enjoy the ride!

The show is based on a hugely popular Japanese manga, and its premise is an intriguing, if far-fetched, one: the Shinigami, Japanese gods of death, drop a notebook, the Death Note, to Earth. It’s picked up by a young man who discovers that writing someone’s name inside it will cause their death within 40 seconds. The opening number, ‘Where Is the Justice?’, sets up a core debate: our hero, a criminology student frustrated by the failures of the justice system, decides to mete out his own justice by writing the names of criminals who have evaded the law into the book. His vengeance escalates from there. The musical itself originated in 2015, with a score by Frank Wildhorn, also known for Jekyll & Hyde.

If you’re willing to embrace the ridiculousness of the premise, Death Note: The Musical is very cleverly constructed. I went in knowing nothing about it, which is exactly how I love to experience a story, completely fresh. Questions do arise, such as: if he just writes ‘John Smith’ in the book, how does he target the correct John Smith? The show addresses this; you must visualize the person’s face to ensure the right individual. The plot features an IT genius, L, who tracks him down, other twists involving gods falling in love with mortals, and even a pop star integrated into this fantastical world.

The set is one of the best I’ve seen in a long time at the Barbican, a blend of Blade Runner aesthetics with practical scenery, effective projections, and background video cameras. It looks incredible, making for a truly wonderful fantasy musical.

I am familiar with manga but knew nothing about this particular story beforehand, yet I could follow it perfectly. Apparently, I did some reading afterward, they’ve stripped away all subplots and extraneous stories from the comic series to create an almost Javert-and-Valjean pursuit, reminiscent of Les Misérables. This focus on the tracking-down narrative, how they will discover him, whether he will escape, ensures all the twists and turns are absolutely clear.

The diverse cast rises to the challenge, delivering killer vocals and high-energy performances. Xander Pang, as Light, superbly charts the descent from a self-righteous student into something much darker. His nemesis, Colin Ryan as L, also provides killer vocals.

Telly Leung is deliciously camp and over-the-top as the Shinigami god Ryuk, partnered by Grace Mouat as the icy and regal god Rem. My only slight disappointment was Paolo Montalban as Soichiro, whose acting felt a little overblown, which is ironic given the overall tone of the production.

The choreography by Fabian Aloise is brilliantly exciting and expertly executed by a high-energy ensemble. Some moves brought to mind choreography from the new Marvel movie Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

As for Frank Wildhorn, I’m not usually a great fan of his music. I find it a bit overblown, and it doesn’t always fit the tone of the show it’s in. He’s a bit like the Ernie Wise of the musical theatre world: he just keeps churning them out. He’s even done a Cyrano de Bergerac in Japan, in addition to this one. But this time, for the first time, I feel his musical style actually suits this heightened reality, and who knows, he might have a proper commercial and critical hit on his hands!

I found myself sitting right behind him in the theatre when I went to see it. As the lights went down, he was on his phone, and I couldn’t resist leaning over for a look. He was messaging someone, “Have you seen The Guardian!” So I thought I’d better take a look at The Guardian on the train home. It was another rave review, so he must be a very happy man! The show has certainly received mainly very positive reviews across the board, with one reviewer calling it the best show they’ve seen in the last decade! I wouldn’t go that far, but I did really enjoy it, and I plan to go back and see it again myself before it closes.

Death Note: The Musical takes the ridiculous premise of a notebook that kills and turns it into a cleverly constructed, visually stunning fantasy thriller. The Blade Runner-style set is one of the best I’ve seen in years. Frank Wildhorn’s score, for once, suits the material perfectly. You don’t need to know the manga to follow it. A short run, and a real shame if it doesn’t have a life beyond the Barbican.

Book before 12th September, EyeOnLondon would rather you saw this ridiculous, gorgeous thing for yourself than read about it any longer.

For more London arts and culture, visit EyeOnLondon at eye-on-london.com.

[Image Credits | Manuel Harlan]

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