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DEATH NOTE the musical? I have notes. | ★★ review of the West End production at the Barbican

21K views · Aug 12, 2026 · Entertainment

MickeyJoTheatre

108K subscribers

Comments · 270

@MickeyJoTheatre · 1 month ago · pinned
Needless to say, go see it for yourselves (as always) and then come right back here and let me know what YOU thought!
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@breadboiyt35 · 1 month ago
I’m still waiting for the 2023 cast album after 3 YEARS 😭
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@SylviaMarie-p6k8s · 1 month ago (edited)
Non-spoilers 4.5/5 review I saw the concert version in 2023 and was already so impressed but the full production in 2026 was the most technically impressive, expansive, talent-driven musical I have EVER seen. I am a musical fanatic and this achieved what the Hunger Games at Canary Wharf desperately tried to but fell short because it felt very clunky, mismanaged and bizare. Deathnote this time around pulled out all the stops and my jaw waa agasp for most of it. The choreography was INCREDIBLE and done in such a subtly clever way when L was introduced and during the explanation of Shinigami controlling the fates of mortals. As for emotion? I cried during Mortals & Fools as both Rem and Gelus vehemetly disagreed with the other & Gelus's began to realise/feel human emotions for the first time 'I... I... FEEL for her!' Not to mention when Rem was deciding what to do at the end. That was a huge tearjerker. Oh, and when Light's father discovers the ending scene & the carnage/tragedy there. I also LOVED the set design including the seperated boxes of the different offices. I don't agree that it affects the emotion impact of those scenes at all.   A few pointers I felt is that Rem & Ryiuks costumes in the 2023 concert were more impressive with both of them adorning wings at the start which was then replaced with feathers near their necks to resemble wings, whereas they didn't bother with that this time AND I wasn't 100% sure of the 180 they did with Misa Misa's traditionally very kawii persona now turned into a more hip hop one alongside her pop star routines. Overall though? A STRONG 4.5 ⭐️from me and I'd love to see it again.
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@tinydancer6767 · 1 month ago
as someone that watched the anime after getting obsessed with the musical soundtrack in 2019 (and then obsessing over the anime) - i LOVED this show. it was everything i wanted it to be, and with £60 tickets for the front row, i would’ve hands down gone again if i didn’t have to come home to aus!!
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@richardbrown4245 · 1 month ago
I normally find myself agreeing with MJ, but I think two stars is too harsh here. Some of the criticisms are fair, particularly around the book and some of the character development, but at times the review feels as though it is judging the show against what it might become after further development rather than what is actually on the Barbican stage. I have seen it twice, once in late preview and then after opening and would put it much closer to four stars. The score has some excellent moments, the staging is ambitious, the Shinigami are brilliantly realised and there are several very strong performances. I also think it knows what sort of show it wants to be. It is visually stunning and I think it handles the mix of thriller, fantasy and musical theatre well. The heightened style is part of the point for me. It is adapting manga, not trying to become Next to Normal. Light and L may not have big psychological depth, but I am not convinced they need it for the show to work. There are certainly things I would change, and I can see the argument that some of the character motivation could be developed more. But I was engaged throughout, enjoyed the score, liked a lot of the staging and was interested enough to go back and see it again. For me, that is a long way from a two-star show. I’d have it at four stars. I suspect MJ knew two stars would get some pushback, and fair play to him for sticking his neck out. It certainly made me think harder about why I liked the show as much as I did, even if I still think he has marked it too harshly. 🙏
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@sanclementejenny · 1 month ago
My favorite manga. Favorite anime: but only the first half. IYKYK
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@ankraly · 1 month ago
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd15ma_dHJs&t=210">3:30</a> -- L is not actually an adolescent, he's stated to be in his 20s or 30s in the manga. A fact that I forget all the time because he does not act very different from melodramatic teenager Light.
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@AskingTheWrongQuestions · 1 month ago
As a huge Death Note fan, I was skeptical going in, but I liked the concept album enough to give it a shot. I was actually really impressed by the show. Death Note has a massively complex story with tons of characters who come and go, and simplifying it enough to fit into 2 hours is a feat in itself. Making it work as a musical on top of that is wild. And I had a fantastic time: the songs were great, the staging was great, the ways they used the ensemble was super effective. The cast was really well chosen and all did a wonderful job. But what impressed me the most was the reactions of people who'd never seen or read the original, people with no nostalgia or reason to give it the benefit of the doubt. There was a group sitting next to me that I overheard talking at intermission, and two of them had no idea what the show was even about. After it ended, they were both gushing about how cool it was and how interested in the story they were. And again, the musical had to compress a TON of plot into two hours. For people who didn't have background knowledge to still follow everything going on, that's a pretty impressive adaptation. If I had the chance, I would gladly see it again!
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@DrMattPhillips · 1 month ago (edited)
I've read the manga and seen the anime, and if anything, from what you've described, it sounds like the opposite is true: the depth from the source material was instead leapfrogged, which inadvertently adds cartoon elements to it that weren't present. I can understand why the connection for someone unfamiliar would think the cartoonish elements must stem from the cartoon source, but I just don't believe that's true. Light's ideology in the manga is very much explored beyond what is described; there is a very clear and hard-to-miss escalation that takes place over 6-7 years. L maps the killings specifically to Light's school timetable, and Light's father goes above and beyond to investigate his own son (agreeing and partaking in bugging his own home with cameras monitoring Light 24/7). The Shimigami also sound quite different. There were a few other examples mentioned, but needless to say, the manga very much does explore these characters, what they believe and the actions they take, which is why it is compelling and has stood the test of time. It's one of the least cartoony mangas I've read; beyond the Shinigami and their books, the series isn't very fantasy-focused at all, and no decision is made beyond thorough reasoning behind it from one of the main cast (well, except Misa).
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@charlieni645 · 1 month ago
“Music by Frank Wildhorn" Say no more I'm strapped in
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@quichenovel · 1 month ago (edited)
Having seen the anime adaptation and not the musical, I can't imagine that the issue in translating Death Note to the stage is the source material's tone. While it leans into many manga tropes, it is exactly the sort of psychologically-driven melodrama which could make for great theatre. It is not actually especially cartoony.
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@thatsroughbuddy4 · 1 month ago
I need the full album out I’ve been living off of the demo for years
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