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Death Note The Musical review: A superb and thrilling manga-to-stage adaptation

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Death Note The Musical review: A superb and thrilling manga-to-stage adaptation

The musical is at the Barbican for 50 performances only.

Xander Pang and cast of Death Note: The Musical all stood around one another looking ahead across the stage.

Manuel Harlan

Katelyn Mensah

Published: Wednesday, 12 August 2026 at 11:15 am

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A star rating of 5 out of 5.

When someone is given the power of God, just how far will they go? That's the question Death Note: The Musical leaves with you when the curtains come down at the Barbican Theatre.

Inspired by the incredibly popular manga series by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, Ivan Menchell’s adaptation paired with Frank Wildhorn and Jack Murphy’s music and lyrics will have a novice gripped from start to end.

The story follows Light Yagami (Xander Pang), a student who receives a book dropped by a bored Shinigami (a death spirit, in Japanese culture) which enables him to cause someone’s death by simply writing their name.

What simply begins as a fight for justice becomes a twisted tale of corruption and just how close someone can fly to the sun.

Having entered the show unfamiliar with the story aside from knowing what a Death Note can do, the opening song Where is the Justice? put on full display what Pang and the company had in store for audiences – and it only got better.

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Each song carried the story along, introducing audiences to character after character, including the enigmatic L (Colin Ryan), a gifted detective who is hell-bent on discovering who is behind the mass murders.

Ryan’s portrayal of L provides not only comic relief but a chance to feel immersed in the mystery, as he attempts to piece together what has been going on. Ryan’s vocal abilities are impressive, and he particularly shines alongside Pang as L and Light come head-to-head.

Pang is incredible, effortlessly able to guide audiences through Light’s youthful naivety to his arrogance as the power of the Death Note quickly goes to his head from song to song. His voice is superb and as the show went on, he truly threw himself into the character and got stronger with each performance.

The staging isn’t like anything I’ve witnessed before. The moving set pieces including revolves, rooms sliding into view and a large frame that descends from above for the Shinigami to wander and observe their next victims flow perfectly. Nothing feels too clunky or flashy, but simply absorbs you into the world.

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Stephanie Zaharis is superb as Misa, a popstar who finds herself tangled in Light’s path of destruction. With a solo and group number early on, Zaharis quickly becomes a scene stealer, even if her importance to the story only becomes clear later on.

Telly Leung, Grace Mouat and Chloe Saracco are fantastic as the Shinigami, each of them having their own motives for watching over the mortals beneath them, and each with their own attachment to the characters – some for better, some for worse.

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.

Buy Death Death Note The Musical tickets at London Theatre Direct

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For more recommendations check out the Going Out section or listen to our new podcast In the Interval. Plus, our Jesus Christ Superstar review and Beetlejuice review. We also have events like the best kids theatre shows and best West End shows.

Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of Katelyn Mensah, smiling against a lime green background.

Katelyn MensahSenior Entertainment Writer

Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.

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