GOODBYE FOR NOW, DEATH NOTE: THE MUSICAL

 

Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)

I watched the final performance of Death Note: The Musical at the Barbican, and it was incredible. I've now seen this show twice, my first time being at the very first preview on 30th July, and the gulf between those two nights says everything about how much this cast grew into these roles over the run.

Colin Ryan as L

Colin Ryan's L was one of the most anxious performances in that first preview, there were a couple of moments where it felt like a cue got missed and the stage went quiet for a beat too long, whether on Colin's end or the staging I'm unsure, all I know is that there was nothing of the sort during that final performance, and his was perhaps the strongest performance of the show. Every single beat landed. His voice was powerful all the way through, and honestly I can't even picture where those first-preview gaps were anymore. His acting was never the issue, even on night one. He's a hugely talented physical actor and fully embodied the character from the start, but by the final performance he'd found a confidence that made the whole performance feel effortless.

Xander Pang as Light

Xander Pang was vocally incredible even at that first preview, but his acting and physicality felt a little more nervous back then. All of that was gone by closing night. He fully owned that stage, and every performance he gave gave 100%. Knowing he'd been doing eight shows a week like this for twelve weeks straight, and still had that much left in the tank for Hurricane on the final night, is a real testament to his stamina and ability as a singer.

Misa Amane (Stephanie Zaharis)

Stephanie Zaharis's Misa was a bit more of a mixed bag for me. Her ballads are excellent, the quieter numbers really let her voice do the work, and the close-up screen treatment during those songs makes them land even harder, her acting ability is exceptional. The more upbeat, poppier number "I'm Ready" didn't land as well for me by comparison at either performance, but the set-up of that performance, staged like a full-blown concert with screens screens giving you a close-up, are a genuinely clever piece of staging that changes how you watch the show.

The rest of the cast

Everybody was incredible. Telly Leung's Ryuk was so much fun to watch, and Grace Mouat's Rem, every moment she had on stage was earth-shattering. Her voice is incredible, and she completely commands the stage whenever she's on it. I also enjoyed Chloe Saracco's Jerasu more this time around than I did at the preview, I think that performance got a little lost early on, but by the end she absolutely owned the stage too. That death hit hard.

My standout performance

My favourite song of the night was easily "Playing His Game," where the staging turns Light and L's battle of wits into a literal tennis match. The two of them play the song out front and centre while, behind them, two stylised avatars dance out a fully choreographed tennis rally, emotes and all, which got a laugh from the audience every single time. You've got this incredible back-and-forth song happening at the peak of this rivalry and there's even a screen tracking who's winning in real time. It's such a good visual metaphor for the cat-and-mouse chase between the detective and the killer, it's the two of them going head to head, trying to outwit each other, which is really what the entire story is about.

Hurricane

Xander gave several incredible ballad performances across the night, but Hurricane is the one that's going to stay with me. Knowing this was one of dozens of times he's sung it over twelve weeks and it still hit that hard says a lot about him as a performer. I really hope there's a cast recording with this specific cast, because I would like to be able to listen to Hurricane on demand.

Closing night

It says a lot about how much love there is in this company that most of the cast came out for the curtain call in tears. The highlight for me was watching Xander and Colin. who, moments earlier, had just killed each other as Light and L, hug like the best of friends. It's such a sweet, perfect way to close out a show that has really captured the heart of London over the last twelve weeks.

I was already a huge Death Note fan going in, so I knew I'd enjoy this. But I think this production has introduced a lot of new people to Death Note, and I'm hopeful that means we'll see more anime-inspired shows make it to the West End. This is a distinctly Japanese-inspired production, and given the success of shows like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro, I think it's clear there's a real appetite for more Asian culture on West End stages. Death Note deserves to be part of that wave.

We only have to wait until March for the show to come back, and I'm not sure I'm ready to say goodbye to this cast just yet. But if I do have to say goodbye to them, at least I don't have to say goodbye to Death Note itself.

Click here to get tickets for March