Death Note: The Musical celebrates its official opening night in London – watch the highlights

Last night, WhatsOnStage was invited to the official opening of Death Note: The Musical at the Barbican Theatre in London.

Although previously staged as a concert version in 2023, this production marks the show’s fully staged UK premiere and has garnered much acclaim, with our own critic describing it as “a very big show in every sense: ambition, emotions, scale, spectacle, cast… and sheer entertainment value“.

Prior to opening night, we also sat down with composer Frank Wildhorn and cast members Xander Pang (who plays Light), Colin Ryan (L), Stephanie Zaharis (Misa), Grace Mouat (Rem), Paolo Montalban (Soichiro) and Chloe Saracco (Gelus) to get their thoughts on the brand new production.

Watch all the highlights in the video below:

The London cast also includes Telly Leung (as Ryuk) and Elsie Buckley (as Sayu), alongside CJ Benoiton, Louise Liluna Browning, Aoife Haakenson, Samantha Ho, Katie Ka Lay Ho, Olivia Hazel Jones, Matthew Koon, Abel Law, Luchia Moss, Patrick Munday, Richie Paisley, Regine Phua, Nicky Wong Rush and Ernest Stroud. Nicole Carlisle, Renz Cardenas and David Ouch serve as swings, with Sian Yeo as swing and dance captain.

Based on the manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, Death Note: The Musical features music by Wildhorn, lyrics by Jack Murphy, additional lyrics by Morgan Reilly and a book by Ivan Menchell.

The story follows Light Yagami, a student who discovers a supernatural notebook that can kill anyone whose name is written inside it. After using the notebook to target criminals, he attracts the attention of the detective known only as L, leading to a battle of wits between the two.

This new production features a revised script and new songs alongside Wildhorn’s original score. It is directed by Stephen Whitson, with choreography by Fabian Aloise, set design by Jon Bausor and musical supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Jason Howland.

Additional members of the creative team include Katy Richardson as musical director, Billy Jay Stein and Strange Cranium as music producers, Natalie Gallacher for Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher Casting as casting director, Sachiko Nakahara as costume designer, Jen Schriever as lighting designer, Peter Hylenski as sound designer, Akhila Krishnan as video designer, Paul Kieve as illusionist and Campbell Young Associates as wigs, hair and make-up designers.

Death Note: The Musical continues at the Barbican Theatre until 12 September, with tickets on sale now.