The cast of Death Note on shaping the manga musical for its fully-staged UK premiere

Earlier this week, we caught up with the principal cast members of the new London staging of Death Note: The Musical.

They currently find themselves in rehearsals for the show’s first fully-staged production, which will play a limited season at the Barbican Theatre from 30 July to 12 September 2026, with a press night scheduled for 11 August.

We spoke to Xander Pang (who plays Light Yagami), Colin Ryan (L), Stephanie Zaharis (Misa Amane), Telly Leung (Ryuk), Grace Mouat (Rem), Paolo Montalban (Soichiro Yagami), and Chloe Saracco (Jerasu), and you can find out about new songs (since 2023’s concert version at The London Palladium) and how the creative team have been reimagining the manga musical for 2026 in the video below:

The cast also includes Elsie Buckley as Sayu, alongside ensemble members 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 will serve as swings, with Sian Yeo as swing and dance captain.

Based on the manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, the musical features music by Frank 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.

First produced in Japan in 2015, the musical has since been staged in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. It was previously seen in London in concert form at The London Palladium in 2023.

The new production will feature 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.

Tickets are on sale now.