Death Note The Musical (London 2026)
Had the amazing opportunity to see the London production this week and I am OBSESSED. Even though it's still in previews the show feels insanely polished and (imo) at its final iteration. As other people have pointed out online - yes a good amount of the songs from the concept album have changed, but I think for the most part the changes work really well. The only one I'm not sure on is "They're Only Human", which to me felt almost completely rewritten but that's because... Gelus (or Jerisu(?)) is now in the musical! I had heard about this before attending and was worried how it would affect things but I honestly think the addition elevates both Misa and Rem's arcs. I'm really hoping for a cast recording to hear what the new lyrics actually are (and also because the cast... I love them).
Misa (imo) is much more of a rounded character than in other adaptations - she still very much loves Kira and would die for him, but she has her own principals (e.g. hesitating to give Light the name of an innocent man). Also - giving her "We All Need A Hero" makes honestly a lot more sense than Sayu.
The entire cast were incredible - I imagine they felt no small amount of pressure since Death Note in any form is beloved but they smashed it out of the park (unlike tennis balls.. I'll get to it). From the main chest to the chorus, everyone truly gave it their all. The costuming as well was incredible and I'm so glad I bought the programme since it has some of the concept sketches in it! Ryuk in particular has an amazing costume - the song "Kira!" (also with some lyrical changes) is still stuck in my head as I'm writing this. I also love how the chorus rotate in to sing the "Kira, Kira".
On that point - the stage and sets were insane. Whole sets just.. glided in. It does a really good job at representing what is going on and where, such as the Lind L Tailor scene, or scenes where something would be happening in the police station and Light's bedroom simultaneously. The use of the balcony as the Shinigami world was also an inspired choice. There's also use of screens and projectors (which I am not always a fan of screens in theatre), but done really well to show not only news broadcasts in universe but also to represent things like Misa's use of the Shinigami eyes.
A lot of iconic scenes are here - the death of Lind L Tailor, L and his sweets, the death of the FBI agents (no Naomi Misora death, although she is an easter egg at one point in the show) and... the tennis match. Even though we both see Light's tennis racket and hear about both his and L's skill they play some sort of VR tennis game. Which - it's live theatre and it's hard to choreograph a game of tennis - but do we need Light's "avatar" hitting Fortnite emotes whenever he gets a point? I see what they were going for but they made it kind of goofy. I do also prefer the original lyrics of "Playing His Game" but it's still a banger.
The ending is the same as previous productions, with no winner in the battle between Light and L, but it still hits hard. Rem and her death feel more tragic here, as she does not start the play with the same pity for humans in "They're Only Human" as before, and instead slowly falls in love with Misa.
I'll end my (incohesive and unplanned) rant here - though I will always talk more about this if given the excuse, so shoot any questions to me! Overall - I have been a fan of the concept album for YEARS (so much so that it's a bit among my friends that I introduced them all to it) so getting to see it live was honestly kind of a dream come true for me. If you have the means to do so, head down to the Barbican Theatre and see it for yourself (ngl COMFIEST seats at a show I've ever sat in too). Also PLEASE I NEED A CAST RECORDING RN I WILL KEEP BEGGING.