Death Note : The Musical
Killer Choreography!
Based on the manga of the same name, Death Note: The Musical arrives at the Barbican facing the huge challenge of bringing such a sprawling and much-loved story to the stage. The original manga has courted its fair share of controversy over the years, which perhaps makes it all the more intriguing as the basis for a musical.
Before delving into the cast, it is worth taking a moment to talk about the design elements of this production, because visually there is an awful lot going on.
As the safety curtain rises, Jon Bausor’s set initially looks rather unassuming, appearing to use a forced-perspective V. However, as the show expands, there is so much more to the design concept. While there are clearly elements of forced perspective, there is also a stylistic edge to it, making everything appear somewhat on a tilt. I am unsure whether this is reminiscent of the manga’s visual styling or simply some new creativity, but either way it gives the production its own distinctive look. Added to this is a built-in ring revolve, which comes into its own particularly when combined with Fabian Aloise’s choreography.
Suspended above the stage is a gantry which is not only raised and lowered for various sections, but also appears to tilt, giving it some wonderfully Escher-like qualities. The only element I wasn’t 100% convinced by was Akhila Krishnan’s video design above this suspended gantry. This may very much depend on where you are sitting, but from my perspective it didn’t quite fit the angular perspective as well as I would have liked. That said, the rear screens looked fantastic and did so much work in creating the atmosphere. It is lovely to see creatives being given the opportunity to try something new and design something genuinely exciting.
This is also true of Jen Schriever’s lighting design. Before going too much further, I have to give particular praise here. So often when I watch a big concert-style number, I end up having to shield my eyes from bright lights shining directly into the audience, or spend the rest of the scene trying to recover my vision. This production manages to create the same excitement without constantly shining lights directly in your face. There is one moment where this is done deliberately, and in context it is completely understandable.
While not necessarily a new technique, there is also a fantastic moment where a split stage is highlighted through the lighting. This isn’t simply achieved with a line down the middle; even the tonal shades differ on either side. It demonstrates the talent behind the design without distracting from the scene itself. The lighting fills the entire space, at times spilling out into the auditorium, while even the beams themselves have clearly been considered as they become visible through the haze.
Briefly on sound, Peter Hylenski’s design makes an immediate impression. As soon as the show starts, we hear voices coming from every angle. It is surprisingly rare in theatre to experience the full speaker system being used to give individual sounds their own positions rather than simply echoing the main action. Here it helps to surround the audience and is particularly effective in creating the rainy atmosphere.
For me, Sachiko Nakahara’s costumes are the one design element I would have approached differently. There are many devoted fans of the source material and, naturally, plenty of cosplayers – there were several in the audience on the night I attended. For that reason, I would probably have kept the school uniform closer to the style and colours of the original. Likewise, while Misa Misa certainly looks every part the pop star, her design isn’t necessarily what fans and cosplayers might expect.
The Shinigami costumes are entirely subjective, but I felt that keeping each predominantly to one colour needed a little more variety in texture. Gelus looked great, but the others didn’t quite work as successfully for me. Rem is given a more feminine appearance, but I couldn’t help feeling that the costumes seemed somehow constrained rather than delving further into Japanese myth and culture to produce something truly special. They are interesting rather than iconic. That said, looking at the sketches in the programme afterwards, they look incredible, so perhaps I was simply too far away to appreciate all the detail.
The choreography is what really makes this production stand out. Every moment feels meticulously choreographed. It is a brave choice to begin with everyone facing away from the audience, but it immediately demonstrates the creativity of the movement and allows the production to explore some unusual ideas.
One of my favourite moments is L’s entrance. The ensemble create a canon-like ripple of his movements, heightened by the lighting design. Many of L’s scenes are given their own visual identity through green lighting and imagery on the screens. The revolve is also used extremely effectively, not simply to move performers around the stage but as part of the choreography itself, with chairs occasionally brought into the movement to highlight particular moments.
Misa Misa’s entrance at her concert deliberately doesn’t fit with the rest of the choreography, and that is precisely what makes it such a fun moment, giving the scene a burst of genuine pop-star energy. The tennis scene is another highlight, with some fantastic contemporary comedic touches thrown in.
Amongst the cast, the standout performance for me comes from Colin Ryan as L. He has completely embraced the character, with Alice Dawson Whale’s hair and make-up design helping to heighten his facial expressions. L must be an incredibly fun character to play because virtually every movement is unlike anybody else on stage, right down to the peculiar way he sits. Ryan commits completely to all of it.
Telly Leung and Grace Mouat as Ryuk and Rem have some lovely moments together, although I found myself wanting to see even more of these characters and their development, from Rem’s increasing humanity to Ryuk’s strange melancholy.
Paolo Montalban also stands out as Soichiro. I am finding it increasingly rare to see a genuinely strong father figure on stage, and rarer still to hear such a wonderfully deep voice. Any time Montalban gets a song, it is simply a joy to listen to him.
Elsie Buckley plays Light’s sister Sayu and, despite having relatively few moments, manages to leave a lasting impression, particularly thanks to some very funny Malibu-style vocal inflections.
Finally, Xander Pang plays Light, and he does a fantastic job; I really cannot fault his performance. However, this is where I think the show itself may prove divisive for some audiences. I feel you need at least some knowledge of the source material to get the most out of the musical and, occasionally, to fill in the gaps for yourself.
There is simply so much material being condensed to fit the running time that it is difficult for the story not to feel rushed in places. Part of this is evident in the portrayal of the relationship between Light and L. For me, this is one of the key themes of Death Note: two people caught somewhere between being best friends and mortal enemies, intellectually fascinated by one another while simultaneously locked in battle. There is also scope to delve much further into the philosophical questions of law versus justice, and what happens when one person decides they have the right to determine the difference.
Even with those reservations, Death Note: The Musical is a visually ambitious production packed with creativity. Stephen Whitson’s direction, Bausor’s unusual set, Schriever’s superb lighting and Aloise’s inventive choreography combine to create something that feels distinctive rather than simply an imitation of its source material. Add Frank Wildhorn’s music, Jack Murphy’s lyrics and a committed cast, and there is plenty here to admire. For existing fans, seeing this world brought to life on stage is likely to be particularly rewarding; for newcomers, it may just leave them curious enough to discover the much bigger story behind it.
*****
Photo credit Manuel Harlan