Death Note: The Musical gets its fully staged UK premiere at the Barbican
A manga-inspired musical about a Tokyo teenager who can kill anyone by writing their name in a supernatural notebook has opened at the Barbican Theatre in London, marking the first fully staged English-language production of Death Note: The Musical.
The show runs at the Barbican from 30 July to 12 September 2026, according to the production's official website. WhatsOnStage published its review on 12 August 2026, the day the production's press coverage landed.
Death Note: The Musical is based on the manga series by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, a hugely popular Japanese comic that spawned anime, live-action films and novels. The stage version tells a Faustian story: a teenager named Light receives a book that lets him kill anyone whose name he writes in it, and the moral reckoning that follows (WhatsOnStage).
The musical first premiered in Tokyo in 2015. The Barbican production is the English-language premiere, though not the first time British audiences have encountered it: a West End concert version was staged three years before this full production (WhatsOnStage).
Behind the show is a creative team with serious musical-theatre pedigree. Frank Wildhorn, whose credits include Jekyll & Hyde and The Scarlet Pimpernel, composed the music. Ivan Menchell wrote the book — the spoken framework of a musical. Jack Murphy wrote the lyrics.
The development was long: 12 years, with more than 70 songs written and winnowed down before this staging, according to WhatsOnStage's July 2026 interview with Wildhorn (WhatsOnStage). The UK premiere features a revised script and new songs alongside Wildhorn's original score, as confirmed in casting announcements in May and June 2026 (WhatsOnStage).
Stephen Whitson directs the Barbican production. Jon Bausor designed the set, with video design by Akhila Krishnan, lighting by Jen Schriever and sound by Peter Hylenski. Fabian Aloise choreographed.
Xander Pang plays the lead role of Light. Stephanie Zaharis plays the popstar Misa in her UK stage debut, and Grace Mouat plays Rem, a white-clad goddess figure central to the story's supernatural machinery. Production photography is by Manuel Harlan (WhatsOnStage).
What makes this stand out is the source material. Manga adaptations are still rare on British stages, and the Barbican's investment in a full production of a Japanese-origin musical is a notable choice for a venue better known for Shakespeare and contemporary drama. Whether the form catches on more widely is a question for producers and audiences to answer beyond this six-week run.
Death Note: The Musical plays the Barbican Theatre, London, from 30 July to 12 September 2026.
