DEATH NOTE THE MUSICAL to return to the Barbican in 2027

The musical opened in July this year to massive critical acclaim and rave reviews - read our review round-up of Death Note to see what critics thought. It also broke the Barbican record for the highest grossing single week of a musical, before breaking the record for the highest grossing single performance of a musical five consecutive times. It's therefore no surprise that the musical will return for a second season from 23 March to 15 May 2027.

Directed by Stephen Whitson and based on the best-selling Japanese manga series of the same name by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, Death Note follows Light Yagami, a bright but dissatisfied high school student in Tokyo who comes across a notebook owned by Ryuk, a god of death. Discovering he can kill anyone by just writing their names in the notebook, Light takes justice into his own hands by going after the nation’s most wanted criminals. But he soon finds himself being hunted by an enigmatic detective known only as L.

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. It features music by Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Jack Murphy, additional lyrics by Morgan Reilly and a book by Ivan Menchell. The new production will feature a revised script and new songs alongside Wildhorn’s original score.

The cast is led by Xander Pang as Light Yagami and Colin Ryan as L, with Stephanie Zaharis as Misa Amane, Telly Leung as Ryuk, Grace Mouat as Rem, Paolo Montalban as Soichiro Yagami, Chloe Saracco as Jerasu and Elise Buckley as Sayu.

Death Note the Musical will finish its current run at the Barbican Theatre on 12 September 2025, before returning on 23 March 2027.

Death Note Tickets