Death Note: The Musical returns to the Barbican Theatre in London from 23 March to 15 May 2027, with tickets from £34 and the 2027 cast still to be announced. The show had its first full UK staging at the same theatre from 30 July to 12 September 2026, and this page covers booking for the return alongside the reviews and creative team from that first run.
Death Note: The Musical
The manga’s battle of wits between Light and L, back at the Barbican Theatre for spring 2027- Address
- Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS, United Kingdom
- Admission
- From £34 including fees
- Starts
- March 23, 2027, 7:45 PM
- Ends
- May 15, 2027 10:20 PM
More about the event
- UK Stage Debut
- First full UK stage production, after HoriPro’s 2015 original in Japan
- Award
- Best Musical at the Korea Musical Awards
- London before the Barbican
- Sold-out concert performances at the London Palladium in 2023
- The manga
- Over 30 million copies of Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s manga sold worldwide
- Produced by
- HoriPro and Trafalgar Theatre Productions, in association with the Barbican
Death Note Musical at the Barbican: Dates, Tickets and Reviews
Death Note at the Barbican, 23 March to 15 May 2027
The 2027 season plays the Barbican Theatre, the same stage that hosted the 2026 run. Evening performances start at 7.45pm and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm. The show runs for about 2 hours 35 minutes including a 20-minute interval, five minutes longer than in 2026.
The age guidance is 12+. Nobody under five is admitted, and under 14s must be with someone aged 16 or over. The production includes themes of an adult nature, including references to suicide, and uses strobe lighting and flashing images.
Trafalgar Entertainment is filming the performances on Tuesday 27, Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 April 2027, and audience members may appear in the footage. If you would rather not be filmed, pick another date.
Death Note Musical Tickets: Prices, Discounts and Access
Standard tickets start at £34, made up of £30 plus a £4 transaction fee. The discounts below all come from the Barbican and are only available when booking direct.
| Ticket | Price or discount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | From £34 (£30 plus £4 fee) | All performances |
| Young Barbican (free scheme for 16 to 29 year olds) | £18 | Monday to Thursday, subject to availability |
| Barbican Members and Members Plus | 20% off, no booking fee | Monday to Thursday, on the £79.50 to £99.50 price bands |
| Groups of 10 or more | £59.50 a ticket | Monday to Thursday, on the £79.50 to £99.50 price bands |
| Groups of 20 or more | £49.50 a ticket | Monday to Thursday, on the £79.50 to £99.50 price bands |
| Access tickets | From £34, plus a free essential companion ticket if needed | All performances, after joining the free Access Scheme |
Every discount applies Monday to Thursday, so a midweek performance is the cheapest way to see the show. Group bookings go through the Barbican’s group sales team rather than the website. Buy only from the Barbican: it does not allow resale through third-party sites, and resold tickets are void.
Captioned, audio described and BSL performances
- Captioned: Saturday 24 April 2027, 2.30pm. The best view of the captions is from the seats on either side of the Stalls marked “C” on the seating plan.
- Audio described: Saturday 1 May 2027, 2.30pm, with a touch tour at 1pm meeting by the Theatre Stalls Right doors.
- BSL interpreted: Wednesday 5 May 2027, 7.45pm.
To book access tickets online, join the Barbican’s free Access Scheme first. Wheelchair spaces are at the back of the Stalls and in row B of the Upper Circle, both with companion seats.
Death Note Musical Reviews From the 2026 Run
The 2026 Barbican run opened to strong notices, and the Barbican quotes several of them on its listing:
“An exhilarating rush of modern, mythic and tragic.” The Stage, five stars
“It is a sight to behold.” The Guardian
“A very big show in every sense: ambition, emotions, scale, spectacle, cast… and sheer entertainment value.” WhatsOnStage
The Times called it a “highly entertaining musical”, and BroadwayWorld described Frank Wildhorn’s score as “electrifying, symphonic and catchy”.
The production released this trailer for the 2027 return on its official YouTube channel, Death Note: The Musical UK.
Frank Wildhorn’s Score and the Death Note Creative Team
The musical features music by Frank Wildhorn, with a book by Ivan Menchell and lyrics by Jack Murphy. Coverage of the London premiere noted that the Barbican production included a revised script and new material, giving audiences a refreshed version of the show for its full theatrical outing.
Stephen Whitson directs, with choreography by Fabian Aloise. The look of the show comes from Japanese costume designer Sachiko Nakahara, who explained to Japan Nakama how she turned Light Yagami and the Shinigami into stage costumes, working alongside set designer Jon Bausor.
| Role | Creative team member |
|---|---|
| Music | Frank Wildhorn |
| Lyrics | Jack Murphy (additional lyrics by Morgan Reilly) |
| Book | Ivan Menchell |
| Director | Stephen Whitson |
| Choreographer | Fabian Aloise |
| Set designer | Jon Bausor |
| Costume designer | Sachiko Nakahara |
| Lighting designer | Jen Schriever |
| Sound designer | Peter Hylenski |
| Video designer | Akhila Krishnan |
| Illusions | Paul Kieve |
| Musical supervisor, orchestrations and arrangements | Jason Howland |
| Musical director | Katy Richardson |
| Wigs, hair and make-up | Campbell Young Associates |
| Casting | Natalie Gallacher CDG for Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher Casting |
The show builds its momentum through the rivalry between Light and L, with a constant sense that every choice carries a cost.
Light Yagami, L and the Notebook: The Story on Stage
Based on the bestselling manga and anime by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, the story follows Light Yagami, a brilliant student who discovers a mysterious notebook with the power to decide life and death.
As Light begins to use the notebook to impose his own vision of justice, he attracts the attention of detective L. This leads to a tense psychological battle that drives the musical’s central conflict. The Barbican’s official listing highlighted the production with the question, “If you had the power over life and death, what would you do?”, setting the tone for a show built around moral tension and high-stakes drama.
The 2026 Barbican Cast and Run
The 2026 London production was led by Xander Pang as Light Yagami and Colin Ryan as Detective L, with Stephanie Zaharis as Misa Amane and Telly Leung as Ryuk as some of the core cast. These performers anchored the story’s central conflict, with Light and L driving the musical’s psychological tension.
The 2026 Barbican run played 50 performances, from 30 July to 12 September, with a running time of approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, including a 20-minute interval. The show was performed in English as a limited engagement.
The casting also helped underline the production’s international character. By bringing together performers from Broadway and the West End, the show aimed to highlight both commercial appeal and the intensity needed for a story that depends on psychological sparring. In particular, the Light-L dynamic is central to the musical’s impact, since the production depends on the audience feeling both the allure of Light’s ambition and the relentless pressure of L’s pursuit.
Manga on the London Stage at the Barbican
The London premiere of Death Note: The Musical reflected the growing reach of manga and anime adaptations in international theatre. The production bridged Japanese pop culture and West End-style presentation, giving a familiar story a new live performance context that could broaden its appeal well beyond existing fans.
Death Note has already evolved across manga, anime, film, and concert formats, and this full stage production added a new chapter to its global history. For theatre audiences, it offered a chance to experience a story known for its twists and atmosphere in a more immediate and immersive form.
The venue matters as well. The Barbican has long been associated with bold, internationally minded programming. Its decision to host this production gave Death Note: The Musical a prestigious home for its first full UK staging.
The Barbican, London
Death Note: The Musical Questions and Answers
About 2 hours 35 minutes, including a 20-minute interval, for the 2027 Barbican season. The 2026 run was slightly shorter, at about 2 hours 30 minutes. Evening performances start at 7.45pm, so expect to leave at around 10.20pm, and Saturday matinees start at 2.30pm.
The Barbican recommends it for ages 12 and over. Children under five are not admitted, and anyone under 14 must be accompanied by someone aged 16 or over. The show deals with adult themes, including references to suicide, and uses strobe lighting and flashing images.
The 2027 cast has not been announced yet; the Barbican says it will be confirmed in due course. In 2026 Xander Pang played Light Yagami, Colin Ryan played L, Stephanie Zaharis played Misa Amane and Telly Leung played Ryuk.
From £34 including the £4 transaction fee when booked with the Barbican. Young Barbican members aged 16 to 29 pay £18 on Monday to Thursday performances, Barbican Members get 20% off on Monday to Thursday, and groups of 10 or more pay £59.50 a ticket on midweek dates.
It is based on the original manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, which was also adapted into the anime series. The musical was first produced by HoriPro in Japan in 2015, with music by Frank Wildhorn, and the Barbican production is a reimagined version for the London stage.
The 2027 season runs from 23 March to 15 May. Tickets, seating plans and access bookings are on the Barbican’s Death Note page.
