DEATH NOTE – THE MUSICAL IN CONCERT at the London Palladium

★★★★

“When the ensemble cast sing together the effect is mesmerising”

It is twenty years since “Death Note” stormed into the public consciousness, originally serialised in weekly instalments in Shõnen Jump, Japan’s most popular and iconic Manga magazine. I have to confess that this global phenomenon passed me by, but I humbly accept being in a minority bracket, judging by the crowds dressed in unconcealed enthusiasm at the London Palladium. The story was originally a bit of a risk for its publishers, straying from the tried-and-tested formula of intense action catering to an audience of mainly adolescent males. But it worked, and having been adapted into various media, including a US produced Netflix film, video and card-trading games and various sequels, the musical adaptation is the next obvious step.

Composer Frank Wildhorn shared my ignorance (I prefer innocence) of the Manga world when asked to turn it into a musical, but you’d never think it. Spurred on by his son who urged him to “drop everything and do this – because it will make you cool”, Wildhorn immersed himself in the source material. The end product is a score that redefines the word ‘cool’. A combination of electronica rock with an orchestral strength; it is both triumphant but also a lamentation. Bombastic but never overpowering, it reflects the atmospheric setting with a dark energy. Despite the subtle Japanese influences (perhaps too subtle), the production has the overall feel of an American rock concept album.

The concept of “Death Note” is fantastical, yet serious. High-school prodigy Light Yagami (Joaquin Pedro Valdes) is dismayed by the failures of the justice system. Meanwhile, two ‘Shinigami’ – gods of death from an otherworldly, unspecified dimension – watch over and decide, for fun, to drop the eponymous ‘death note’ into the human world. Light is the one who picks it up, thereby being granted the supernatural power to kill anyone whose name he writes in the pages of the book. Far from being horrified at the prospect, he immediately grasps the opportunity to use it to wipe out anyone he deems immoral. The aim is to create a crime-free society. From this very dubious precedent, what ensues is a cat-and-mouse psychological thriller that explores the quite weighty subject of justice and vigilantism. Light’s self-belief blinds him, and his acolytes, to the supposition that isn’t he just as murderous as his victims? “Death Note” shies away from instructing us which way to think, though the Shakespearian ending gives a couple of nudges.

Being unfamiliar with the ‘Manga’ genre and its iconography and terminology is not necessarily a bar to the intricacies of the plot, although the second act requires you to be slightly more on your toes. The characters are well formed, even if occupying the same two dimensions of the original animation. Billed as a musical in concert, the dialogue is subsequently sparse, with Jack Murphy’s lyrics guiding us through the narrative. Jason Howland’s sumptuous orchestration is given full justice by Musical Director Chris Ma’s sixteen-piece band. It is a sonic binge, yet the vocal performances cut through with a clarity that displays the talent within the cast. When the ensemble cast sing together the effect is mesmerising, and each of the seven lead cast members has their moment to shine. Francis Mayli McCann, as Misa – the rock superstar in awe of Light’s misplaced taste for vengeance, has strength and versatility matched by pretty much everyone else. The richness of Adam Pascal’s Ryuk (the spirit – Shinigami – who sets it all in motion by dropping the death note into the world) is complemented beautifully by Aimie Atkinson’s Rem – the other Shinigami. Atkinson’s and McCann’s duet that opens Act Two is a moment that lingers long after curtain call.

Dean John Wilson, as Light’s nemesis – the enigmatic detective known simply as L, has the richest pickings of the dialogue, conveying some of the humour and dynamism that is lacking in the show. One presumes Ivan Menchell’s book has been cut back for the concert version. The full text would allow for more light and shade, and the implicit humour and pathos would be given a longer rein. There is a noticeable emotional detachment, and consequently there is nobody we are rooting for.

But for pure musical rapture and spectacle, this show is second to none. Every pitch perfect note resonates through the vast auditorium of the Palladium. It is monumental and memorable; but also sold out. I wouldn’t leave it long, though, to book for its transfer to the Lyric, Shaftesbury Avenue in September. Although something tells me that “Death Note” is in for a long life.

DEATH NOTE – THE MUSICAL IN CONCERT at the London Palladium

Reviewed on 21st August 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Mark Senior

More top rated shows reviewed this month:

Improv Death Match | ★★★★ | Aces and Eights | August 2023

Theatresports | ★★★★ | Museum of Comedy | August 2023

Alone Together | ★★★★ | Theatre Royal Windsor | August 2023

Not Like Other Girls | ★★★★ | The Queer Comedy Club | August 2023

Express G&S | ★★★★ | Wilton’s Music Hall | August 2023

La Cage Aux Folles | ★★★★★ | Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre | August 2023

Sarah Roberts : Do You Know Who I Am? | ★★★★ | The Bill Murray | August 2023

String V Spitta | ★★★★ | Soho Theatre | August 2023

Improv The Dead | ★★★★ | Hen & Chickens Theatre | August 2023

Flamenco: Origenes | ★★★★ | Etcetera Theatre | August 2023

Ashley Barnhill: Texas Titanium | ★★★★ | Museum of Comedy | August 2023

The Lord Of The Rings | ★★★★★ | Watermill Theatre Newbury | August 2023

Death Note

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★★★

“Tethered Wits do deliver with what is clearly a grand night out”

There are few novels of which both the opening and closing lines are instantly recognisable, even by those who haven’t read the book. F Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” is probably at the top of that list. So famous now that ‘Gatsby’ has entered the English language and taken on a life of its own, with meanings that have often drifted away from its origins. ‘Tethered Wits’, the Cotswold based open air touring company, have grabbed the title and are respectfully putting it back where it belongs, with their faithful and solid interpretation of the iconic novel. With just five actors in the cast, they focus on the characters. A group of flawed, tragic and careless people caught in the American Dream. Simultaneously chasing it and trapped by it. “The Great Gatsby” is not all about the parties.

Having said that, it opens with a party. After sampling the cocktails in the grounds of St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden, we are now seated under Gatsby’s summer sky, in concentric semicircles, as though at a wedding. After a burst of trombone and saxophone, Nick Carraway (Oliver Stockley) introduces himself and invites us into the story. Told through Carraway’s eyes in the novel, Stockley is now unwittingly the master of ceremonies; a little bewildered, slightly goofy, but with a world-weary wisdom drawn from hindsight.

The other four performers play many parts. They each have their principal role, but with deft use of the smallest prop or costume accessory, they waltz in and out of the minor characters. Sometimes fleeting, but each integral to steering the story to its inevitable end. Being so familiar with the novel it is difficult to say for sure; but newcomers (where have you been?) may be thrown into confusion occasionally. But let’s not forget that when the novel was published in 1925 it was generally panned, and Fitzgerald himself complained that “of all the reviews… not one had the slightest idea what the book was about”. A knee-jerk and self-inflated reaction, perhaps, but it gives you licence to occasionally lose track, so don’t worry.

Emma Hodgkinson’s pacey adaptation covers the key plotlines, and keeping Nick Carraway as the narrator allows the beauty of Fitzgerald’s eloquent prose to remain largely intact. Whenever it gets too close to exposition, the players interrupt and take over. As Gatsby, Rory Dulku – despite the requisite (though always misjudged) matinee idol looks – captures the nervousness and social awkwardness of this obsessive personality. He also plays George Wilson, the down-trodden garage owner. It is a risky doubling that could prove problematic, but Dulku successfully compartmentalises them. Olivia Willis as Daisy Buchanan and Amelia Stanimeros as Jordan Baker confidently twist through the story, almost like a triple-threat double act. With their background in dance, they both add rhythm and scale to the party scenes. Stanimeros also plays Myrtle Wilson, the tragic mistress of Tom Buchanan. Deakin Van Leeuwen’s Tom is an imposing, bullying figure – a touch too thuggish which conceals the innate sense of privilege. The showdown over Daisy between him and Gatsby, however, is impressive. Dulku’s reaction (forged by his facial expressions alone) when Van Leeuwen clearly touches a nerve is pretty spot on.

Overall, the production treads a safe path. The comedy is hinted at when required and the tragedy is faithfully represented (you all know it ends badly, right?). The darkness doesn’t quite shine through though (I’m sure that’s an oxymoron of which Fitzgerald would approve). We never fully appreciate the price these people have paid for chasing unattainable dreams. The “future that year by year recedes before us”. Fitzgerald’s novel is ultimately a sad and melancholic meditation on the lost promise of the American Dream. But – hey – some razzamatazz is called for, and it is what people expect when they think of Gatsby. Tethered Wits do deliver with what is clearly a grand night out. Maybe not as grand as one of Gatsby’s parties, but who has Gatsby’s budget these days?

DEATH NOTE – THE MUSICAL IN CONCERT at the London Palladium

★★★★

“When the ensemble cast sing together the effect is mesmerising”

DEATH NOTE – THE MUSICAL IN CONCERT at the London Palladium

Reviewed on 21st August 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Mark Senior

More top rated shows reviewed this month:

Death Note

Death Note

THE GREAT GATSBY at St Paul’s Church

★★★

“Tethered Wits do deliver with what is clearly a grand night out”

THE GREAT GATSBY at St Paul’s Church

Reviewed on 17th August 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Cosmic Xposure

More outdoor reviews:

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

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