‘Some bizarre enjoyable amid the cherry blossom chaos’ – Death Note: The Musical

The theatre scene is popping Japanese (I actually suppose so). The soon-to-be-revived My Neighbour Totoro led the way in which with bungalow-sized puppets; subsequent up is a stage model of one of many best of all Japanese animated movies, Spirited Away.

But now, a Faustian story of techno vigilantism that mixes monochrome morality – unhealthy individuals who escape justice punished by some other means – with techno fantasy.

Death Note relies on the enormously profitable manga collection during which highschool pupil Light (Joaquin Pedro Valdes) comes throughout a pocket book dropped unintentionally on function by god-like entity Ryuk (Adam Pascal) to check people of their quest for justice.

When Light discovers that he can kill folks just by writing their title within the e-book he opts to rid the world of evildoers. He turns into a serial killer of killers.

Pursued by the police, the FBI and the mysterious detective L (Dean John Wilson) – “A narcissist with bipolar disorder” – issues change from black and white to a darker shade of gray.

Think Death Wish with divine intervention. Musically, it’s a curate’s egg; aside from one mutated waltz They’re Only Human, Frank Wildhorn’s tunes and Jack Murphy’s lyrics are rousing AOR anthems of no nice distinction.

The concept of graphic novel melodrama is nearly Victorian in idea – a sort of techno Penny Dreadful – and the main performers are high-quality although I might do with out the sub Cyndi Lauper pop star whose songs go in a single ear and out the opposite like greased ferrets.

An undeniably offbeat spectacle that delivers some bizarre enjoyable amid the cherry blossom chaos.  

Death Note, London Palladium Lyric Theatre till September 10, Tickets: 0330 333 4812