Grace Mouat, who plays the god of death Rem in Death Note: The Musical at the Barbican, says the show is a massive moment for Asian representation. The musical, based on the famous manga and anime series, was first staged in 2015, but this new reimagined version is a spectacular mystical noir with big songs and bigger set-pieces.
The story of Death Note
“It’s about a young guy called Light who finds a book on the floor that has been dropped from the Shinigami realm – the Shinigami are the gods of death,” says Mouat. “The book gives him the power to kill someone in 40 seconds just be writing their name in it.”
Without giving away spoilers, Light (Xander Pang) decides to use the power to anonymously kill criminals and becomes a folk hero – but taking the law into his own hands in such a way is viewed as serial killing by the chief of police, who happens to be Light’s father. A detective called L (Colin Ryan) enters the frame in a game of cat-and-mouse with the killer.
Rem's journey
Having the most fun are the Shinigami, which includes Mouat’s Rem. “Rem is a god of death who goes on a huge journey in the show,” she says. “She doesn't want to break the rules of the Shinigami world, from where she watches down, killing humans. But when Ryuk, another Shinigami, wants to stir things up and goes down to the human world, and then Jerasu, the final Shinigami, interferes with a human and loses their life, Rem goes down to follow a human called Misa. It explores their relationship and Rem feeling love for the first time.”
The show, for all its dark, twisted flourishes, is full of love and conflict, questions of morality and existence, and proves ideal for musical purposes. For Surrey-born Mouat, who specialises in musical theatre in shows such as Six and Mean Girls, it is a gift: “I'm from a very commercial, contemporary musical theatre world with lots of bold, bright characters, and I feel very grateful that they took a chance for me to do something a bit more serious. I feel like my brand as a performer is I refuse to be boxed in. I love all styles of musical theatre.”
Appeal to fans
My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away have already shown that anime can be successfully translated to stage, but Death Note is the kind of long-running manga that has hardcore fans, and cosplayers are flooding to the Barbican. “There's just something so amazing for audience members who love the anime and the manga, getting to be in the same room as their favourite characters and getting to watch the story live - you can't beat that.”
Mouat trained at the Guildford School of Acting from a young age and there was never any question of doing anything else. Well, maybe one from her dad – “At 15 he sat me down and was like, is this what you really wanna do?’ I was like, ‘There’s nothing else. It’s got to be this.” Now a committed Londoner – “I love the hustle, love the exploring” - she’s thriving on the city’s stages but for the half-Burmese Mouat, Death Note represents more than just a job: “This feels like a massive moment with it being an all-Asian cast. the representation feels very significant. Abel Law, who is in our show, gathered us last night to say, ‘Remember, we're doing it for the young child in the audience who looks like us.’ Getting to see people who look like them on stage is just so important and knowing that the industry is changing and becoming more inclusive – that is something that gets me every day. People are going to see Asian excellence.”
Death Note: The Musical runs at the Barbican Theatre until 12th September. Tickets: DeathNoteTheMusical.com
