Lazarus will be created with the help of Once playwright Enda Walsh and feature new material from Bowie, in addition to reworked tracks from his back catalogue.

However, the legendary musician has no plans to hit the stage to star in the New York Theater Workshop production, which is expected to open later this year (15).

James C. Nicola, artistic director of New York Theater Workshop, says of the project, "It's going to be a play with characters and songs - I'm calling it music theatre, but I don't really know what it's going to be like, I just have incredible trust in their creative vision. I'm really excited about it."

The film version of The Man Who Fell To Earth, directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring Bowie as an alcoholic alien called Thomas Newton, was adapted from author Walter Tevis' 1963 book of the same name.

The veteran rocker is no stranger to the New York stage - he previously played the title role in a 1980s production of The Elephant Man on Broadway.