Well, knock me for six - it's Shane Warne: the musical

There is a long and glorious tradition in musical theatre of adapting literature for the stage - Les Miserables, Cabaret, Cats, My Fair Lady to name but a few. But American Psycho? There is an equally extensive tradition of drawing on the biographical details of significant real-life figures - think Evita, Piaf, The Sound of Music, Annie Get Your Gun … even Jesus Christ Superstar. But Shane Warne?

Recent whisperings suggest that this pattern will continue in the two very bizarre ways suggested above. The next novel to have some song-and-dance numbers inserted will be Bret Easton-Ellis's American Psycho. Yes, that one. The one with the serial killings. Now, I'm not disputing that evil people can be excellent characters in musicals - indeed, in another recent show, the creators of Marguerite made the fatal error of making their baddie, the bullying Nazi officer, a much more well-rounded and sympathetic character than their leads. Sondheim's Sweeney Todd may not have been everyone's cup of tea (or slice of pie) but it showed that bloodshed can be treated in a grimly comic way. However, I'm not sure Patrick Bateman's descent into psychopathy and his increasingly deranged torturing of his victims prior to their murders will make for a feelgood, all-singing all-dancing night out.

Cricketer Shane Warne, of course, is a hero to many, and thus his life and works are being acknowledged and satirised through the medium of the musical by a cheeky Aussie scamp named Eddie Perfect. The show opens in Melbourne in December, and Warne himself is not happy, complaining: "You should have permission off anyone to write about their life - that should be law." Sadly for him, it's not, and audiences will be able to enjoy renditions of songs including Take the Pill (about his ban for taking a prohibition diuretic in 2003) and What an SMS I'm In (about a rogue text message he mistakenly sent to his wife).

But does such a show have an audience? Warne is a god to many Australians, who may not take kindly to their hero being mocked on home turf. The obvious next move for Perfect and his cast would be a UK transfer, but if he wants to cling on to the lead himself I'd guess they'll need some good stunt casting in the supporting roles to pull in the punters. I'd recommend casting Hugh Jackman (long overdue a West End return) as Warne's Hampshire team-mate and good chum Kevin Pietersen, Jennifer Ellison as Warne's ex-wife Simone, and perhaps John Barrowman as England's triumphant captain during the 2005 Ashes series, Michael Vaughan.

Joking aside, I'm entirely in favour of new musicals. But ideally, and perhaps naively, I'd like them to be well-written, finely crafted, carefully considered and long-lasting. With these two announcements coming hot on the heels of news about a show based on the work of Kylie Minogue, I fear that the entire form of the musical has become increasingly devalued, viewed now simply as a lesser art form and an easy cash-cow for cynical producers.


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