David Bowie’s final project prior to his death in 2016 was an 18th-century musical called The Spectator, a forthcoming extensive exhibition of Bowie’s archive at the V&A East Storehouse has revealed.
The work was based around a daily newspaper of the same name that ran between 1711 and 1712, documenting the mores of society in London. Bowie’s notes reveal that he considered the publicly beloved petty thief Jack Sheppard as a potential lead character, as well as Jonathan Wild, the vigilante who was responsible for Sheppard being arrested and executed. He also focused on the Mohocks, a notorious gang of high-class young men who would get drunk and attack people on the streets.
The notes detail his fascination with the evolution of art and satire, including a timeline of artistic development in the early 18th century. “It seems he was thinking, ‘What is the role of artists within this period? How are artists creating a kind of satirical commentary?’” lead curator Madeleine Haddon told the BBC.
The broadcaster was given access to Bowie’s materials for the project, including a dedicated notebook and detailed sticky notes: the latter had been left affixed to the walls of his private office in New York, to which only Bowie and his PA had a key.
Theatre – particularly musical theatre – was a lifelong influence for Bowie. He made no bones about emulating the singer-songwriter and actor Anthony Newley early on, and studied dramatic arts under Lindsay Kemp. He told the BBC in 2002 that he had always wanted to write for theatre, the intent being “to have a pretty big audience” for whatever he worked on.
The notes for The Spectator – and the desk where he worked on them – will be available for the public to view when the David Bowie Centre opens at the V&A East Storehouse in Hackney Wick, east London, on 13 September. The new centre will have 200 items on permanent display, but fans will be able to apply to view anything from the 90,000-piece archive in person by filling out a form.
The permanent centre expands on the David Bowie Is exhibition at the V&A in 2013, which became the most visited show in the museum’s history.
Bowie’s final completed work was his 26th album, Blackstar, released two days before his death in January 2016.
