The details about 'Lazarus', the mysterious theatre project being written by David Bowie and Irish playwright Enda Walsh, have been hard to come by, so far.

All we know is that it was somehow linked to 'The Man Who Fell to Earth', a 1963 sci-fi novel about an alien called Thomas Newton. Bowie played the title role in the 1976 film adaptation, but Michael C. Hall (aka Dexter from 'Dexter') will portray his character in 'Lazarus', which is being billed as 'an extension' of that story.

The show's director Ivo van Hove has revealed some details about it to The New York Times, saying that the story was 'broken and fractured' and you won't really know what's going on until 40 minutes in.

"Lazarus focuses on Newton as he remains on Earth, a man unable to die, his head soaked in cheap gin, and haunted by a past love," he said. "We follow Newton through the course of a few days where the arrival of another lost soul might set him free."

Enda Walsh, meanwhile, said that writing such a character was "really my territory. I understand that isolated, lonely, broken, unstable sort of character." He said that the songs that Bowie had written for the show were loaded "with a mixture of romance and itchy violence". There are reports that songs from Bowie's forthcoming album 'Blackstar' will feature in the show.

'Lazarus' opens officially on December 7th, but previews begin next Wednesday.