AN ENERGETIC musical adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel "American Psycho," about a soulless yuppie serial killer at large in 1980s Manhattan, has opened on stage in London.

The show stars Matt Smith, best known as the galaxy-hopping hero of the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who.

The book's graphic violence provoked extreme reactions when it was published in 1991. The play, which opened yesterday at the Almeida Theatre, seems unlikely to generate such starkly opposing views, though it did divide critics.

The novel was previously made into a film starring Christian Bale.

The Times of London's Dominic Maxwell gave it five stars out of five on Friday, calling it "a darkly funny, outrageously entertaining evening."

But Daily Telegraph critic Charles Spencer found it "glib, heartless and pretentious" - though he predicted: "It's going to be a big hit."