The arrival in London of the David Bowie musical Lazarus will, for many, be the latest instalment in the one-time Ziggy Stardust’s efforts to “curate” his own death, even from beyond the grave.

Bowie’s last public appearance was last December, at the New York opening of Lazarus – its title borrowed from the New Testament figure who rises from the dead – and it was followed by the release of his final studio album, Blackstar, on January 8, his 69th birthday, with not even a hint that he was ill. Two days later, his death from liver cancer was announced.

Bowie’s long-time producer, Tony Visconti, has spoken of his friend working right to the end to bequeath “a parting gift” to his fans – “his death was no different from his life… a work of art” – but the Irish playwright Enda Walsh, who co-wrote Lazarus, is sceptical of all the talk of the era-defining singer and songwriter having stage-managed his own death.