Holy stage show! It's Batman and Robin live

Fire up the Batmobile. Batman is coming to Birmingham. The Caped Crusader is to star in his own live theatre show which visits the National Indoor Arena next summer - and creates Gotham City right in the middle.

The world famous Dark Knight has been around since 1939 and has conquered comic books, films, live action and animated TV series but has never been on stage — until now.

The $10 million project has been in development for two years and shrouded in a secrecy that would impress even Bruce Wayne.

It will premiere in Manchester and tour the UK from July to October before heading elsewhere in Europe. Even though Batman is an American the USA won't get to see it until 2012.

The live show will feature Batman, the butler Alfred and legendary villains like The Joker, The Riddler, Catwoman and The Penguin.

Gotham City will be recreated on the floor of the NIA along with Wayne Manor, the Batcave and Arkham Asylum — and there will be a new Batmobile. The stage will be 100ft by 60ft and will feature a 130ft media wall.

A soundtrack composed by James Brett has been recorded with an 80-piece orchestra at London's Abbey Road studios.

Fans of the comics will be divided — Robin is going to be in it.

The boy wonder and Batman's faithful sidekick has been much-maligned over the years by purists who believe that the grimness of Bruce Wayne, who declared war on crime after his parents were murdered, should not be offset by the boy in the red, yellow and green outfit.

But Batman Live is a family show and deliberately takes a more light-hearted look at the character than the moody and brooding version portrayed by Christian Bale in the movies Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

Unlike Spider-Man, who is also getting a stage show, Batman Live will not be a musical.

Fans will be relieved to know the show is being based on the artwork of Jim Lee, the co-publisher of DC Comics.

Geoff Johns, the chief creative officer responsible for some of the company's best selling comics featuring Green Lantern, is also giving it his blessing.

At a special briefing in New York Jim Lee says: "It will be true to the comic book version of the character. Robin will be in it because it's a family thing. Batman is a dark avenger but Robin is a lighter character because of his age and he takes the edge off Batman."

The show is being produced by Nick Grace of Water Lane Productions, which also made Walking with Dinosaurs and Mamma Mia.

He says: "It never occurred to me and I still don't think Batman should be in a situation where he would sing. Batman is more than a comic book character, he is a cultural phenomenon."

Much of the plot is still shrouded in a mystery as big as Batman's cape but the show will start in a circus — the scene where Robin's own parents are killed as they perform as acrobats.

Geoff Johns adds: "We can see the quality in this already and the way that Robin's origin is played out is pretty exciting.

"It's about trying to capture an audience that is not currently exposed to Robin and his relationship with Batman and it is going to be be tragic, uplifting and young.

"Batman is a character that was as relevant 50 years ago as he will be tomorrow because he deals with something we will always have in our own lives — loss — and as a character he fights back for justice.

"He appeals to so many people because even though Bruce Wayne has a billion dollars he's still just a guy, like us, although he does swing from buildings and takes out the Joker."

* Tickets for Batman Live go on sale on Friday. It will be at Birmingham's NIA from August 17 to 21 with three shows on the Saturday and two on the Sunday. For details see www.batmanlive.com and for tickets priced £20, £30 and £35 call 0844 338 8000.

* Batman and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics.

Bat facts on the caped crusader

* Batman first appeared in Detective Comics number 27 in 1939.

* There have been five Robins in the comics — Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown and currently Damian Wayne, Batman's son.

* Despite facing brutal criminals every night, Batman never uses a gun and has vowed to never kill.

* The first adaptation of the comic was a serial in 1943 featuring Lewis Wilson as Batman. It was based on the hero taking on a Japanese agent during the Second World War.

* The Joker has been around since 1940 but his real name has never been revealed. He murdered the second Robin, Jason Todd.

* Robin developed a catchphrase of saying "Holy" followed by what he was describing during the 1960s TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward. No other version of Robin does this.