She was famous for her collection of 3,000 pairs of shoes, love of the high life and marriage to one of the world's most reviled dictators. Now the life of Imelda Marcos is being turned into a musical in a collaboration between the DJ Fatboy Slim, and the veteran art rocker David Byrne. But for anyone pondering why the Brighton-based DJ should want to document the life of the Philippines former first lady, there is a logic - they have a shared love of nightclubbing.
Mrs Marcos was a regular with her husband, President Ferdinand Marcos, at the legendary New York nightspot Studio 54 and it is those decadent times that the musical Here Lies Love will focus on. Due to be premiered next March at the Adelaide festival, with a European premiere in Liverpool to follow, the event's organisers say it is a "timeless story with more contemporary resonances than are comfortable".
Marcos ruled the Philippines from 1965 until 1986. He and his wife became notorious for their extravagance and corruption. Mr Marcos died in exile in Hawaii but Mrs Marcos had a conviction for corruption overturned in 1998 and has since returned to live in Manila.
During her heady days in power she loved nightlife in all parts of the world and is said to have installed a disco in her New York town house.
The venue for Here Love Lives is to be transformed into a giant dance club with singers, video screens and an operating bar. The musical will chart Mrs Marcos' rise from poverty through to her heady days of power and her ultimate demise in a series of songs written by Byrne and additional musical tracks by Fatboy Slim.
"It was a non-stop party, featuring politicians, arms dealers, financiers, artists, musicians and the international jetset," said an Adelaide festival spokesman.
"Here Lies Love recreates and musically updates that buoyant mood in a music and theatrical event that hits the highs, the lows, the triumphs, the tears and the eventual fall of this truly astounding political figure."
Byrne, the lead singer of the New York art rock band Talking Heads, will not be a member of the cast, though he is expected to make occasional guest appearances.
