Batman Live-O2 Arena, London Tickets

Recent years have been very kind to the Caped Crusader, with Christopher Nolan successfully rebooting the film franchise with “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight” (in addition to the upcoming “The Dark Knight Rises”). He managed to make the name a serious one in cinema once again, adding to a universe that had already been visited by a previous film series, as well as television shows, animated programmes and its original incarnation as a comic book. It has ensured that Batman has remained one of the most famous names in the world and, alongside Superman, one of the best known comic book characters of all time.

So it was only a matter of time before the Dark Knight made his way to the stage for a glorious live production and he does so with the anticipated “Batman Live”, set to appear in arenas all over the world in a spectacular international tour. When the show arrives in the United Kingdom it is set to appear in cities nationwide, from Manchester and Newcastle to Glasgow and Belfast, with London theatre audiences getting a look in at the O2 Arena at the end of August 2011. So with other famous characters appearing in shows like “Shrek the Musical” in the West End, Batman arrives to deliver a spectacle of a different size.

The story is set to be an original one, though Batman fans are likely to feel right at home with what’s on offer, with many familiar names and locations brought to life onstage. There’s Batman of course, plus his alter ego Bruce Wayne, and then there’s friends such as Robin and Alfred the Butler. But no Batman experience would be complete without appearances by villains such as The Joker, Catwoman, The Penguin or the Riddler, plus the biggest character of all – Gotham City.

Batman has been around for the best part of the last century, with Bob Kane and Bill Fingers first presenting their creation in “Detective Comics” issue 27 back in 1939. Since then the character has progressed through various other comics, then television series (including the famous one with Adam West), animated programmes and, eventually, blockbuster movies. Though the story of Batman had been told on the Silver Screen before, it was Christopher Nolan’s reboot in the last decade that made him into a property bigger than he has ever been before.

“Batman-Live” appears at the O2 Arena in London, with a brief run from Monday 29th August 2011 to Sunday 4th September 2011.