When he passed away in 2016, the world thought his last artistic statement was Blackstar – that haunting, brilliant final album shaped by his own awareness of mortality. But tucked away,

locked in his private study, archivists later discovered something no one – not even his closest collaborators – knew about: a secret plan for an 18th-century musical called The Spectator.

The project lived only in his notes, scribbled on sticky pads and notebooks, left pinned to walls and stacked neatly in his New York office. Only Bowie and his assistant had keys to that room, so everything was untouched until archivists began sorting through his belongings.

So, what was The Spectator? Bowie seemed captivated by 18th-century London – its clashing worlds of high society and brutal crime. His notes reference wild street gangs like the Mohocks, the infamous thief Jack Sheppard, and even scenes of surgeons fighting over bodies after public hangings. Dark, satirical, and theatrical – in other words, very Bowie.

He didn’t just want melodrama, though. He also dug into the cultural side of that era. He read and scored essays from the real-life Spectator periodical, chuckling at quirky stories (like a man who could imitate everything from horses to bassoons) and highlighting moral fables that could work as subplots. He even mapped out the rise of satire, painting, and early musical theatre in London, possibly drawing connections to modern politics and art’s power to challenge authority.

For Bowie, this wasn’t a whim. Writing for theatre had been a lifelong dream. Back in 2002, he admitted, “Right at the very beginning, I really wanted to write for theatre.” The Spectator could have been his chance to finally do it on a grand scale.

Though he never finished it, fans will get a rare glimpse of this hidden project. His notes, along with 90,000 other pieces of his archive – from handwritten lyrics to tour setlists and costumes – are being preserved at the new David Bowie Centre at London’s V&A East Storehouse, opening September 13. Visitors will even be able to see the desk where Bowie sat, scribbling away at his ideas.

For curators, the archive isn’t just a treasure chest – it’s a chance to inspire new generations of artists. Bowie’s fearless blending of styles and refusal to be boxed into one genre feels more relevant than ever. As lead curator Madeleine Haddon puts it, she hopes people walk away not just inspired by Bowie’s legacy, but also by the tools and creative processes he left behind.

Bowie once said he always aimed for “a pretty big audience.” Even now, nearly a decade after his passing, he’s still drawing one – and still pushing us to think, question, and create. Photo by Adam Bielawski, Wikimedia commons.