X Factor musical I Can't Sing! to close early

Nigel Harman pokes fun at Simon Cowell in I Can't Sing!

A West End musical based on The X Factor is to close after just two months.

Co-written by Harry Hill, I Can't Sing! pokes fun at the talent show and its creator Simon Cowell.

The show, which opened to glowing reviews at the London Palladium in March, will close on 10 May.

Rebecca Quigley, chief executive of producer Stage Entertainment UK,said the show had been well received "but it seems that isn't always enough".

She continued: "The West End can be an unpredictable place as the closure of a number of high profile productions recently has shown.

"I Can't Sing! has had audiences on their feet night after night, four and five star reviews from the critics and an amazing company and creative team, but it seems that isn't always enough."

Some of the talent show's judges are portrayed on stage

The musical stars former EastEnders actor Nigel Harman, who depicts Cowell as a money-obsessed, shiny-toothed control freak in high-waisted trousers.

The story follows a luckless young Londoner, played by Cynthia Erivo, who becomes a contestant on the ITV talent show only to find herself beset by the vicissitudes of overnight fame.

X Factor regulars Cheryl Cole, Louis Walsh and Dermot O'Leary also come in for a ribbing.

The musical had been taking bookings until October. When it opened, critics were largely positive - with some reservations.

The Times' Dominic Maxwell praised its "glorious gags" and "delectably silly set pieces", The Daily Telegraph's Charles Spencer found it "wildly eccentric and often wonderfully funny", while Simon Edge in The Daily Express called it "surprisingly hard-hitting".

                                     Simon Cowell gave his backing to the musical, co-written by Harry Hill

The news of its closure follows a number of other recent high-profile West End casualties.

A stage version of hit film The Full Monty closed after five weeks, Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Stephen Ward lasted for four months and the curtain came down on Sir Tim Rice's From Here to Eternityafter six months.

Cowell had given I Can't Sing! his blessing. Speaking in March, he said it would need to last longer than the Spice Girls musical Viva Forever - which lasted for seven months - in order to be considered a success.

Asked what would count as a success, he joked: "Seven months and a day."

Announcing the closure, Nigel Hall of Cowell's production company Syco Entertainment, said: "Alongside Stage Entertainment we'd like to thank the cast and crew who have worked so hard on this show.

"To everyone at Really Useful Theatres and the ever supportive staff at the London Palladium, and everyone involved in I Can't Sing! I'd like to say a huge thanks and the very best of luck with their next venture."