It was surely only a question of time, but finally one of the great celebrity romances of our age is being brought to the stage — get ready for MacBecks, the story of David and Victoria Beckham, told in jokes, song and words of few syllables.

We are indebted to the Irish literary gene on this occasion for having identified the elements of the Beckhams’ story that elevate football and singing to Shakespearean heights.

The Dublin writers Gary Cooke and Malachy McKenna both performed in the Irish stage hit I Keano, which chronicled the life and times of Roy Keane and his spectacular bust-up with the Ireland manager, Mick McCarthy, during the 2002 World Cup.

Emboldened by their success, they have set their sights on tackling the tale of Posh and Becks. Their play will have its premiere at the Olympia theatre in Dublin on Wednesday.

The title gives away its dramatic roots. Based loosely on Shakespeare’s Scottish play, the action takes place in 16th-century England, where football is beginning to emerge as a popular pastime, though it is dominated by players who are, in Cooke’s words, “baldy ugly” with “lumpy legs and turny-up shoes”. Much of the action takes place in Ye Olde Wag’s Head Inn, where the Bard is a “boozy failed writer and aspirant footballer”.

Mr Cooke explained: “In our conceit there are three Spice Witches, one of whom is Poshoria, who create Becks because of the dire need for a good-looking player.

“There’s a Sir Alex Ferguson-type character we call Salax, who’s a mix of King Lear and the Devil. It’s a kind of love triangle because he’s fighting with Posh over Becks.”

The action moves from England to Europe and finally to a happy ending in the New World, where Becks is paid hundreds of millions of groats instead of the measly few sheep and goats he received at home.

There is also a woman “not dissimilar to Rebecca Loos”, a model once linked to Beckham. Cooke and McKenna acknowledge that their musical play also owes a debt to Monty Python and Spitting Image.

“It’s not remotely anti-Beckham, it’s a send-up of them and everyone in their world. I remember some years ago my dear mother saying, ‘I can’t see that lasting’ and my brother said, ‘Their relationship has just as much chance as anybody else’s’ and it has done, against the odds,” Cooke said.

“They are still together. Some people say it’s because of appearance’s sake and the money, but I genuinely believe it’s a true love story and I hope that’s reflected in MacBecks.”

Audiences will have plenty of familiar faces staring back at them. Sven-Göran Eriksson is transformed into “Seven” while the Neville brothers are Gary Krantz and Phil Denstern. Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen appear as themselves, Irish satire apparently having its limits. The couple are presented as a rival WAG outfit to the protagonists.

Cooke plays Wayne and a wench, while McKenna is Vinnie the Impaler, leader of a horde of barbarians from Wimbledon, and the rapper L.M.N O’Pee, who helps Poshoria to revive her singing career in the New World.

Cooke admits the inspiration for the play came from I Keano, which set the battle between Roy Keane and his enemies in Ancient Rome, including General Macartacus, representing McCarthy, and Ridiculus, head of the legion’s Federation, representing the Football Association of Ireland.

In its first two years I Keano was seen by more than 500,000 people. The Times described the play as having “all the hallmarks of a Greek tragedy: two stubborn men whose refusal to concede the higher ground results in dire repercussions for all”.

Cooke said he was not surprised that nobody had come up with the idea before them in England. “There were two musicals about Tony Blair, which shows that anyone can have a musical written about them nowadays, but I think there’s a perception in England that anything to do with football doesn’t make great theatre. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Beautiful Game didn’t do that well, even though it was very good. Obviously, you would hope that it has a life beyond Ireland.

“Initially, we were going to start its run in England but it was just too much of a stretch for us, living in Ireland. I’m already looking forward to its Norwegian fjords cruise liner tour.”

Keane did see his portrayal in I Keano during its much-extended run in Dublin. The creators of MacBecks hope that their real-life hero and heroine follow suit.

“They have been invited. Funnily enough, I don’t think we have had a response so far. But I’m sure that they will want to know what it’s about.”

Kelly Gough, described by the authors as “drop-dead stunning”, plays Poshoria, while Paul Reid plays Becks. Cooke and McKenna think that he has an uncanny resemblance to the former England captain.

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