The Spice Girls musical Viva Forever! is to close after around six months in the West End.

The show, inspired by the group's songs and put together by Mamma Mia!'s Judy Craymer and written by Jennifer Saunders, will end with a final performance on June 29.

Ms Craymer said: "It is with a heavy heart that we've had to make this very difficult decision to post closing notices for this original show which is blessed with one of the most brilliant casts currently on the West End stage.

"We set out to create a contemporary story that truly reflects our time; to take a satirical look at the underbelly of a TV talent show and the chaos that ensues for a mother, her daughter and their friends; a theatrical event to embrace all generations both on and off the stage.

"Testament to that achievement is the standing ovation at every performance from an audience of families and friends all enjoying a great night out.

"The show has evolved since we first opened and is now brighter, lighter and funnier, but despite the wonderful audiences and extremely positive feedback we just can't make it work.

"I'm so proud of everyone involved in this production. Viva Forever! may be taking its leave for now in the West End but the legacy of Spice Girls will never fade."

The band - Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Victoria Beckham, Mel C and Mel B - reunited in December for the opening night at the Piccadilly Theatre.

They said: "We want to thank the cast and all the fans for their support, and although Viva Forever! won't continue in the West End we are thrilled that the thousands of people who came to the show had as much fun as we did."

The show, which satirises The X Factor and is the story of an aspiring singer who, with her best friends, gets swept up in a TV talent show, was savaged by the critics.

The Daily Mirror called the plot "cliched" and the dialogue "leaden", and said that "laughs, from writer Saunders, are surprisingly few and far between".

"You would think it would be easy to strap the songs of one of the biggest girl groups in recent history to an exuberant story of girl power to create a worldwide money-making machine. But you would be wrong," Alun Palmer wrote.

The Daily Mail's Quentin Letts was also unimpressed, calling the jukebox musical "a prize Christmas turkey".

He wrote the show had "the makings of a notable West End flop. It's almost as if the thing has a death wish".

While the Spice Girls were "full of beans, a greater force for feminism than Harriet Harman or even Nick Clegg", the musical was "drudgy... sour and focused on failure", he wrote.

The Independent's Paul Taylor said it was "lacking in any true original or challenging spark of its own".

The Guardian's Alexis Petridis wrote that the "cast are largely great" and that "there's nothing really wrong with Jennifer Saunders' script".

But he added: "The real problem is the songs. There aren't enough memorable hits in a career that lasted for three albums to support two hours of theatre."

Bunton later tweeted: "I am totally gutted that our wonderful show @vivaforever is coming to an end. Thank you to all our amazing fans for your constant support!"