Local hero to take to stage as a musical
- Published
The 1983 film made a red phone box in the Aberdeenshire village of Pennan famous
A musical based on the classic 1983 film Local Hero will have its world premiere in Edinburgh next year.
The Royal Lyceum will be the first to perform the musical, which has been adapted by the theatre's artistic director David Greig and Bill Forsyth.
The Scottish filmmaker wrote and directed the original movie.
International music star Mark Knopfler has written the music and lyrics for the new production, which will open in Spring 2019.
Knopfler, who rose to fame in multi-million selling band Dire Straits, wrote the score for the 1983 film.
It tells the story of an American oil company representative who is sent to the fictional Ferness on the west coast of Scotland to buy the village and its land in order to build a refinery.
The village of Pennan was the setting for many scenes in the film
However, "Mac" MacIntyre adapts to Scottish village life and becomes worried the deal will ruin the place he has come to love.
It was made in several locations around Scotland but most of the Ferness village scenes were filmed in Pennan on the Aberdeenshire coast.
A red phone box in the village, where Mac makes phone calls to his boss in Texas, played by Burt Lancaster, became one of the most famous images of Scottish cinema.
Bill Forsyth and David Greig at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh
Glasgow writer and director Forsyth's other films include Gregory's Girl and Comfort and Joy.
David Greig, an acclaimed playwright as well as theatre director, said: "Local Hero is one of those great Scottish stories that has captured the imaginations of people across the world, it has been one of my favourite films since I first saw it as a teenager."
Local Hero is due to open at The Lyceum in Spring 2019 before transferring to The Old Vic in London.