AN AWARD-WINNING theatre group is finally taking to the stage – a year after it was planning the premiere of its show.

The world premiere of Grid Iron Theatre Company’s Doppler takes place at Newhailes House, starting later this week.

The show, which is based on the best-selling novel by Norwegian author Erlend Loe, was originally planned to be performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2020.

However, coronavirus restrictions meant it did not go ahead.

Instead, with only a few days of outdoor filming achieved due to Storm Francis, the company decided to instead produce a documentary film charting the story of the show and its production, Doppler – The Story so Far.

The film was released in March last year and watched by nearly 10,000 people worldwide.

Filming took place in the southern half of Fawn Woods, to the north-west of Gifford, with the woodlands doubling as the forest on the edge of Oslo.

Performances take place at Newhailes House in Musselburgh between Sunday and August 23, with no shows on August 10, 17 and 19.

Judith Doherty, Grid Iron’s chief executive and co-artistic director, was delighted to finally see the show take place.

She said: “We are beyond excited to finally be able to confirm the details for the world premiere of Doppler.

“It has truly been a rollercoaster of a ride and we are so delighted to now be on terra firma and able to welcome our audience in person.

“We also want to say a massive thank you to National Trust for Scotland for hosting Doppler and to all the wonderful staff and volunteers at Newhailes House.”

The show will be staged in front of a small number of people to allow for social distancing and audiences are encouraged to book early to avoid disappointment.

Tickets for Doppler will be released in batches to coincide with the changes in Covid-19-related restrictions, with further ticket release announcements taking place on Grid Iron’s social media.

Adapted and directed by Ben Harrison from the translation by Don Bartlett and Don Shaw, with dramaturgy by Eszter Marsalko, Doppler is produced by Judith Doherty with a cast that includes Keith Fleming, known for his role of Lesley in Outlander, in the eponymous role, with Grid Iron-regular Sean Hay and Chloe-Ann Tylor, known to wider audiences from Citizen Theatre’s Trainspotting, portraying all the remaining characters.

The company is also working with several talented freelancers, including Fergus Dunnet who is producing the puppets for the show, Nik Paget-Tomlinson on music and foley, David Pollock on music and Becky Minto, who is responsible for design.