The Gable End Theatre on Hoy in Orkney is bracing itself, with a sense of excitement, to host the world première of the National Theatre of Scotland Workshop and Burnt Goods adaptation of Luke Sutherland¹s original and critically acclaimed novel, Venus as a Boy, as part of the St Magnus Festival on Tour on 25 June 2007.

Its story tells of a man who, as he lies dying in a room in Soho, is turning into gold and has the gift to transform with a touch or kiss the vision of others into something transcendent. He retraces the journey that brought him here from a turbulent childhood in Orkney (like Luke Sutherland¹s own), through sexual betrayal and discovery via Edinburgh to London¹s twilight zone with its pimps and transsexuals.

Burnt Goods is a new company founded by Tam Dean Burn, one of Scotland's leading actors, to further his interest in bringing literature, music and social engagement into theatre. He has adapted the script and presents it in performance. Luke Sutherland has a double career as musician and author and provides the music accompaniment live on stage.

With the back-up of the NTS production team, Venus as a Boy looks set to be a powerful theatrical event for Hoy before proceding to its other festival performances at the Orkney Arts Theatre in Kirkwall and the Town Hall in Stromness on the following two nights. The show is not recommended for anyone under 16.

From Orkney it goes to Ullapool and later to the Edinburgh fringe in August for a tour that winds up for a fortnight at the Soho Theatre, London, in early September, having emulated the route taken by the play's protagonist.