AN INGENIOUS combination of film and live performance is being employed by a Cornish theatre company to bring a cult novel to the British stage for the first time.

In 1963, Kurt Vonnegut released his satirical novel Cat's Cradle to universal acclaim. It became an instant bestseller and has since been recognised as a modern masterpiece.

This week sees Cornwall's Miracle Theatre beginning a five-month national tour of the first British adaptation of the classic, which will take them to venues throughout the UK.

Working at their base in Redruth, the cast and crew are putting the final touches to their version of a story that continues to gain new fans 45 years after it was written. The meeting of minds of Vonnegut and Miracle director Bill Scott is a marriage made, if not in heaven, then at least in San Lorenzo, the imaginary island at the centre of the story. And with Miracle regulars Ben Dyson and Dominic Power among the cast, fans of this most inventive company are eagerly awaiting their latest offering.

Bill Scott and his team have tackled a variety of adaptations over the years, most recently last summer's Jason, a reworking of the Greek myth. But perhaps Vonnegut's apocalyptic fantasy is their most ambitious to date.

Cat's Cradle explores issues of science, technology, religion and the arms race, with the author's inspiration originally being sparked from working at the General Electric Company after the Second World War, when he became increasingly appalled by scientists' indifference to the possible use of their discoveries.

From his study of the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he went on to explore the fictional discovery of ice-nine, a substance potentially even more destructive than the A-bomb.

Kurt Vonnegut liked to use humour to examine even the darkest of themes, and for this reason Bill Scott saw Cat's Cradle as a perfect vehicle for Miracle's blend of physical theatre, comedy, film and music.

"Cat's Cradle is a satire on our obsession with any form of modern science, which promises progress while actually bringing about the end of the world," said Bill. "It is even more relevant today than it was when it was written.

"For this production we have employed techniques more usually seen on the big screen to bring Vonnegut's story to the small stage. Our creative team has now worked together on several films, as well as many Miracle shows – so video, models, blue screen and digital animation are woven into the live performance to give a unique style to Cat's Cradle.

"Audiences will be taken on what The New York Times described as 'an unforgettable ride' from London via America to the Caribbean island of San Lorenzo, meeting such bizarre characters as the dictator Papa Monzano and Felix Hoenikker, the father of the A-bomb."

The five-month national tour previews in Cornwall on Thursday and travels from the South West across the UK until March 2009.

Cat's Cradle can be seen at the following venues: Redruth School (Nov 20), Burrell Theatre, Truro (Nov 21), Perranporth Memorial Hall (Nov 22), Liskerrett Centre, Liskeard (Nov 23), Tolmen Centre, Constantine (Dec 4-5), Grampound Village Hall (Dec 6), Wadebridge Town Hall (Dec 7), Devoran Village Hall (Dec 16), Newquay Treviglas School (Dec 17), Porthtowan Village Hall (Dec 18), Acorn, Penzance (Dec 19-20), The Poly, Falmouth (Dec 27-30), Roseland Community College (Jan 8), Lelant Village Hall (Jan 9), Lostwithiel Community Centre (Jan 10), Veryan Parish Hall (Jan 13), Tresmeer Village Hall (Jan 14), North Hill Village Hall (Jan 15), Landewednack Village Hall (Jan 16), Blisland Village Hall (Jan 17). It then continues to venues throughout Britain until March. For more information on the show and full tour dates visit www.miracletheatre.co.uk