LOUISE Welsh has been long associated for biting, clever, crime thrillers, stories of murder, mayhem and bouts of madness.

Or, in the case of her recent work, A Lovely Way To Burn, chilling tales featuring an apocalyptic world ravaged by a pandemic.

Now, however the Glasgow-based writer of modern classics such as The Cutting Room has turned her talents in the direction of a full-length opera. And she’s headed right into Hell.

Louise, who saw her first opera on television on Channel Four as a ‘tween’, has co-written The Devil Inside with renowned Scottish composer Stuart MacRae, being staged at the Theatre Royal.

The crime writer explains how she felt compelled to create a storyline that could be sang to an audience.

“When I was about ten years old I read Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Bottle Imp and I loved it. Then a couple of summers ago I read it again and realised what a brilliant story The Bottle Imp is, with its repetition and simplicity.

“I thought it would make a brilliant opera, and called Stuart (whom had she worked with previously on two short operas) and thankfully he bought into the idea completely.”

Stevenson’s story tells of a man who buys a strange bottle from an old man who promises that an imp in the bottle will grant the young man his every desire.

Of course, there is a catch — the bottle must be sold at a loss, or else it will simply return to him. And if the owner of the bottle dies without having sold it, that person's soul will burn for eternity in Hell.

Louise’s version is set in contemporary times and features three central characters, James, Richard and Catherine.

James and Richard are two ‘young, free and easy guys’ but when they come into possession of the bottle, everything changes.

“There’s an allegory at the centre of this story which is very transferable to modern times, and we can look at contemporary issues through this filter,” says Louise.

But how does Louise, who is a Professor of Creative Writing at Glasgow University, make Stevenson’s story relevant today?

Has she written about today’s greedy, the bankers for example, or the instant fame seekers?

“In modern day, we can see the threats of gloabalisation, the greed of bankers, it’s all there,” she offers.

“But this is also a story about love, or rather what you would do in the name of love.”

In Stevenson’s story, the James character is doomed to Hell, until his wife arranges to buy the bottle and take the curse upon herself.

But it’s not that simple . . .

“The story asks; ‘Would you go to Hell for all eternity for the person you love? How much would you suffer for them?’

“And we look at the notion of how some people get away with temptation, whether it’s drink or drugs they dabble in. Yet others are hooked. It’s an interesting theme about dicing with death.”

The concept of Hell is less popular these days, thankfully, but that doesn’t mean society has lost its conscience.

“We all have our versions of it,” says Louise, who once ran a bookshop in Glasgow. “Hell for me I guess is pain, the idea of suffering is horrible.”

Louise and Stuart worked on the script over several months.

“We worked very closely, talking a lot about characters as well as the story. We felt we had to own, inhabit and agree about them.

“Then I had to think about the words, how easy they are to sing. For example, a word like ‘no’, when sung, can go on forever, but ‘yes’ can’t.”

The writer, who believes opera to be far more accessible to audiences these day (“Opera stars no longer stand there like blocks of wood; they they act now, they give their all”) adds, smiling; “We don’t always agree, but we disagree courteously.”

Listening to Louise speak of the project, there’s no doubt the daughter of an RAF serviceman is captivated by Stevenson’s story.

“I was gripped,” she says of the take. “I was thinking ‘How the heck will these characters get out of this mess?’ and now I hope the opera audience will feel exactly the same.”

But how does Louise, whose partner is writer Zoe Strachan, answer the central question?

“How far would I go for love? Well, it’s easy to say, but I like to think I’d go all the way into Hell – and back again,” she says, grinning.

• Scottish Opera’s The Devil Inside, the Theatre Royal, January 23 and 26. (Those under the age of 26 pay under ten pounds.)