IT’S a story which has been around for what feels like forever – reimagined on the telly, given the movie treatment a couple of times, but hardly ever performed on the stage.

Now, arts group Red Bridge has taken Anna Sewell’s 1877 novel Black Beauty and turned it into a glorious, galloping story of friendship and fun.

The original book is a weighty tome, told from the point of view of a fine black horse, documenting his many owners and the acts of cruelty and kindness he experiences over the decades.

English author Sewell wrote the book in the last years of her life, when she was housebound because of illness and injury.

The novel became an immediate best-seller but sadly Sewell died just a few months after its publication.

Now, with more than fifty million copies sold all over the world, Black Beauty is one of the best-selling books of all time.

Bringing such a famous story to life in theatres for a new generation was not for the faint-hearted, as co-creator and performer Andy Manley explains.

“It was a strange mixture of delight and abject fear,” grins Andy, one of the most well-kent faces as both actor and director in children’s theatre across Scotland.

“Obviously, the book is 200 pages long, so you’re never going to be able to do the whole thing – and nor would you want to – and there are other issues too.”

He grins: “Like not being able to bring real horses on to the stage, for example.

“So you have to find other ways of telling the story, through object theatre, through puppetry and through storytelling.”

Andy and fellow creator and performer Andy Cannon teamed up with puppetry guru Shona Reppe to stage the show, which comes to Glasgow’s Tron Theatre on Tuesday (February 14) and Giffnock’s Eastwood Theatre on February 19.

From the cosy horsebox they call home, Andy and Andy – aka the McCuddy Brothers - took the bit firmly between their teeth and came up with a version which dwells less on the mistreatment of animals theme which is very obvious in the novel and more on the emotions and thoughts throughout.

This is a tale, explains Andy, where loneliness gives way to hope, friends become heroes, and courage saves the day.

“The book was very political at the time it was written, particularly in its discussion of animal treatment but I think we have moved on from that now and some of it can sound a little worthy to a modern audience,” says Andy.

“We certainly didn’t want to end up beating people over the head with it.

“I’ve always wanted to do Black Beauty on stage because I have many fond memories of the 70s television series, of getting into my jammies after dinner on a Sunday night and settling down to watch it with my family and I think many people who come to see it will have similar feelings of nostalgia.

“That’s really evocative for me.”

He adds: “I’d never really read the book, so I was fascinated to see why this old tome was still around – it’s one of the biggest ever selling books in print - and why it held and continues to hold such a place in people’s affections.

“I think it’s testament to the success of the TV show, in fact, that so many people do.”

The production has already won rave reviews on its tour around Scotland, which started with a spell as the alternative Christmas show at Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre.

“We had a great reaction to that – and I was so surprised by how many people came back to see it again,” says Andy.

“We’ve also had a lot of people telling us it’s very funny.

“One woman said it had been like coming to a comedy gig, which was really unexpected but very nice.”

Bringing the props and puppets together has been a fun process, explains Andy.

“Shona is a horse person – she has done horse riding to quite a high level, I think,” he says.

“That’s her world, so we knew we could rely on her.

“The whole touring process is brilliant – it’s hard work of course, and much harder for the stage management team who have to get the set built and ready in four and a half hours, which is amazing.”

Andy’s next project is a one-man show called Night Night, which will premiere at the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival (formerly Imaginate) in May.

“I’m really looking forward to that,” he says.

“But for now, it’s just fantastic to be on the road around so many different venues across the country with Black Beauty.”

Blending storytelling, music and puppetry, this is a vivid retelling of the tale, which Andy hopes will appeal to fans of the book, classic TV show and those brand new to it.

“I suppose one of the biggest compliments would be if people go off and read the book after seeing our show,” he says.

Black Beauty, a joint production between Red Bridge Arts and the Traverse Theatre Company, will be cantering into the Tron (0141 552 4267, tron.co.uk) and Eastwood Theatres (0141 577 4956, eastwoodparktheatre.co.uk) on February 14 and 19 respectively.

You can also watch the tour trailer at www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRx1A0bDfIc