Did you know a mini-submarine travelled up the Forth and Clyde Canal in 1952?

Or that the mighty Lisbon Lions returning home from Celtic’s triumph in the European Cup were subsequently thrashed 4 – 1 by Partick Thistle?

Can you believe there really is a big plug at the bottom of the canal?

These questions and more are answered in the National Theatre of Scotland’s magnificent new event on the banks of the canal this weekend.

Submarine Time Machine reveals the history, myth and magic of the area as seen by HMS XE9, the little craft that made its final journey from the North Glasgow Canal Corridor to be decommissioned in Rosyth in 1952.

A cast of one hundred performers will bring the stories of the canal to life on its towpaths and locks and football stadium and clay pits, all the way from Speirs Locks to the Firhill Basin, through sound installations, dance, sculpture, football, choirs, music, virtual reality and the telling of some tall tales.

NTS Associate Director Simon Sharkey explains: “When we moved into our new home in Rockvilla, we were really keen to make sure the communities around us felt connected to us.

“Our outlook remains national and international, but Rockvilla is our engine room.”

He adds; “I heard the tale of the mini-submarine coming up the canal years ago, and the seed was planted. I really wanted to tell that story.

“It’s a great story – hundreds and hundreds of people turned out to see it, the captain stood on the bridge in full naval regalia – it’s incredible.

“And when we started researching the project, so many of those we spoke to had childhood memories of it.

“The canal is phenomenal – it was the motorway for the industrial revolution in Glasgow and the central belt.”

The audience will get the chance to relive the glory days of Partick Thistle Football Club and its defining defeat over the Lisbon Lions in the 1971 League Cup, and watch wonderful myths brought to life – such as the story of the white hart which appears whenever a stout heart is broken.

There are stories about the Blitz, when the canal was almost bombed and the city nearly flooded; of the raiding of the Puffer Annie, when a bunch of thirsty miners from Lambhill almost got themselves arrested; and the legend of Davie Traynor and Torpedo Jaw – a story of fishermen saved by a six-foot pike.

“Everything is based on true stories – even the most unlikely ones,” smiles Simon. “We had imagined a tale of a boy who pulled the plug on the canal, which was entirely made-up. But in our conversations with a local historian who helped us research the project, we discovered there are, in fact, plugs in culverts at the bottom of the canal.

“You don’t pull them out, you unscrew them, and it’s all about managing the water levels – but we thought it was funny how our imagined story had a grain of truth behind it….”

Submarine Time Machine is part performance, part social history project, and Simon hopes audiences will come away feeling more informed about the canal and its rich past, as well as entertained.

“We want to be able to excite the audience’s imagination,” he explains. “When you gather a community around a place and give them a sense of the history rooted in it, they start to feel connected – they want to be part of it.

“In recent years, parts of the canal have had a bit of a reputation for being untidy, or a magnet for fly-tippers. But there is so much more to the area.”

NTS has worked closely with community groups, schools, residents and organisations to excavate the past and rediscover the myths of the canal, the secrets of the submarine and the community’s hopes for the future.

Simon adds: “It’s about what Glasgow is, and has been – but just as importantly, it’s about what the city can be in the future.

“What’s beautiful about this project is that people have come forward with their own stories and memories and when they all get together and share them, hopefully it will create something magical.”

Submarine Time Machine takes place from 7pm until 9pm on Friday (June 23) and from 11am until 1pm and 2.30pm until 4.30pm on Saturday and Sunday (June 24 and 25).

Admission is free - for more information visit nationaltheatrescotland.com