A new Scottish musical, based on a 1930s comedy drama starring Robert Donat, has been funded by nearly £100,000 from the national arts agency.

The Sunshine Ghost, based on the 1935 film The Ghost Goes West starring Donat and Jean Parker, directed by Rene Clair, will tour small venues later this year.

The musical, described by its producers as "fast paced, funny and very entertaining", will be developed at the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, before touring and then being staged at the King's Theatre, Edinburgh in the autumn of 2018.

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The story will be written by Andy Cannon, the founder of Wee Stories and a creative director of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, and follow, like the movie, the story of a rich American businessman who buys a Scottish castle and ships it to Florida, only to discover that the castle's ghost has also been transported across the Atlantic.

The Ghost Goes West was the biggest grossing movie in the UK in 1936, and starred Donat as Murdoch Lourie, the Scottish ghost who "died a coward's death" in the 18th century.

Creative Scotland have announced a grant of £99,969 towards the show, a co-production between Scottish Theatre Producers and the Festival and King's Theatres Edinburgh, and it will be directed by Ken Alexander, and music and lyrics by Richard Ferguson.

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Duncan Hendry, chief executive, of Festival and King's Theatres, said: "This is a really exciting project, and we look forward to welcoming Scottish Theatre Producers to our Studio in October 2017."

The funding for the musical is part of £850,000 support for cultural projects announced by Creative Scotland.

41 funding packages have been announced for January, worth between £1,443 and £99,767 through the Open Project fund.

Glasgow-based AyeWrite! Book Festival, 9-19 March, has received funding towards this year’s programme which includes Ian Rankin, actor Peter Davison, Jenni Murray, Val McDiarmid, AL Kennedy and Frank Gardner.

The Scottish Review of Books has received £45,000 funding to "strengthen its editorial infrastructure"

Novelist Jackie Copleton, historical fiction writer Margaret Skea, graphic novelists Metaphrog and David John Lumsden have all received funding towards new work.

Aly Barr, the acting head of literature at Creative Scotland said: "The breadth of projects that we’ve been able to support in this round is breath-taking.

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"Scotland’s other national book festival, Aye Write, has secured funding for another packed edition whilst the Scottish Review of Books plan to expand their team; new writer Margaret Skea - from the Scottish Borders - will research a new work of historical fiction whilst David John Lumsden heads back to the future with the third of his dystopian graphic novels, the eagerly anticipated Blood in the Water.

"While, as always, there are many more good applications than we have the funds to support, these latest awards do provide invaluable support to the successful applicants and we look forward to seeing their work develop as a result."

Among the music awards, HebCelt and the Aberdeen Jazz Festival have received funding towards their respective programmes.

Saxophone and piano ensemble Mckenzie Sawers Duo, singer songwriter Roddy Woomble, dark pop/alt rock band Mt. Doubt and composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Paul Russell have received funding towards new material.