WRITTEN in 1938, Graham Greene's classic novel of good and evil, Brighton Rock, was first adapted for the stage at the Garrick Theatre with Richard Attenborough playing Pinkie, a role he resumed in the iconic 1947 film version. In 2010, Greene’s novel was remade, setting it in 1964, with Sam Riley, Andrea Riseborough and Helen Mirren.

This week, a new version arrives at Theatr Clwyd, adapted for the stage by Bryony Lavery, and promising the added attraction of a score composed by one of the UK's most critically acclaimed electronic artists.

Originally from Northern Ireland, Hannah Peel released her solo album Awake But Always Dreaming to great acclaim at the end of 2016. The album drew on personal experiences of her grandmother ‘awakening’ from dementia with Peel describing the album as ‘a dive into the rabbit hole of the brain’. Her new album Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia released in September 2017, is a seven-movement odyssey composed for analogue synthesizers and full, traditional 29-piece colliery brass band. Inbetween these projects she also formed The Magnetic North, a highly praised and expansive collaborative band with Simon Tong (The Verve, The Good The Bad And The Queen, Gorillaz) and Erland Cooper (Erland & The Carnival). She doesn't really do things by half.

"I hadn't worked in theatre since I'd graduated from university so when they approached me I was like. 'I'd love to!' laughs Hannah, 32.

"It's been a great experience. I read the novel years ago when I was at school and the character of Pinkie had stuck with me. I remember thinking as a teenager how cool he was because you don't understand the mentality behind him.

"Re-reading it you become so aware of the time Greene was writing in and how racist and misogynistic it was - there are things in there that no one would write in a book nowadays and so it was very exciting working with the creative team and thinking about how we could make it work for today's audiences."

Despite many people being aware of the book through it's filmed versions, Hannah chose to ignore these adaptations in preference to the source material.

"I chose not to because a lot of the cast were the same," she says. "It focused me on the book and my first job was to go through it and write a list of all the references to music of which there are a ton.

"There was old jazz and swing classics and music hall songs that I found it impossible to find - there was one I tracked down to the British Library and got a copy of and it was a great starting point for me and the director.

"Researching and discovering these things is what really turns me on because that gives me the emotional background to people - I don't write songs about break ups because they just don't resonate with me and even if I've gone through one I don't write in that way."

From the start of rehearsals, Hannah was also present working closely with the actors on stage.

"I composed around 20-30 pieces which was a way of trying to find a sound for each character," she explains. "I lived in York for two months and was in rehearsals every day. When you see the show you'll see there's a lot of movement and it really works because it makes the whole show really fluid.

"There are three songs in the show where the character of Ida is a jazz singer and I was looking for that whole David Lynch vibe with Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet. There is one bit in the dancehall which feels just like the Pink Room in Twin Peaks!"

Hannah is now hoping her work on Brighton Rock leads on to more soundtrack and composing projects even though it means she "never gets the chance to go out drinking anymore!"

More of her songs can currently be heard on the new Channel 4/Netflix Series Kiss Me First and there's also a collaboration with Arctic scientist Joseph Cook, where Hannah attempts to "communicate the hidden beauty, complexity and sensitivity of the Greenland Ice Sheet through sound".

"I've always loved doing things like this," she laughs. "I'd like to do more theatre but I can only really do it once a year because it just means three months of your life has gone and you can't do anything else!"

Brighton Rock is at Theatr Clwyd, Mold between May 8-12. Box Office: 01352 701521 www.theatrclwyd.com/en