A new collaboration between Malthouse Theatre Melbourne, the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh and the Lyric in Hammersmith, David Greig's adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's novel Solaris promises to wrestle with huge themes of outsiderdom, love, grief and constructed truth.

Directed by Malthouse's Matthew Lutton, it aims to be both chilling and humorous. Greig says: 'I had no idea Stanislaw Lem's book was so funny, so moving, and such a fascinating philosophical disquisition on the eternal human problem of our relationship with "the other" – whether that other is a person, a planet, a lover or a monster.

'The premise is simple: there are three scientists on a space station orbiting a great planet, a psychologist arrives to check on their wellbeing, and strange things start to happen – is the planet communicating with them? Or are they imagining it? Is it a god? Or a demon? Or a child?'

With legendary film and theatre actor Hugo Weaving portraying Gibarian on video, and Keegan Joyce as Ray, Jade Ogugua as Sartorius and Fode Simbo as Snow onstage, this existential sci-fi production should be in safe hands.

Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Thu 12 Sep–Sat 5 Oct, and touring.