STEVE ANDREW enjoys an account of the many communities that flourished independently of and in resistance to the empires of old
FROM August 2-26, the Edinburgh Festival carnival again takes over the Scottish capital with its unique mix of cultural entertainment from the most original and thought-provoking to the comically inane.
Among the wealth of foreign productions featured in the main festival programme, Sydney Theatre Company’s adaptation of Kate Grenville’s prize- winning novel The Secret River catches the eye.
It deals with the life of William Thornhill who, deported to Australia in 1806, carves out a new life and helps to create a new world for the European settlers.
GORDON PARSONS is blown away by a superb production of Rostand’s comedy of verbal panache and swordmanship
ANN HENDERSON on the exciting programme planned for this summer’s festival in the Scottish capital
MARY CONWAY is stirred by a play that explores masculinity every bit as much as it penetrates addiction



