
Ewan McGregor is superb as Ibsen meets Succession
His embittered wife (Kate Fleetwood) invites Mathilde (Elizabeth Debicki, the later of two Princess Dianas in The Crown) to a party and it emerges she has a sinister ulterior motive: her invitee is an ex of her husband intent on revenge.
McGregor's missus, meanwhile, has her eyes on a rival architect – played by David Ajala – whose Speedos have also won the admiration of her assistant (Mirren Mack).
It's a twisted climbing frame of human misery that Raicek has constructed and the actors make the most of it: McGregor is on great form – world-weary and despairing – and the women, all with their own agendas, are all magnificently brought to life.
A play about architects cries out for startlingly good sets and Richard Kent rises magnificently to the occasion, evoking sunny days at the Hamptons every bit as impressively as its central character's vast glass towers. Michael Grandage as director gives all the talents involved the chance to shine and it makes for a uniquely satisfying night of theatre. After directing the film My Policeman and now My Master Builder, it can surely only be a matter of time before he revives My Beautiful Launderette.

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Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Scotland star marries stunning bride as team-mate and glamorous Wag attend ‘once in a lifetime' event
They held the wedding across two remarkable venues in the south of France - and over 200 miles apart WHAT A DAY Scotland star marries stunning bride as team-mate and glamorous Wag attend 'once in a lifetime' event Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A SCOTLAND rugby star and his stunning other half got married this week in what guests have called a "once in a lifetime" do. The couple held their wedding across two opulent venues in the south of France. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Inside of the Capitole de Toulouse, where the couple got married Credit: Alamy 5 They walked around the palatial venue and posed for photos Credit: DARIA WALTER 5 And plenty of pictures 5 They then had their evening meal and reception at the Chateau de Paon in Arles Credit: NIKA VAN DER WERE Scotland fullback Blair Kinghorn and Norwegian nutritionist beauty Dina Celina had split their special celebrations between the Capitole de Toulouse, in the same city where Kinghorn plays his rugby, and a mansion near the historic coastal settlement of Arles some 200 miles away. Kinghorn, 28, has been playing for Toulouse in France's Top 14 league since 2023 with his partner moving there with him from Edinburgh. The pair have been together for five years and announced their engagement in November 2023. They set a date for August 25 and this was the big week when their closest friends and family joined them to attend what was a spectacular summer event. Kinghorn's fellow Scotland hero Duhan van der Merwe and his wife Nika van der Merwe were on the guest list, with Nika describing it as a "once in a lifetime" experience. The Capitole de Toulouse saw the couple pose for pictures in their wedding garments and take a tour of the grand neoclassical building, and did the formalities of becoming husband and wife. And the Chateau de Paon proved to be a glorious venue for the evening reception. She wrote: "The Kinghorn's really know how to throw it down! "Honoured to have spent this once in a lifetime weekend with you guys!" Dina posted a video courtesy of Daria Walter on her Instagram, showing glimpses of the day. Everything you need to know about the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 She shared the clips on Instagram as fans and friends commented on the post to wish them well. One said: "Congratulations to you both, stunning couple." Another wrote: "Congratulations to the happy couple." 5 Nika and Duhan van der Merwe Credit: NIKA VAN DER MERWE Before a third said: "Congratulations, you are very beautiful." And a fourth wrote: "Very beautiful pictures, congratulations to you both." And then a fifth said of the rugby ace: "It looks like James Bond..." Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page


Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
BBC comedian died penniless with body unclaimed for weeks after tragic death
Roy Jay was a British-Norwegian comedian who was a regular on TV screens in the 1980s, but his life took a tragic turn after he was charged with indecent exposure in 1984 A legendary 80s comic passed away penniless with his remains left unclaimed for weeks in a heartbreaking turn of events. Roy Jay was renowned for his prominent BBC slots, featuring on television shows including The Bob Monkhouse Show, The Little and Large Show and The Main Attraction during the peak of his career. However, the British-Norwegian performer endured a devastating conclusion to his life. Troubles began after he faced charges for indecent exposure in 1984, when he pulled down his trousers during a live performance before a family crowd at the Park Club in Jersey. Baby Reindeer star unrecognisable in new BBC drama featuring Coronation Street actor He received a £200 fine - but more damaging still, his reputation suffered a massive hit. Roy discovered himself barred from countless venues nationwide even prior to the indecent exposure conviction. Yet it proved the death knell for his television career. Whilst he succeeded in continuing his stand-up work in his final years, his TV appearances vanished. Ultimately the performer died in Alicante, Spain, in December 2007 aged 59, completely broke. His remains laid unclaimed for a fortnight. His death was reportedly due to alcohol abuse. His funeral, conducted at Villajoyosa Crematorium, required funding from a local Spanish entrepreneur who was also Roy's dear friend. Roy remains fondly recalled for his television appearances and his subsequent work at a Benidorm venue. One admirer commented following his death: "Terrible news about Roy. I never did see him but will remember with fondness his TV work back in the day. RIP Mr Slither." Another fan reminisced: "I did see him in Benidorm in the late 1980s at the Talk of the Coast, which is now the Ambassador Playa. I remember the place was packed and everyone was having a great laugh." A third person agreed: "A very talented but tormented guy who is all but forgotten today." Roy had an interesting start in life, with conflicting reports about his childhood. According to one version, he was born as Roy Jørgensen in Oslo, Norway, to a Norwegian father and a Scottish/Irish mother. At the tender age of four, he moved with his family to South Wales. When he was eight, he spent a year in Cork, Ireland, honing his skills in Irish language and violin, before returning to Wales. The family then relocated to Atherton in Greater Manchester, England, where he attended Hesketh Fletcher High School. At 15, he joined the Royal Norwegian Navy, but later returned to civilian life to sing in a band performing in small Northern clubs and dance halls. He then became Assistant Entertainments Manager at Pontins holiday camp in Southport, where he began his stand-up comedy career. However, another account suggests that Roy Jay was actually born in Uffculme, Devon. In this version, he worked for Pontins in Morecambe during the 1970s and performed as a comedian in Northern clubs, before being a special guest on the 1983 UK tour by Johnny Mathis.


Scotsman
15 hours ago
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Fringe Theatre reviews: Nowhere + more
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Nowhere ★★★★☆ Traverse Theatre (Venue 15) until 24 August The interconnectness of our lives with the political events of our times and previous times, as well as those who came before us and will come after us, is at the heart of Khalid Abdalla's biographical-plus-much-more show. It starts with the story of his involvement in the Egyptian revolution of 2011 – something that may come as a surprise to anyone who only knows him from his screen work, including playing Dodi Fayed in The Crown. It then develops into a broader, highly ambitious attempt to contextualise where he and we, sitting in the 'nowhere' space of the theatre, have come from, but also where we are heading, before finally focussing back in on the mass murder and starvation of the people of Palestine that is happening right now. Khalid Abdalla in Nowhere | Helen Murray Directed by Omar Elerian, in a production produced by Fuel, who are known for their immersive, imaginative sets, Abdalla's varied life – as both the actor who played the 'lead terrorist' in the film United 93 and as the real-life grandson of a man imprisoned by the Egyptian regime in previous uprisings, it's a personal and also, through drawing in other conflicts, global charting of the history of resistance to authoritarian power. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A piece that's delivered with passion, sometimes polemic and constantly questioning its own purpose and potential, there's the ever-present danger but also excitement of it overwhelming itself with its sheer scope. A huge infrastructure of visible and invisible architecture is required to hold together its many strands. Abdalla's warm narration – with his polished Cambridge tones at one point brilliantly dissolving into his native Glaswegian – constantly finds new ways to connect the personal with the geopolitical in a piece that makes ingenious use of a screen, juxtaposes photographs and live drawings (including some of ours) with film footage of past protests, immersive audio and a powerful final call for 'never again' to apply to all. SALLY STOTT You're an Instrument! ★★★☆☆ Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) until 25 August When Alon Ilsar and Ciaran Frame, aka the Sonicrats, tell their young audience that they're university lecturers, the white-coated duo aren't just playing characters. They really are music technology researchers from Monash University in Melbourne, and this show doubles as both a fun hour for children between the ages of five and twelve, and an opportunity for Ilsar to show off his invention, the AirStick. An AirStick is a device which can be held or attached to clothing and connected wirelessly to a speaker, then when it's moved it causes a different tone of sound to be played depending on the movement. What begins as an apparently wider piece about musical instrumentation becomes a more focused demonstration of the AirStick's capabilities, especially when a willing apparent stooge from the audience (the play's third actor, Erick Mitsak) is brought onstage to become a kind of human theremin. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The piece's focus narrows as it becomes all about the device's capabilities, and while it's a really novel tool presented with enthusiasm, charm and a degree of fun interactivity by the hosts, it appears to be quite tricky to get a complex tune out of it. In this regard it's as much a piece about the simple pleasures of noise-making as it is about music, although that's also an activity many kids enjoy. DAVID POLLOCK The Long Good Bye Bye ★★☆☆☆ Laughing Horse @ Freddy's (Venue 194) until 24 August This noir crime spoof features some cringey puns, uneven acting and an all-round handmade aesthetic but it is also silly, infectious fun if you can overlook its more slipshod elements. Reports (by cub podcaster Veronica Scoop) of the deaths of pop group The Femme Fatales have not been greatly exaggerated. Someone has a grudge. Could it be ex-member-turned-private investigator Justin McGuffin, or is he the next victim? The amateurish action is narrated by a Philip Marlowesque gumshoe, presiding over a parade of stock characters from shady sources to rookie cops, and laced with a host of song titles and lyric references for the sheer merry hell of it. FIONA SHEPHERD Not Without Right★★☆☆☆ C ARTS | C venues | C alto (Venue 40) until 25 August This boisterously performed two-hander about a curmudgeonly characterised Shakespeare looking back on his life, as he's chastised by his female muse, presents its own offbeat version of 'the truth'. With the booming voice of a classically trained actor, Colin Cox's direct-to-audience address, as the playwright, at times feels like an assault, while Alessandra Mañón, as his fickle inspiration, adopts the beaming and bedazzled delivery often favoured by American actors performing Shakespearian plays. The sparky dialogue between them is more successful and Tudor London well-evoked in a piece that's rich with research and an original if surprising take. SALLY STOTT Consumption ★★☆☆☆ Paradise in Augustines (Venue 152) until 24 August There's more than a hint of NF Simpson's whimsical surrealism to some parts of Beware of the Theatre's promising three-hander about a couple with idiosyncratic culinary tastes, and the neighbour who threatens to expose their nefarious activities. But from moments of daft humour, it swerves unconvincingly into tragedy and even grand guignol, and it really needs to be snappier, tighter and a lot shorter to make its mark, and for its themes of forced dependency (I think) to emerge. There's potential here, and a likeable young cast, but Consumption needs a fair amount of work before it's the convincing piece of drama it could be. DAVID KETTLE Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Make sure you keep up to date with Arts and Culture news from across Scotland by signing up to our free newsletter here Agent Red's AUDITION ★☆☆☆☆ The Royal Scots Club - the Speakeasy (Venue 241a) until 24 August You've got to feel for Ruth Rosie, aka Agent Red in this audience-reliant recreation of a movie audition. Beset by technical difficulties, she's hardly been able to offer the experience she clearly intended – but it was unwise, nonetheless, to include a litany of her tech problems as a substantial part of the paper-thin show's content. There's something here, but it needs an awful lot more work and finessing. As things stand, despite its interesting starting point, AUDITION simply isn't in a state yet to put in front of an audience, paying or otherwise. DAVID KETTLE Wait, What Is This? ★☆☆☆☆ PBH's Free Fringe @ CC Bloom's (Venue 171) until 24 August The best guess as to the question posed by the title is: possibly what passes for entertainment on an alien planet — albeit one that speaks English and is really into rhyme. The Rhyming Rogues are an unlikely couple who have clearly rigorously rehearsed this presentation, which arguably may be a sketch show. It is so tightly drilled as to be hermetically sealed and allows for little in the way of light, spontaneity or laughter. As such, it perhaps transcends such bourgeois notions of 'good' or 'bad' but one is forced to admire their commitment.