The Lover

The subject could hardly be more topical; and whether we see the heroine of Marguerite Duras’s 1984 novel as a vulnerable victim of abuse or as a young woman choosing her own fate, there’s no question about the power of Duras’s writing, as she conjures up the story of a doomed affair in 1920s Saigon between a 15 year-old French girl and an older Chinese businessman. Now, two of Scotland’s leading women artists – Jemima Levick of Stellar Quines and Fleur Darkin of Scottish Dance Theatre – bring the story to the Lyceum, in a sensual new version starring Susan Vidler, with dramaturgy by Lyceum boss David Greig. ■ Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, today until 3 February, 0131-248 4848

Joyce Mcmillan