Simon Thompson

By Simon Thompson , 04 July 2026 A big milestone needs a big celebration, and you have to give credit to Scotland's East Neuk Festival for

For The Invite , production designer Jade Healy found the authenticity of the director and star Olivia Wilde ‘s riveting new film by scouring property websites and Facebook Marketplace.

Finn den Hertog's adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear also features Forbes Masson as Gloucester

Writer/director Ama Lee’s Slashercise is a movie that I wanted to like far more than I actually ended up doing. It’s a comedy-horror with a great idea for a central premise, but which falls flat due to pacing issues and repetition.

Writer/director Kenichi Ugana’s The Curse is a movie that, while containing some fantastic visuals, sadly falls flat in other key areas. Although Ugana does create an unsettling atmosphere, the story and characters that surround it aren’t strong enough for you to become fully invested in its narrative.

Frances Ruffelle, Sally George and Alan Cumming's new musical runs in the Studio until 2 August

By Simon Thompson , 19 July 2026 Loading, please wait... Related articles

By Simon Thompson , 10 August 2026 Related articles Simon lives and works in Edinburgh, and teaches History and Modern Studies at a local high school when he is not writing about music.

By Simon Thompson , 17 August 2026 As well as being one of the most important pianists of the second half of the 20th century, Alfred Brendel

By Simon Thompson , 27 August 2026 If Gustav Mahler hadn't gone on to write his great symphonies and song cycles, I doubt we'd pay very much attention to Das klagende Lied today.