ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE

Originally a huge hit at the Edinburgh Festival in 1999, the show which plays the town's Regent Centre Studio May 10 and 11 focuses on the only woman to have been Queen of both England and France.

Notoriously feisty, she was famous for reasons of gender, wealth and her dastardly diplomacy.

Her manoeuvres ignited the Middle Ages after her marriage to the French king Louis VII was annulled and three years later she married Henry II of England

She created a royal dynasty that included both Richard the Lionheart and wicked King John.

Whether pregnant or not, she accompanied both her husbands on Crusades, acted as Regent of England and then plotted with her children against Henry.

If Emmeline Pankhurst needed any inspiration from history, it was surely Eleanor who provided it.

A physical and mental colossus, she lived until she was 82, an incredible feat in the 12th century.

In Eileen Page's performance, Eleanor is at the end of her life and challenging the ghosts of her past.

She is also reflecting on her expos of male supremacy and the decades of Anglo-French wars she had helped set in motion.

In this impressive monologue, she justifies her actions with compelling self-confidence, passion and humour.

Hollywood insiders report Nicole Kidman is currently considering a script for a film of the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Tel: 01202 499148