1 Scenes for Survival from the National Theatre of Scotland has been a lockdown lifesaver and this week is no exception. Starring our very own wonderful indy-supporting Alan Cumming (below), tomorrow’s scene is named Out of the Woods. Night falls and, after finally making it to the house in the woods, a father tries to get his daughter out as quietly as possible, careful not to wake her other dad.

www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/events/scenes-for-survival, tomorrow at 9pm

2 The second event from Scenes for Survival is Future Perfect (Tense). Life is full of tricky choices – whether to buy that new sofa, what to do for Hogmanay, how to keep your partner happy – and sometimes everyone wishes they could phone up their future self to check that they’re making the right ones. After setting up the call one woman finds that it’s less reassuring than she’d hoped. Neshla Caplan stars.

www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/events/scenes-for-survival, Wednesday at 9pm

3 Third one is a charm – our last Scene for Survival is Tiger is Out. A week after the death of her big brother, Laura’s parents buy her a pet tiger. They never explain the tiger and won’t discuss her brother. Not ever. Now that she’s having to learn to live with a dangerous animal every step becomes a tiptoe, every word becomes a whisper and things are starting to spiral out of control. www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/events/scenes-for-survival, Friday at 9pm

4 Formed in Mali in 2014, all-female collective Les Amazones d’Afrique deliver electric live performances, bringing African kora together with R&B, rap and reggae styles sung in Bambara, French and English. This band take a fierce, feminist approach to their music, addressing issues faced by women all around the world. They deliver a bright,energetic live show on YouTube as part of the Edinburgh International Festival online offering. For all the details log on to www.eif.co.uk/whats-on/2020/lesamazonesdafrique

5 Windrush – A Very British Betrayal. In The Windrush Betrayal Amelia Gentleman expands on her Orwell Prize-winning journalism with a page-turner that fearlessly probes the morality of modern Britain. She talks to Matthew Ryder QC, the barrister who represented Stephen Lawrence’s family in their claim against the Metropolitan Police in this live Edinburgh International Book Festival online event, with an author Q&A. www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/whats-on/amelia-gentleman-

windrush-a-very-british-betrayal, Today at 7pm

6 Our very own columnist and all-round good guy Stuart Cosgrove is following on from his acclaimed trilogy about the American soul music scene in the 1960s with his highly topical new book. In Cassius X: Six Months That Shaped The Sixties, Cosgrove charts the journey of a young Kentucky boxer named Cassius Clay. As well as documenting the meteoric rise of one of the all-time sporting greats, Cosgrove shows how soul music formed a soundtrack to an era of social and political turmoil. In this Edinburgh International Book Festival online event he talks to Val McDermid about this landmark moment for American culture and its parallels with the USA today. www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/whats-on/stuart-cosgrove-the-soul-of-muhammad-ali, Tomorrow at 11.30am

7 One of this column’s favourite authors is the fantastically wonderful Marian Keyes. As part of the online Edinburgh Book Festival she is in conversation with Jenny Colgan for a live streamed Q&A. Keyes latest, Grown Ups, centres around Cara Casey, who after a bang on the head finds herself incapable of keeping mum on the family secrets. www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/whats-on/marian-keyes-family-matters, Wednesday at 9pm