"History has no memory of second places," wrote the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen as he set out on his race to reach the South Pole first. How wrong he was. In Britain at least, Amundsen's achievement has been relegated to a dusty historical footnote, while the heroic failure of his rival, Captain Robert Falcon Scott, who perished along with his remaining party just 11 miles from safety, is known to every schoolchild.
Adapted by GM Calhoun from the two explorers' expedition journals, this a potentially thrilling account of heroism and stiff upper lips. By cleverly juxtaposing the two diaries, the drama also offers an insight not just into the minds of very different men, but also the ways in which they organised their expeditions - one leading to success, the other to oblivion. As Scott comments ruefully when disaster looms, his expedition took eight years to plan and he accounted for everything "except bad planning". The sprightliness of Amundsen's dogs contrasts sharply with Scott's decision to use ponies; Scott's men become like sturdy pit ponies themselves - stout of heart, but trudging blindly towards their doom.
The intercutting of the diaries provides a natural dramatic irony, as the differing fortunes of the two parties become increasingly apparent. The piece is beautifully played by Adrian Lukis as Scott, a man who feels he has let everyone down, and Jamie Lee as the phlegmatic Amundsen. If only this had been staged with more imagination and visual flair (and without the awkward device of half-reading from the diaries, which simply makes it look as if the actors haven't bothered to learn their lines), then it would have worked as theatre and not just as an engrossing history lesson. Even in its current form, the poignancy of Amundsen and his team eating chocolate pudding while Scott and his starve is almost unbearable.
· Until August 27. Box office: 0131 556 6550.
