O'Loughlin plays all of the characters in the life of the actor who made Shakespearean roles his own, particularly that of Richard III, but whose private life was marred by scandal and bouts of heavy drinking."Edmund Kean is a hero figure of the British theatre from whom young, struggling actors often take nourishment," Berkoff says. "Like boxers and dancers, we choose a person who, by reflection, if you like, gives us a status and to whom we can look for encouragement in frailer and weaker moments."So, what exactly does the job of mentor involve? "I keep an eye on him," says Berkoff, simply, revealing that he would have been grateful for a mentor during his own early career. "I would have liked there to have been somebody I could to go to and pour out my own longings and frustrations to," he says. "But I have had to deal with it all by myself."5 to 28 August at 4.30pm (0131-667 2212).

At the National Theatre, you can buy a seat for £10. Further down the South Bank, a fiver entitles you to be a groundling at Shakespeare's Globe. Further still, at The Scoop, the magical open-air amphitheatre near Tower Bridge, Phil Willmott's Steam Industry Company performs for free. In this year's summer season, Willmott has directed his witty adaptation of Treasure Island, which runs in rep with his incisive, modern-dress, take on Euripides's The Children of Hercules.

The joy of this alfresco occasion stems from its canny responsiveness to the extraordinary diversity of the audience, which ranges from seasoned theatregoers with their wine and picnics to casual passers-by. Willmott and Steam Industry have developed a style of writing and performance of full-bodied vigour and sophisticated teasing. The amphitheatre becomes a dynamic debating chamber - for The Children of Hercules. Pursued by their father's enemy, Eurystheus, the offspring of the legendary hero are repeatedly denied asylum until they reach Marathon. This impassioned staging does not need to force the contemporary parallels, as the ruler Demophon (whose moral discomfort is vividly conveyed in Willmott's edgy portrayal) grapples with the dilemmas. It is civilised to shelter political refugees, but how can this be reconciled with the duty of protecting your own citizens who will thereby come under attack? The alert, confrontational production throws such questions out to the audience. There's a jolting moment toward the close when Hercules' mother, Alkmene, calls for savage vengeance against the captured Eurystheus.Treasure Island, in this account, is a delightful blend of the salty and the silly.