What's On In Scotland: Three things to do tonight

CINEMA: ADVENTURE FILM FESTIVAL

For adrenaline junkies everywhere, the Adventure Film Festival is sure to get the blood pumping. It showcases not only adventurous sportsmen and women but also the skills of adventure filmmakers.

Adventure Film Festival is part of a UK-wide event, which screens 11 films across 30 of the UKs cinemas.

Tonight’s films include Bjørnøya, about two surfers in search of the perfect wave on the remote Norwegian island of Bjørnøya; Burn It Down follows avid longboarder James Kelly on a downhill adventure, showing the good, the bad and the ugly of the sport (including some pretty severe accidents); and The Last Explorers of the Rio Santa Cruz, based on the first European exploration of the river, undertaken by Captain FitzRoy in 1834. In that film, two men carry all of their food and belongings by horseback to retrace the journey made almost two hundred years before.

Eden Court Cinema, Inverness, £9

PERFORMANCE: MOSCOW STATE CIRCUS

Almost devoid of clowns, the Moscow State Circus is more about death-defying tricks than comedy cream pies.

The show is based on an old Russian story, Cvetik-Semicvetik, or “the flower with seven colours.” In it, a girl is given a flower containing seven wishes, and the tale follows each one of those wishes and how they play out – in the case of the Moscow State Circus, this translates into some breathtaking stunts.

The Moscow State Circus has been running in its current form since 1957, with millions applying for the 70 positions in the circus school every year. The show contains high wires, Chinese silk stunts and a whole host of other things that will have you gasping in amazement.

The show is a great family night out, with a mix of comedy for the adults, and non-stop stunts and tricks that will leave children in awe.

Intu Braehead, Glasgow, Tickets from £7

ART: ARTHUR MELVILLE: ADVENTURES IN COLOUR

Arthur Melville’s exhibition, at the Scottish National Gallery, showcases one of Scotland’s most exciting and radical artists of the 19th century – and one who came from humble beginnings to become an adventurer as well as an artist.

As a 13-year-old, the East Lothian-born Melville took up drawing lessons at the SNG in between work as a grocer.

When the painter turned 23, his work went on display at the Royal Academy in London, which gained him enough of a reputation to travel to Paris, where he spent most of his time in an artist’s colony.

He then travelled on to Egypt, Karachi, Aden, then on to Baghdad, where he spent two months.

His return journey on horseback across Kurdistan was what adventure stories were written about. After being attacked by bandits and left for dead, Melville was arrested on suspicion of espionage, inspiring water colours such as Awaiting an Audience with a Pasha.

Any art lover – in particular those with a fondness for homegrown artists – shouldn’t miss this.

Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, £9