Issue 561

All the King's Men

(12A) 127min

17 Oct 2006

DRAMA Sean Penn steps into Broderick Crawford’s Oscar winning shoes in a new adaptation of Robert Penn Warren’s novel, which was inspired by the infamous Louisiana governor and Senator Huey ‘Kingfish’ Long: a politician so mired in corruption and…

An Hour and a Half Late

King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 24-Sat 28 Oct

17 Oct 2006

SCOTTISH PREMIERE My father once gave me a piece of advice, the wisdom of which magnifies as the years pass. ‘Son,’ he said, ‘never try to get the last word in an argument with a woman - it’ll last the rest of your life.’ It’s a dilemma that Mel…

Beck - CD review

The Information (Geffen)

17 Oct 2006

Convenience is everything nowadays and there is a particular kind of music which nails the rumble of great hip hop to the insistency of great electro and squeezes the nonchalant twang of the blues up against the comely beauty of perfect folk music and…

Big Big World

The world at your feet

17 Oct 2006

This month, Big Big World returns to Glasgow. The well-established, and, to be fair, excellent series of live shows showcases talent from all around the world, this year’s attraction coming from Scotland, Iran, Canada, Cuba, India, the US and all over…

Children's Classical Concerts

Children's Classical Concerts</h3>

17 Oct 2006

CLASSICAL MUSIC Whether it’s the latest picture book by Julia Donaldson or a juicy storyline in EastEnders, we all love a good yarn. Young or old, a well-told narrative always hits the spot, but there are as many ways of delivering a story as there…

Colours Are Brighter - CD review

Colours Are Brighter

17 Oct 2006

INDIE FOR KIDS 1. Four Tet feat. Princess Watermelon ‘Go Go Ninja Dinosaur’ ‘My friend Douglas is a dinosaur expert. He’d love this! I like the voices.’ 5 stars 2. Rasputina ‘A Skeleton Bang’ ‘This would be good for Halloween. It makes me…

Curve Foundation

Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, Fri 20 & Sat 21 Oct

17 Oct 2006

CONTEMPORARY DANCE The Curve Foundation is the rainbow of the Scottish dance scene - rarely seen but well worth the wait when it finally arrives. The company has been creating quality dance for over eight years now, despite struggling to secure the…

Dispatch

The Dispatch

17 Oct 2006

There has always been manufactured pop. As soon as the business-types worked out that they could market music at all, that art form became fair game for exploitation by those who cared little for art. But in the past a high president in songwriting was…

Havoc

(18) 85min

17 Oct 2006

COMING OF AGE DRAMA Seemingly developed around Chomsky’s theory that ‘unlimited economic growth has the marvellous quality of stilling discontent while maintaining privilege’, Havoc is a film awash with promising ideas which its filmmakers proceed to…

History Boys, The

The History Boys

17 Oct 2006

WEST END TOUR There might be a couple of points of added interest to this reappearance of Alan Bennett’s 2004 classic on Scottish stages. The first of these has to be the recent release of the motion picture version of the play, directed here, as at…

Hitlist

The best comedy

17 Oct 2006

Rob Deering The manic chap with a nice line in musical analysis aims to rock your comedic world. The Stand, Edinburgh, Thu 19-Sat 21 Oct.

Hitlist

The best exhibitions

17 Oct 2006

Callum Innes - From Memory An excellent exhibition of abstract canvases painted by the Edinburgh-born artist. The paintings demonstrate a solid awareness of the history of abstract art, drawing on the best elements of abstract expressionism, post…

Hitlist

The best film & DVD releases

17 Oct 2006

Red Road Andrea Arnold’s voyeuristic Glasgow-set thriller stalks it’s way into cinemas. One of the best films of the year without a shadow of a doubt. Selected release from Fri 27 Oct.

Hitlist

The best books, comics and events

17 Oct 2006

Hitlist Jeremy Paxman The toughest talker on the BBC block gets all mouthy about the Royal Family. Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Thu 19 Oct.

Hitlist

The best rock, pop, jazz and folk

17 Oct 2006

King Creosote It may have been last year that his incredible KC Rules OK album came out but there’s still plenty who haven’t had the chance to catch Kenny Anderson’s joyous sound live. Now here’s the perfect chance. ABC, Glasgow, Sat 21 Oct. (Rock & Pop)

Hitlist

The best theatre and dance

17 Oct 2006

The Tempest The Tron Theatre Company’s first outing of the season is a return to Shakespeare’s enchanted island. Will Caliban be as harshly treated as ever, will Miranda still fall in love with the first adult male she meets, will Prospero still have…

Isobel Campbell - CD review

Isobel Campbell

17 Oct 2006

INDIE FOLK No sooner has Isobel Campbell collected a Mercury nomination for her Mark Lanegan-assisted Ballad of the Broken Seas album, than she’s back with a new record. A significant departure from Ballad, it’s a collection of traditional and…

Jason and the Argonauts

Gilmorehill G12, Glasgow, Thu 2-Fri 3 Nov, then to

17 Oct 2006

NEW WORK There’s something about myth that short circuits history and defines an immediacy almost regardless of the historical moment you’re in. These are stories told and retold through the ages that capture defining human dilemmas about love, war…

Marie Antoinette

Cherchez la femme

17 Oct 2006

Let her eat cake: Kaleem Aftab 4 stars Sofia Coppola proved with The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation that she’s incredibly adept at showcasing female alienation. In his book A Cinema of Loneliness Robert Kolker notes that not only are all the…

Mary Stuart

The History Girls

17 Oct 2006

There are a few moments in history where complex disseminations must be made about the personal and the political, where the particular personality of an individual might actually influence events which would otherwise chug along under their own mighty…

Mother Courage

Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, Fri 27-Sat 28 Oct, t

17 Oct 2006

CLASSIC Ask any critic, or for that matter, any regular theatregoer for their top ten pieces of political theatre, and surely all would put Brecht’s classic of war, gender and class up there. The reasons? Perhaps they’re far too complex and…

Music DVDs round-up

17 Oct 2006

The Police Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out (Universal) Police drummer Stewart Copeland carried a Super8 camera with him from the band’s inception and captured some 50 hours of footage to make a revealing fly on the wall film, which captures the…

One Hour Before Sunrise

Theatre Workshop, Edinburgh, until Sat 14 Oct

17 Oct 2006

NEW WORK Over 400 people of 35 different nationalities remain held without charge or trial at the infamous Guantenamo Bay. We’re just beginning to question the involvement of our government, whereas for some nations torture has long been an…

Peter Sellers Collection, The - DVD review

The Peter Sellers Collection

17 Oct 2006

COMEDY Master or monster? Idol or idiot? Genius or jackass? The debate still simmers upon which side Peter Sellers’ legacy should fall, but it would be a shame if his reel life was tainted by his clear failings as a husband or father. Just prior to…

Rambert

Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Wed 25-Sat 27 Oct

17 Oct 2006

CONTEMPORARY DANCE There aren’t many octogenarians who can do the splits, leap high in the air or charge around at speed for thirty minutes flat. But then Rambert isn’t your average 80-year-old. The London-based dance company started life in 1926…