Issue 566

96 articles

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Gaelic arts

4 Jan 2007

Slainte mhath (good health)

GAELIC ARTS Does Scotland still have a cohesive national identity? In the late 1980s, when Runrig’s Gaelic drumbeat pulsed through the charts, Wildcat staged ambitious promenade pieces and we all hated Thatcher, ‘Scottishness’ felt tangible. These…

Win a Rapal MP3 player

4 Jan 2007

Gaelic Arts and the new BBC 2 show Rapal have very kindly given us an mp3 player, a Teach Yourself Gaelic audio course, two tickets to see There’s No V in Gaelic at the Citizen’s Theatre, a selection of CDs and assorted other Gaelic goodies. To be in…

Preview of the year 2007

3 Jan 2007

2007 is about the future. And about the past. It’

THE FUTURE Cyberspace invaders We may not be flying around in hover cars or wearing spangly all-silver outfits, but thanks to the internet the future has truly arrived. And the revolution will continue apace in 2007, argues Suzanne Black. A…

Ad Lib Restaurant & Bar

3 Jan 2007

Early doors

The best time to review a budding restaurant is probably not in the first week of its operation. Nine times out of ten, the initial fortnight can be bedevilled by a variety of hiccups from staff training lessons still to sink in, to noisy butt-cheek…

One minute wonder

3 Jan 2007

The American Industrialist and philanthropist John D Rockefeller may have had a point when he wrote that ‘All competition is a sin.’ But let’s face it some competitions are less reprehensible than others and indeed, by that same measure, some…

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Remote Control - TV round-up

3 Jan 2007

Remote Control

Amid the bespectacled blundering and the wide-eyed naivety, Louis Theroux has made some witty and insightful documentaries in his time. Whether it’s been the all-too real worlds of the porn industry, white supremacy or Christian fundamentalism, he has…

DVD round-up

3 Jan 2007

Welcome one, welcome all and Happy New Year. To mark the end of the old we would like to bring in something new. Until, of course, you get totally bored of it and we will try something else.

Mark Zusak

3 Jan 2007

Death and the maiden

The literary canon is riddled with unreliable narrators. From Holden Caulfield to Humbert Humbert and the voices which lead you through Eggers’ A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart the first-person perspective can…

Leech

3 Jan 2007

The Leech

What do George W Bush, Adolf Hitler, the Leech and you have in common? No, not that. Misshapen or mono-genitalia is a surprisingly widespread condition and there’s absolutely no evidence linking testicular envy to genocidal impulses. Not yet anyway.

Apocalypto

3 Jan 20074 stars

(18) 138min

Welcome to the jungle. A place where pierced savages josh and jest as they rip the flesh of a freshly speared boar. Life is simple, life is good, but trouble is hiding in the undergrowth and young family man Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) is about to go…

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Tinderbox's new branch

3 Jan 2007

Tinderbox tripping

My notes read ‘eye popping mental gymnastics.’ What this really means is a borderline hallucinogenic experience. A legal one, I hasten to add, courtesy of the new Tinderbox at Ingram and Montrose streets in Glasgow’s Merchant City.

Kevin Mcdonald profile

3 Jan 2007

Profile

Name Kevin Macdonald Born 28 October 1967, Glasgow, Scotland. Background Celluloid runs like blood through Macdonald’s veins. He’s the grandson of legendary writer/director Emeric Pressburger and younger brother of Trainspotting producer Andrew…

The Last King of Scotland

3 Jan 20074 stars

The only similarity that the Nicholas Garrigan of this film has with his namesake in Giles Foden’s book is, indeed, his name. The Garrigan of the book is a dull-witted, slightly ignorant and rather un-endearing Scot, whereas in the movie James McAvoy…

Sally Matthews and Toby Spence

3 Jan 2007

VISITING VOCALISTS As Scotland’s various concert promoters revive themselves in the wake of the festive season, two organisations - totally coincidentally - choose to start the new year with stars from the younger generation of British singers. Tenor…

Singles & downloads

3 Jan 2007

With the annual Christmas bunfight over with, January always provides space for some decent songs to come to the fore. Step up Amy Winehouse featuring Ghostface Killah (now there’s a date to gooseberry) with ‘You Know I’m No Good’ (Island - 3 stars), a…

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Stage Whispers - theatre news

3 Jan 2007

Stage Whispers

There’s plenty to look forward to in the year ahead for theatregoers, but perhaps a personal highlight for Whispers would be the revival by the NTS of Anthony Neilson’s The Wonderful World of Dissocia. This, along with such hits as Black Watch and Tutti…

Ugly Betty

3 Jan 20073 stars

Channel 4, Fri 5 Jan, 9.30pm

COMEDY DRAMA At 9.30pm on the first Friday night of 2005, Channel 4 introduced us to the most popular new American comedy in years, My Name is Earl. So, when the exact same slot is filled by another heralded US import, you may well be steadying…

Side Dishes - bar and restaurant news

3 Jan 2007

Side Dishes

In Glasgow’s city centre, Two Fat Ladies will start opening on Sundays from 7 January, with a fixed price menu of two courses for £14.50 and three for £17.50. Hours will be 1pm until 9pm’s last orders. ‘It is really to satisfy demand,’ owner Ryan James…

CATS Awards

3 Jan 2007

AWARDS ROUND UP We’re about at half term for the awards season, with the CATS Awards occurring in early June this year. So far, the chatter among the critics has covered a great variety of work, from grand scale projects to more modest pieces. It’s a…

Killswitch Engage

3 Jan 2007

5 REASONS TO SEE 1 They’re the illegitimate sons of Slayer They are leaders of the metalcore movement that take the blueprint of thrash as laid down by Slayer, but ramp it up with elements of their hardcore roots. In fact, their rock forefathers…

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Charles Rennie Mackintosh's house

3 Jan 2007

Top of the property ladder

A house designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh has been put on the market and looks likely to become the country’s most expensive home. Windyhill House in Kilmalcolm, Renfrewshire, 15 miles outside Glasgow, is the only remaining Mackintosh-designed…

Hold Steady, The - album review

3 Jan 20075 stars

The Hold Steady

ROCK’N’ROLL Sometimes, a band provides one of those kind of songs that always stay in your heart and record collection forever. The Hold Steady have an old song of theirs called ‘Your Little Hoodrat Friend’, a throttling, acerbic bombast of a rock…

Brian Ferguson

3 Jan 2007

FACE FOR THE FUTURE He’s not exactly a new face: He’s kicked around the Scottish theatre for three or four years in this reviewer’s recollection, and probably longer, but Brian Ferguson’s 2006 has launched him as a substantial actor on the Scottish…

* Hitlist

3 Jan 2007

Hitlist

Hansel and Gretel The age old folk tale is brought to panto-life with the Dundee Rep ensemble firing on all cylinders with lots of laughs and a quietly moving dénouement. Dundee Rep, until Sat 6 Jan.

11:14 - DVD review

3 Jan 20074 stars

11:14

DRAMA This clever cubist thriller examines a single moment in time from the varying perspectives of a dozen people for whom 11:14 pm proves to be a pivotal moment in their lives. Writer-director Greg Marcks’ inspired and assured feature debut begins…