Issue 688
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- Issue 688
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Red State survey reveals loss of morals in UK
29 Sep 2011
A questionnaire promoting Kevin Smith's Republican-skewering horror flick has interesting results
Kevin Smith is well-known for baiting controversy - his apocalyptic comedy Dogma drew massive complaints for its depiction of a shallow Catholic church, while latest release Red State focuses on a group of serial-killing Christian fundamentalists.
Glasgow Science Centre takes a Detour
29 Sep 2011
Ally McRae and David Weaver organise a special event with Remember Remember, Meursault and more
Ever think that science wasn’t cool (despite the well-mannered, be-jumpered protestations of Brian Cox)? Well, Detour Scotland beg to differ. The video makers/radio pesterers/off the wall gig organisers, set up by Radio 1’s Ally McCrae and long-term…
Shonen Knife - Osaka Ramones
28 Sep 2011
Japanese punk-poppers cover their Ramones heroes
(Damnably) Having been around in one form or another for 30 years now, Shonen Knife have decided to celebrate their anniversary with an album-length tribute to the band that made them pick up guitars in the first place. Quite what Joey, Johnny, Tommy…
You’ve Been Trumped
22 Sep 2011
Controversial doc on Donald Trump's Scottish golf course plan a triumph
(12) 95min Unless you’ve had your head buried in the sand for the past few years, you’ll no doubt be aware of American tycoon Donald Trump’s controversial plans to build a golf course and hotel complex in an area of outstanding natural beauty and…
Our Generation
22 Sep 2011
Eye-opening but heavy-handed Aborigine doc
It’s no secret that the indigenous population of Australia have been handed a raw deal ever since James Cook set up shop on behalf of the British in 1770. While notions of modern day racial discrimination are just as well-known, what may not be so clear…
Life and Debt
22 Sep 2011
Heartbreaking and pertinent documentary about Jamaica's economic misfortunes
Made the year after the launch of the Jubilee 2000 campaign to cancel third world debt at the beginning of the new millennium, Stephanie Black’s agitprop documentary looks at the case of Jamaica. In 1977, fifteen years after achieving independence from…
Interview: Carey Mulligan on Drive
22 Sep 2011
Recent work includes roles in Drive, Shame and The Great Gatsby
For a film that she thought no one would see, An Education did a remarkable job of changing Carey Mulligan’s life. The 26-year-old star was immediately snapped up to star in A-list movies such as Never Let Me Go and Wall Street 2. Perhaps sensing burn…
You've Been Trumped - Anthony Baxter interview
22 Sep 2011
Director of Donald Trump doc on being shunned by Scottish film bodies
‘I live in Montrose and it’s 40 miles south of the Menie Estate, where Donald Trump was planning to build his golf course resort. I read the newspapers every day and I was surprised that the coverage was so one-sided. The other side of the story, as I…
30 Minutes or Less
22 Sep 2011
Funny and silly diversion from director of Zombieland
Reuniting Ruben Fleischer and Jesse Eisenberg, director and star of the hit comedy Zombieland (2009), this funny and silly diversion just about matches the previous film in terms of laughs, although it lacks the mix of invention and unique…
Fix ME
22 Sep 2011
Meandering fly-on-the-wall documentary filmed in Palestine
Palestinian filmmaker Raed Andoni suffers from frequent headaches. His doctors tell him there is nothing physically wrong, and advise him to seek the help of a therapist. As Andoni talks about his life – about what it means to him to be a Palestinian…
Wilko Johnson - The Caves, Edinburgh, Thu 15 Sep 2011
22 Sep 2011
A winner set from the ex Blockheads guitarist turned bluesman
Canvey Island rocking bluesman Wilko Johnson kicked off his nationwide tour from the other end of the UK with a stonking set that compared favourably to the Essex man’s glory days as lead guitarist for Dr Feelgood in the 1970s and Ian Dury and the…
Archive Trails - Artists making new work from old photos and songs from Scotland's past
21 Sep 2011
Scottish folk ballads reworked via song, video and puppetry
After months of delving through old photos and songs, three performers aim to bring to life Scotland’s long-lost folk ballads through experimental vocals, video and glove puppets. Rachel Devine reports
Liz Lochhead discusses her new play, Edwin Morgan's Dreams – and Other Nightmares
21 Sep 2011
The new production will premiere at this year's Glasgay! festival
It’s a sprightly Liz Lochhead who comes into Edinburgh’s Urban Angel for a breakfast coffee – latte with an extra shot – in the midst of a typically whirlwind calendar of deadlines, poetry readings and confabs with theatre directors. This summer she had…
Melancholia
21 Sep 2011
Lars von Trier's sci-fi drama features star turns from Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg
(15) 135min Melancholia is like the inversion of TS Elliot’s much quoted dictum. Is this how the world will end? With a bang not a whimper. Lars Von Trier’s curious, enigmatic and deterministic film seeks to equate the black dog of depression with an…
Interview: Alt-cabaret act Bourgeois and Maurice
21 Sep 2011
Outlandishly glam neo-cabarat act bring their dark glamour to Glasgay!
Georgeois Bourgeois and Maurice Maurice (real names George Heyworth and Liv Morris) are a sight to behold on a stage. Glitter, shoulder pads, metallics, smeared lipstick, towering beehives and as much eyeliner as you could ever loot from Superdrug, the…
Interview: Stephen Merchant on his upcoming UK tour
21 Sep 2011
Comic and writer of The Office returns to stand-up for Hello Ladies tour
During the Edinburgh Fringe of 2001 a quartet of lesser-known comedians took to the Café Royal stage to perform consecutive sets under the umbrella show title Rubbernecker. The first three of these gents were Ricky Gervais, Jimmy Carr and Robin Ince.
Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off
21 Sep 2011
Timely revival of Liz Lochhead's seminal allegorical play
Liz Lochhead’s powerful, playful dissection of a key chapter in Scotland’s history may have debuted at the height of the Thatcherite 80s, but the play’s central themes – the pernicious effects of sectarianism, the Scots’ complex relationship with our…
The Missing
21 Sep 2011
Powerful performance of Andrew O'Hagan's non-fiction script across several platforms
Part memoir, part investigative journalism, Scottish writer Andrew O’Hagan’s powerful non-fiction work doesn’t easily fit into any generic pigeon hole. It is fitting, then, that this stage adaptation of The Missing is accompanied by complementary art…
Kes
21 Sep 2011
Poignant adaptation of the grim Northern English fable
This sensitive stage version of Barry Hines’ award-winning book opens with utter chaos on stage. Tables lie on their sides, a sofa is upturned, and remnants of 1970s life are strewn amongst them. The central conceit of the adaptation is that a grown-up…
Tyrannosaur - Paddy Considine interview
21 Sep 2011
The star of Dead Man's Shoes discusses his directorial debut
There was a time when if a British actor got a bit of movie money, he (they were invariably male) would direct Henry V, A Bridge Too Far or The Night of the Hunter. But since Gary Oldman made Nil By Mouth in 1997, a very different generation of largely…
New York's The Rapture set for UK tour
21 Sep 2011
After a tumultuous period, the band are back on track with new album In the Grace of Your Love
‘It’s been a real up and down five years,’ says The Rapture’s drummer Vito Roccoforte on the line from his home in New York City. That’s something of an understatement. In the half-decade since their second full-length album Pieces of the People We…
Restaurant review: Calabash
21 Sep 2011
Pan-African dining with a unique atmosphere
A year or so ago Glasgow’s African dining options encompassed much of the continent’s varied cuisine, but a rash of closures left only Egyptian and Moroccan restaurants standing. Now the Calabash has filled the gap, offering traditional dishes from…
Director Stewart Laing on The Salon Project
21 Sep 2011
Immersive theatre project hopes to recreate the intellectual gatherings of late 19th century Paris
Show us the man or woman who isn’t even a little excited by the thought of dressing up and becoming someone else for the night, and we’ll show you a liar. Now best known as a director, but originally a designer, Untitled Projects’ director Stewart Laing…
Exposure - Connan Mockasin
21 Sep 2011
Erol Alkan's psychedelic protegé talks motivation and ideal album lengths
Originally from Hawkes Bay in New Zealand, Connan Mockasin has lived in London for the last five years, during which time he’s covered Michael Jackson, worked with Charlotte Gainsbourg, played with Crowded House (find him below alongside them and Johnny…
Sonia Sabri of Kathakbox - where Indian dance-meets-hip hop
21 Sep 2011
The choreographer on shared musical and rhythmic roots
Picture the scene – you meet somebody from a different country, you can’t speak their language, they can’t speak yours, but somehow you find a way to communicate. Well that’s exactly what Sonia Sabri has been doing for the past nine years, only for her…
