Issue 695

Political theatre festival Mayfesto to look at the August 2011 riots and Arab Spring

Programme features Chalk Farm, Springtime and No Time for Art

All the world’s a stage The annual Tron festival Mayfesto engages with political struggle from the Egyptian revolution to the riots in England, as Mark Brown discovers Two years ago the then recently appointed director of the Tron Theatre in Glasgow…

Jenni Fagan, author of Panopticon - interview

Debut features teenage girl trapped in a disturbing social experiment

Jenni Fagan takes on this issue’s debut author Q&A. Her first book features a teenage girl trapped in a disturbing social experiment. Give us five words to describe Panopticon? Gutsy, violent, philosophical, beautiful, sad. Name one author who should be…

Interview: Grimes - Electronica artist

The Canadian musician shares the intense creative process that spawned new album Visions

The stunning future pop masterpiece Visions by Claire Boucher aka Grimes is inspired by Enya, Japanese anime, TLC and Aphex Twin and samples Renaissance composer Palestrina. Her dream? To be Timbaland and Lydia Lunch simultaneously and leave a mark on…

Cornish visual artist Kurt Jackson discusses his history and working practices

Artbeat Kurt Jackson What was the first exhibition you went to see? Being the son of two artists meant that I was brought up visiting numerous exhibitions, both of their contemporaries and public shows. However, there was an exhibition in 1985 at…

NTS tackles phone-hacking with Enquirer

New site-specific work relies on verbatim transcripts from journalists

Into the pristine, empty top floor of the Hub, a media office block between the Clyde, Film City and the BBC, has come the clutter of a newspaper office. The mismatched chairs, the cardboard coffee trays, the piles of paper are all present and correct.

Jimeoin on his comedy heroes

Mitch Hedberg, Stewart Francis and Tommy Cooper are among the Irish comic's favourites

I’ve been doing comedy for 22 years now. Mostly in Australia but as of late thanks to McIntyre, Live at the Apollo and the Royal Variety Show, I’ve started to get an audience when I tour in the UK. But this is on the back of a lot of blood, sweat and…

Playwright Martin Travers on Roman Bridge

Travers' first full-length play was completed with the aid of the National Theatre of Scotland

The initial inspiration for Roman Bridge was the fact that rural Scotland is peppered with old stone bridges. Loads are called the Roman bridge but not many of them are. I like that, things seeming to be one thing and turning out to be something else.

New production Lady M re-examines Macbeth

Mary McClusky discusses The Scottish Play's continuing relevance to modern audiences

As artistic director of Scottish Youth Theatre and a frequent contributor to Oran Mor’s Classic Cuts season, Mary McCluskey is no stranger to slimming down a Shakespeare play to its essential components. And in the year of the World Shakespeare…

Cumbernauld Theatre to adapt Kidnapped

Robert Louis Stevenson's swashbuckling yarn offers 'competing visions about the future of Scotland'

Robert Louis Stevenson’s swashbuckling tale set in the aftermath of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 is being adapted for the stage by Cumbernauld Theatre this month. The coming-of-age adventure story is a journey through both time and terrain as young…

Edinburgh Art Festival 2012

Includes Susan Philipsz, Kevin Harman, Andrew Miller and Anthony Schrag

From repurposed warehouses to historic masterpieces, the Edinburgh Art Festival’s 2012 programme, to be unveiled this August, showcases international stars, world-renowned artists and local heroes. The all-new ‘Promenade Programme’ of publicly sited…

Central Station: Rosemary Head

Dundee-based sculptor of clay

Now based at Tin Roof Arts Collective in Dundee, Rosemary Head moved to Scotland from Derbyshire to attend Dundee University, where she studied art, philosophy and contemporary practices. Inspired by the interdisciplinary focus of this course, and…

Dundee's Ignite festival 2012 showcases theatre, contemporary art and dance

Featuring Jon McGregor, Scott Myles and Boris Gerrets

As if the launch of the Edinburgh Art Festival programme was not sufficient this issue, visual art innovations are going on right across the country. Internet megalith Google has launched a partnership with the National Galleries of Scotland to bring…

Guys or dolls? A spoiler-ridden top five list of cross-dressing cinema

Some of the best gender-swapping roles from film

A spoiler-ridden top five list of cross-dressing cinema featuring Albert Nobbs, The Crying Game, Tootsie, TransAmerica and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Sparks announce 2012 UK tour

US band perform stripped-down 'Two Hands, One Mouth' tour as duo

Following their sell-out gig in London’s Bush Hall in June, the due forever to be referenced as 'quirky' will commence their 'Two Hands, One Mouth' UK tour UK in October, with further dates soon to be announced. Probably best known for their 1974 hit…

The Silence of Bees

New play by the writer of Roadkill explores family tensions against a backdrop of bee-keeping

This moving site-specific piece written and directed by Stef Smith, award-winning playwright behind 2010’s human trafficking drama Roadkill, focuses on three generations of women who have dedicated their lives to bee-keeping and honey production.

Bloc Party announce 2012 UK tour

UK dates include Glasgow, Manchester and London

British band Bloc Party are set to play their first UK gigs in almost two years. In 2009 the band took some time out after their last tour – Bloctober – but came back onto the scene late 2011, and after signing with Frenchkiss Records in late March…

Sir Bruce Forsyth confirmed for Hop Farm

The entertainment legend joins Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel and Primal Scream at the music festival

Following the recent announcement that the mighty Bob Dylan would be headlining the Hop Farm Music Festival in June, it now seems one of Britain’s own legendary stars will also be in attendance. Alongside gargantuan figures of the music industry…

Edinburgh Hogmanay tickets on sale now

First batch of tickets released at last year's prices, with the chance to win your tickets for free

Friday 13 may be an unlucky date for some, but Edinburgh’s Hogmanay organisers have decided that this year it’s a 'Lucky 13', with tickets going on sale today for the New Year event. All tickets on sale today will be available at last year’s prices…

The Scottish Album of the Year Award, and why it's worth taking seriously

FOUND, Mogwai, Rustie and more longlisted for inaugural award

It isn’t the punchiest tagline to slap on your press release, but the Scottish Music Industry Association’s assertion that the recently-announced Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award will be ‘a qualitative arts prize for music which is discerning…

Scottish Album of the Year Award 2012 long list announced

Includes Remember Remember, Rustie and Conquering Animal Sound

The long list of nominations for the inaugaral The Scottish Album of the Year Awards has been announced, after 12 months of organisation and deliberation. The 20 albums chosen cover a wide range of genres and include many well-known bands - from…

Establishment of new brass band in Edinburgh city centre

Edinburgh Brass Band rekindles city's strong brass band tradition

A group of young musicians have established a new brass band in the heart of Edinburgh city centre, which will offer new opportunities for brass musicians in and around the capital. The Edinburgh Brass Band will hold it's first rehearsal on Friday…

This is Not A Film

A snapshot into the life of embattled Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi

(U) 75mins This is Not a Film shows us the world of acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi - currently under house arrest in Tehran and facing a 6 year prison sentence and 20 year ban on filmmaking - all for planning to make a film that was deemed…

The Cold Light of Day

Clumsy, by-the-numbers action thriller starring Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver

(12A) 93min Wall Street trader Will Shaw (Henry Cavill) is taking a break from his Stateside business worries to visit his family in Spain, despite terse relations with his father (Bruce Willis). Unfortunately, he barely has time to sip a sangria…

Downhill Downtown 2012 line-up announced

Fort William festival includes King Creosote, The Phantom Band and Admiral Fellow

As the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup takes place in Fort William this summer, music festival Downhill Downtown will bring its own brand of excitement to the town, with a host of Scottish musicians to keep the party going into the wee hours. Confirmed…

Watch the trailer for US indie American Animal

A dark comedy from writer/director/star Matt D'Elia

This one looks interesting... Matt D'Elia writes, directs and stars in the story of Jimmy, a terminally ill (and, from the evidence available, totally unhinged) young man who discovers his best friend and roommate James (Brendan Fletcher) is getting a…