Preview

5 things you might not know about Trigger Happy TV's Dom Joly

14 Apr 2011

1 Born in Beirut in 1968, Joly has claimed to have attended the same school as some kid called bin Laden. He subsequently worked for the European Commission, as a researcher and producer on political programmes across the main UK channels before getting…

Choreographer Richard Alston takes part in our Q&A ahead of his appearance at Glasgow's Theatre Royal

13 Apr 2011

Richard Alston Dance Company will be in Glasgow this May, performing Alston's 1990 work Rough Cut alongside the Hoagy Carmichael-inspired Shuffle it Right and the Prokofiev-inspired Out of the Strong. He answers some of our questions on his work.

Jon Ronson talks psychopathy and telepathy with Professor Richard Wiseman

Event at Edinburgh International Science Festival

15 Mar 2011

In the past, Jon Ronson has written and filmed ordinary people doing extraordinary things, extraordinary folk doing scary things and scary individuals attempting to prove just how ordinary they are. The likes of David Icke (former Coventry goalie who…

French electro-house DJ Yuksek set for Death Disco date

In-demand remixer for Lady Gaga, Phoenix, Gorillaz and Shitdisco on DJ tour

11 Jan 2011

French electro-house DJ Yuksek didn’t take the most obvious route into his current career. ‘I studied piano at the French conservatoire for ten years,’ he says, ‘and after that I played bass and sang vocals in a few bands. Then I started going to clubs…

Glasgow psych-rock night Eyes Wide Open set for successful 2011

Sixth year strong for freakbeat night at Blackfriars

11 Jan 2011

‘This night will be our New Year celebration take two,’ says Holly Calder, promoter of Glasgow psych-rock-freakbeat night Eyes Wide Open. ‘Our friends are going to be scattered around all over at Hogmanay, so this will be a nice way to bring everyone…

Glasgow Popfest brings together The Felt Tips, The Orchids and The Power Cut Choir

Must-See acts at Glasgow's new festival

24 Nov 2010

1. The Power Cut Choir. Welcome to Glasgow’s newest music festival, which presents a bunch of bands and DJs in the indie-pop, post-punk and twisted folk veins over three days and two venues. There’s way too much to go into here, so instead The List…

Le Tigre offshoot MEN on UK tour

Two thirds of femme-pop-punk trio take new project on road

22 Oct 2010

Originally formed in 2007 as a DJing side project by JD Samson and Johanna Fateman, two thirds of fiercely energetic femme-pop-punk trio Le Tigre, MEN has mutated into a proper full-time project. However, Fateman has semi-retired from the group to start…

Keith Farnan hits Glasgow after storming Fringe

24 Aug 2010

With a stormingly successful Fringe in his backsack, the Irish fella is trying his hand at the Glasgow game with a weekend at the freshly revamped Jongleurs. Expect intelligent comedy with an eye always on the killer punchline. Jongleurs, Glasgow…

Edinburgh Book Fringe - Elaine Henry interview

The owner of Word Power Books answers five questions

12 Aug 2010

Why did you set up the Edinburgh Book Fringe in the first place? To give local writers, small publishers and writers outwith the mainstream the sort of voice or platform they wouldn’t get access to during the festival period. Can you describe the…

Show Obsession wins Bribe of the Week

Gemma Leader and David Kelly win us over with some chocolate-covered shortbread

12 Aug 2010

This tasty heart-shaped, chocolate-covered shortbread was sent in by David Kelly and Gemma Leader, in exchange for a cheeky mention of their show, Obsession. ‘It’s about discovering what we are truly obsessed with,’ says Leader. ‘We’re probably all…

Andrew O'Hagan's novel looks set to be turned into a feature film

The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, And of His Friend Marilyn Monroe

5 Aug 2010

The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, And of His Friend Marilyn Monroe is not your run-of-the-mill contemporary novel, and not just because the eponymous first-person narrator is an aristocratic Maltese terrier with Trotskyist tendencies, owned by the…

Andi Osho bring Fringe debut Afroblighty to Edinburgh

Multi-talented comedian has fingers in many pies

29 Jul 2010

We’re hoping that Andi Osho isn’t going to be spotted twiddling her thumbs on the Royal Mile as she’s only performing the one show at the Fringe. Outside of the festival she has her fingers poked in more pie varieties than a Greggs bake. Osho’s a…

Ugly Truths: The Dry Land

2 Jun 2010

‘I’m not a professional expert in post-traumatic stress disorder,’ says Ugly Betty star America Ferrera. On the strength of the popular fashion-industry sitcom, few would have any expectations that the LA-born actress would have much flair for examining…

Die Laughing: Bored To Death

2 Jun 2010

Jonathan Ames is a writer of books, graphic novels, movie scripts and TV shows. He’s just finished a HBO comedy series called Bored To Death which follows a fictional writer and magazine journalist who, finding himself dumped by his girlfriend and…

Combat Models: Jackboots on Whitehall

2 Jun 2010

If you only see one puppet-based, all-star World War II comedy epic at this year’s EIFF, it surely has to be Jackboots on Whitehall, the long-gestated project of the McHenry brothers, Ed and Rory. Set in an alternative universe where Nazis have…

Top 5: Africa in Motion

Five films not to miss at this year's festival

16 Oct 2009

My Secret Sky Opening the fourth edition of the Africa in Motion film festival is the UK premiere of this South African film, the feature debut of filmmaker Madoda Ncayiyana. This magical realist tale of Zulu rugs, craft competitions and the need to…

Interview: Wes Anderson

The director talks about adapting Fantastic Mr. Fox for the big screen

15 Oct 2009

Texan born director Wes Anderson is renowned for making highly detailed and idiosyncratic films populated with slightly neurotic, child-like characters (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited). Seeing him in person, you realise that he wouldn’t…

Simon Amstell

After a successful Fringe stint, the neurotic comedian returns

15 Oct 2009

Simon Amstell is gifted. Gifted with the sort of comedy head-start that many aspiring stand-ups would swap vital organs for, that is. As a Jewish, gay, hapless, neurotic, slender whippet of a thing, with a tendency to stalk famous people he fancies, his…

5 Things You Might Not Know About: Alistair McGowan

2 Oct 2009

1. McGowan first started impersonating people at school. During an early stage appearance in West Side Story, he went marginally off-script to mimic some of his teachers. 2. He studied English at the University of Leeds, an establishment which has…

Tim Minchin: Ready For This?

The Australian musical comedian returns to Scotland

1 Oct 2009

I’ve interviewed Tim Minchin several times, but never in the surprisingly big, hairy and hungover flesh before. ‘I’m totally comfortable on stage but I like to appear discomforted and vulnerable because it works with my material. I’m surprised how…

Daliso Chaponda

The Malawian born comedian offers cultural ponderings in Glasgow

17 Sep 2009

After snuffling around a myriad of shows on the Fringe this year, witnessing Daliso Chaponda was like finding a truffle. One of the few acts playing The Lot on Grassmarket, his hour, Westerners Calm Down: An African’s Perspective, was an intelligent…

Unicorn Kid and Young Fathers

The man with the horn

7 Aug 2009

He may wear a lion hat and be named after a fantasy creature, but with the Pet Shop Boys, Calvin Harris and a belting set at T on his side, Unicorn Kid is set to make myth a reality. The Lion and the Unicorn have long been heralded as hostile beasts.

Magnus Mills

7 Aug 2009

Magnus Mills A London cabbie once won Mastermind, so why on earth can’t a bus driver write novels? The subtle tales of working life such as The Restraint of Beasts and All Quiet on the Orient Express have earned Magnus Mills great acclaim and his…