Articles

Profile: Miranda July

Director's much-anticipated second film The Future

17 Oct 2011

July is an artist, writer and filmmaker from Berkeley, California. She is best-known for her critically acclaimed film Me and You and Everyone We Know, which won the Sundance Film Festival award for ‘originality of vision’ and the Camera d’Or prize at…

Interview: Stephen Merchant on his upcoming UK tour

Comic and writer of The Office returns to stand-up for Hello Ladies tour

21 Sep 2011

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.

Profile: DJ and producer Maya Jane Coles

The multi-talented tech-house queen visits Musika

21 Sep 2011

She’s been producing since she was in her mid-teens nearly a decade ago, but for young Londoner Maya Jane Coles the years since have provided a steep learning curve. Her real breakthrough track was last year’s ‘What They Say’ on Real Tone, a song which…

Scottish Storytelling Festival 2011

21st festival includes Homer’s Odyssey and contributions from Corsica, Cypus and Sardinia

20 Sep 2011

Reaching 21 is a landmark event for everyone, and the Scottish Storytelling Festival is no exception. From fairly humble beginnings at the former Netherbow Theatre, the Festival has grown to encompass not just Edinburgh and Glasgow, but Dundee…

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Larry David's groundbreaking sitcom stays at the top of its game for an eighth season

16 Sep 2011

After the high watermark of season seven’s Seinfeld-reunion storyline, Larry David brings us dragging and cringing back into his world of petty obsessions, chronic misunderstandings and friendships permanently teetering on the brink of abrasive…

The Debt

Sober-minded spy movie with Helen Mirren and Sam Worthington

14 Sep 2011

(15) 113min The Debt has languished on the distributor’s shelf for a year since screening in Toronto last September, betraying a lack of studio confidence in the commercial prospects for John Madden’s sober-minded remake of 2007 Israeli espionage…

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Lightning Fields and Photogenic Drawings

Breathtaking exploration of both photography and science

25 Aug 2011

To say that Sugimoto's contribution to the Edinburgh International Festival is striking would be an understatement. This is the first time these works have been displayed in Europe. The Japanese photography pioneer’s huge analogue 'Lightning Fields…

Vault Art Glasgow is an inventive new art market

Featuring artists Dawn Youll, Ellie Harrison and Risa Tsunegi

24 Aug 2011

Vault is a new art fair that will take place inside an art installation, set inside an arts space, that houses artists’ studios. Like a Russian doll the event playfully peals back the dominant layers of today’s art market, to reveal independent practice…

Restaurant review: Tanjore

Tamil restaurant's menu uplifted by fresh, appealing food

24 Aug 2011

Regional cuisine isn’t just the preserve of Tuscany or Andalucia, as Donald Reid finds in an engaging new Tamil restaurant in Edinburgh. It isn’t hard to find an Indian restaurant in Edinburgh or Glasgow, but it can be hard to find one with a…

Interview: Choreographer Joan Cleville

Scottish Dance Theatre choreographer shares his thoughts

19 Aug 2011

Who or what inspired you to dance? When I was 16, I attended a dance summer school in my community centre in Barcelona. I had no experience whatsoever but I met a British teacher who introduced me to dance and offered me a scholarship at her evening…

Colombiana

Photocopy action film features unconvincing super-soldier hit-woman

19 Aug 2011

(12A) 107min After her breakthrough role as the doe-eyed alien love-interest in James Cameron’s Avatar, and as a sexed-up Uhura in JJ Abrams’s Star Trek reboot, Zoe Saldana clearly has the international profile to get almost any picture made. Almost…

EIBF 2011: five book-to-screen adaptations

Featuring Joe Dunthorne, Val McDermid, Michel Faber, Alan Hollinghurst and Alexander McCall Smith

17 Aug 2011

Joe Dunthorne With his debut, Submarine, the Welsh poet and author captured the peculiar, rainy-day awkwardness of adolescence, and Richard Ayoade’s film, with Dunthorne’s assistance, did a fair old stab at bringing it further to life. 19 Aug…

Holly Walsh - The Hollycopter

A brave and bittersweet recollection

17 Aug 2011

When her fellow comics were padding about the Fringe in August 2010, Holly Walsh was clowning around on Worthing Pier. Unfortunately, her charity leap into the West Sussex sea resulted in a shocking injury that led to national media coverage for the…

The Qatsi trilogy at the 2011 Edinburgh International Festival

Godfrey Reggio's film trilogy with Philip Glass Ensemble live score is a masterpiece

15 Aug 2011

It’s been twenty-eight years since I saw Koyaanisqatsi, twenty-odd since I saw Powaqqatsi, and almost a decade since Naqoyqatsi. The first two I saw in empty art house cinemas on wet afternoons, I watched the third in a somnambulistic state from my sofa…

John Lynn

Affable comic story-telling with a neat turn of phrase

15 Aug 2011

No matter his subject material, which ranges in profundity from colonoscopies to making the perfect tomato and cheese sandwich, the roguish Lynn is able to mould it into a melodious, charming yarn. An affable, natural performer, he’ll send you away with…

Circolombia: Urban Intimo

Impressive circus showcase that leaves you wanting more

14 Aug 2011

This colourful, multi-faceted circus skills showcase opens with allusions to the impoverished backgrounds of its cast members. The master of ceremonies crawls into the space inside a waste bucket while screens at the back of the stage show images of the…

Andrew O’Neill

Alt comedian is slightly amusing but fails to deliver big laughs

14 Aug 2011

The alternative comedian ticks many boxes - vegan, transvestite, metalhead - but unfortunately doesn’t generate enough big laughs to check off ‘funny’. Random bursts of surrealism rely on their suddenness rather than content for humour, and while his…

Interview: Austin McCormick of New York dance outfit Company XIV

Dance piece Pinocchio: A Fantasy of Pleasures at Edinburgh Fringe

10 Aug 2011

Who or what inspired you to choreograph? I was inspired from an early age by the combination of mediums in Baroque performance (1600-1750); movement, scenic design, music, and costumes combine to give an audience a 360 degree experience at the theatre…

Beautiful Lies (De Vrais Mensonges)

9 Aug 2011

(12a) 104min Despite the efforts of a fine French cast – which includes Nathalie Baye, Sami Bouajila and Audrey Tautou – this visually unremarkable romantic comedy from writer/director Pierre Salvadori (Wild Target, Priceless), in which mother and…

Slavery to Star Trek

Autobiographical show taking in Martin Luther King and Malcolm X

8 Aug 2011

Andreea Kindryd has lived a fascinating life. She knew Martin Luther King, was friends with Malcolm X and worked on the original Star Trek series. She’s an engaging storyteller whose tale starts in the days of her great grandparents and slavery…

John Robertson - Blood & Charm: Disturbing Stories for Disturbing Bedtimes

Tightly-scripted surreal monologue full of fascinating true stories

8 Aug 2011

Australian Idol reject Robertson has constructed a tightly-scripted monologue full of fascinating true stories. He wraps his infectiously toothy grin around an autobiographical tale festooned with convoluted gags and dreamlike meanderings. The surreal…

Interview - Joe Bone from Bane

The noir shows that have stalked the Edinburgh Fringe for three years

4 Aug 2011

Joe Bone is a busy man. A few years back, he created the hard-boiled character Bruce Bane in the wake of a spate of old detective movies he'd been watching. Fast forward to 2011, and Bane has taken on a life of his own, spawning three stage shows, a…

Elizabeth Blackadder

Brilliant retrospective of work by one of Scotland’s major artists

3 Aug 2011

Elizabeth Blackadder is a Dame, a Royal Academician and arguably Scotland’s most popular female painter and printmaker. A major retrospective of her work at Scotland’s biggest gallery space was only ever going to draw sighs of resignation from art snobs…

Camille O’Sullivan: Feel

Sultry chanteuse brings new set of noir reworkings of classic songs to 2011 Edinburgh Festival

28 Jul 2011

Camille O’Sullivan is in agony. Two weeks before her show, Feel, opens, she has yet to finalise the set. ‘I am at the table surrounded with CDs, with stickers on the walls,’ she confesses from her home in Dublin. ‘I look around and see the songs I…

Ten Plagues - Mark Ravenhill musical inspired by London Plague of 1665

Marc Almond stars in anticipated 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show

27 Jul 2011

There’s something about apocalypse that has run through the human psyche, and a great deal of art, for over a century. Be it HG Wells’ Martian invasions or Ballard’s Great Droughts, these scenarios are often about moments where everyday life and our…

Project Y

Annual summer programme by contemporary youth dance company Y Dance

22 Jul 2011

From the Shetland Islands down to the Borders, the prospect of spending a summer with Project Y entices young dancers from all quarters of Scotland. Now in its sixth year, this unique programme, run by Y Dance, gives 16-21-year-olds a chance to work…

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2011 - Highlights

Brass bands on bikes among highlights of music extravaganza

8 Jul 2011

Have you ever wondered if you are a 'Bad Scot'? If soor plooms, Mel Gibson's take on William Wallace, dodgy recitals of Burns' poems and other things associated with stereotypical Jock culture make you recoil like a moggie from a festering puddle, you…

Lock Up Your Daughters Glasgow clubnight

Collective responsible for Glasgow’s only ‘network for creative queers’

29 Jun 2011

Take Lock Up Your Daughters (LUYD), the collective responsible for Glasgow’s only ‘network for creative queers’. They make zines, run music events and are now delving into LGBT-friendly filmmaking to add another string to their bow. It might make you…

Metronomy - Joe Mount interview

Metronomy hit paydirt in 2011 with a perfect summer album

28 Jun 2011

As if to prove a point about Metronomy’s newfound popularity, the first time The List tries to ring front man Joe Mount for a chat he’s engaged. ‘Sorry, did you just try and get through a second ago?’ he apologises, when the phone connects. ‘The…

Red Squirrel takes perfected beer ‘n’ burgers formula to west Edinburgh

Owners of Holyrood 9a open new premises on Lothian Road

28 Jun 2011

Red Squirrel 21 Lothian Road, West End, Edinburgh, EH1 2DJ 0131 229 9933, redsquirreledinburgh.co.uk Daiy 10am–late; food is served until 9pm. Ave. price two-course meal: £10 (lunch/dinner) What many folk discovered and liked about Old Town bar…

Timeline - Summer music festivals 2011 from Scotland and beyond

A chronological list of the best festivals in Scotland and beyond

27 May 2011

A chronological list of the most significant festivals happening in Scotland this summer, along with the biggest and best from the rest of the UK and beyond.

Neighbourhood watch: Newington, Edinburgh

A guide to the ares of the Scottish capital dominated by Edinburgh University

27 May 2011

What’s it like? Okay, we’ll get the inevitable out of the way first. There are a lot of students living in Newington. And while we know some of our readers aren’t that keen on students, their presence does imbue the area with a certain bounce and life…

Martin Boyce: Night terrace – lantern chains – forgotten seas – sky

Sculpture exhibition from the Glasgow-based Turner Prize nominee

27 May 2011

Triggered by fragments of colliding locations, a set of objects and textures in low light convey a dislocated landscape. Rust drips down like tears of blood from obsolete steel park benches. Table top surfaces and hanging wall panels are covered with…

Sounds of the Summer 2011 Spotify Playlist

The best summer listening, as chosen by List music critics

25 May 2011

The List: Sounds of the Summer Playlist 2011 You've bought your sausages, you've scrubbed your charred old BBQ back to shiny, chrome perfection, and you've invited your most lithe and beautiful friends around to your back garden. Everything's in…

Interview - Battles' Ian Williams on the story behind Gloss Drop

Ian Williams on life and making music after four members became three

24 May 2011

While deeply ensconced in the making of their second album, Battles singer/guitarist Tyondai Braxton announced his departure from the band last year. The news hit fans keenly anticipating the follow-up to 2007’s math rock masterpiece Mirrored hard; as…

Mother's Day

Rebecca De Mornay stars in rare example of a horror remake done well

23 May 2011

(18) 112min Following on the heels of bloodless remakes of cherished 1980s slasher flicks like The Stepfather and Prom Night, Mother’s Day is a nastier but more accomplished beast. This home invasion drama is a reboot of the 1980 Troma original, and…

Susana Baca - Afrodiaspora

20 May 2011

(Luaka Bop) Grammy award winning Afro-Peruvian singer Susana Baca was an early signing to Talking Head David Byrne’s Luaka Bop label and her latest, long-awaited album sees her explore rhythms of the African-Latin diaspora. Her attractive, clear…

Duran Duran's John Taylor on porridge, speeding and The Axis of Awesome

25 Apr 2011

The bassist with New Romantic heartbreakers Duran Duran is currently on a world tour, but stops to chat porridge, breaking the speed limit and … that time he had a crush on a relative.

Takeshi Miike's 13 Assassins strikes a balance between measured character development and violent brutality

25 Apr 2011

(15) 126min Prolific to the point of insanity, unpredictable and blatantly controversial, Takeshi Miike is not your average Japanese filmmaker. His notorious body of work which includes loads of straight to video fare, the Dead or Alive trilogy, Ichi…

Reel Festivals: Syria and Lebanon

Films from the Middle East at this year's events include 'Every Day is a Holiday' and 'Zabad'

13 Apr 2011

The team behind 2009’s Reel Afghanistan and Reel Iraq in 2010 have decided to focus their attention on Syria and Lebanon this year. For the uninitiated, the format is simple: in an attempt to bridge cultural understanding, the festival of films…

Top 5: Artists lending their talents to children's TV voice-overs

Featuring Derek Jacobi, Stephen Fry, Arthur Lowe and more

28 Mar 2011

Ah, the life of the serious actor. All that serious acting they have to do; all the line learning, the getting into character, the understanding and channelling of the character's emotional vulnerabilities and personality traits. Its enough to drive a…

Michel Faber interview - The Crimson Petal and the White

The author and his wife Eva Youren on the forthcoming BBC adaptation

24 Mar 2011

‘As consumers of culture, we’re both quite cold fish,’ says Michel Faber, linking eyes over the living room with his wife, Eva Youren. She’s stretched out on a windowseat a few feet away. She nods in agreement. ‘We tend to see what the author or…

Record Store Day 2011: Saturday 16 April

Monorail, Rubadub, Avalanche, Underground Solu'shn and Coda join the celebrations

24 Mar 2011

We’re not going to argue with Ozzy Osbourne. ‘As official ambassador for Record Store Day 2011, I now have the power to command you to attend record stores on April 16th. Be there!’ he orders. The List does not need telling twice. Far be it from us…

Moon Duo - Mazes

Psych-rock romance from Sanae Yamada and Wooden Shjipper Ripley Johnson

21 Mar 2011

(Souterrain Transmissions) It transpires that psychedelic rock and romance make for intoxicating bedfellows. This mesmeric debut full-length album from Wooden Shjips axe-master Ripley Johnson and his inamorata, Sanae Yamada, is heady with cosmic…

Blood Brothers – review

X Factor alumnus Niki Evans a revelation in Willy Russell favourite

17 Mar 2011

Willy Russell’s long-running and popular musical about class, superstition and the nature/nurture debate has featured a host of sparkling chanteuses in the central role of Mrs Johnstone, notably Barbara Dixon, Carole King and four of the Nolan sisters.

Keeping it in house: The best takeaway and home delivery in Glasgow and Edinburgh

We are looking for top tips and recommendations from your area

15 Mar 2011

We at The List are looking out for your top tips and recommendations on takeaway and home delivery options in Glasgow and Edinburgh for a special feature for both the magazine and online on 25 May. Let us know your top local tips for take-out Indian…

Film You Instead shot at music festival - David Mackenzie interview

Hallam Foe and Young Adam director on making a film at T in the Park

18 Feb 2011

David Mackenzie, director of Hallam Foe and Young Adam, discusses his new movie You Instead, a rock'n'roll romcom that aims to capture the excitement of T in the Park.

The Rite - Demonic possession thriller bogged down by script

Anthony Hopkins, Rutger Hauer and Colin O'Donoghue fail to escape The Exorcist's shadow

18 Feb 2011

(15) 113min ‘What did you expect, spinning heads and pea-soup?’ asks Vatican-approved exorcist Father Lucas Trevant (Anthony Hopkins) in Mikael Håfström’s demonic possession thriller, which initially offers a sober take on a horror genre that usually…

Getting around Edinburgh by bus, bike and on foot

The hilly streets of Scotland's compact capital are easy to navigate

16 Feb 2011

Edinburgh’s volcanic terrain means you’re never far from a steep hill, and while getting around the city centre is simple on foot or by bike, taking a bus tour is an easy way to see the sights, especially if your time is limited. The city’s main tour…

Why the Water of Leith is one of Edinburgh's best kept secrets

The 12-mile stretch of walkway through the heart of the Scottish capital

16 Feb 2011

Take a stroll along the Water of Leith and you’ll feel as if someone is watching you. That’s because they are. It’s not the occasional posse of feral youths but, rather, naked men standing knee-deep in the water, staring. Before you dial 999, however…

Never Let Me Go is an inspiring call to catch love while you can

Kazuo Ishiguro adaptation akin to science fiction in bleak tone and existential theme

2 Feb 2011

(12A) 103min The students of Hailsham boarding school are special: set apart from normal society, they are being prepared for an unspecified purpose. No further details are apparent, to them or us, as this story begins, and to divulge more would take…

F

British ‘hoody horror’ thriller in which a group of teachers defend themselves from schoolkids

12 Jan 2011

(18) 78min F is the latest in a line of peculiarly British ‘hoody horror’ films that also include Eden Lake and Heartless. English writer/director Johannes Roberts’ effort is the best yet thanks to his smart script, crisp direction and a fine…

Die Antwoord - SWG3, Glasgow, 12 Nov 2010

Doing for post-apartheid South African underclass what punk did for UK guttersnipes

22 Nov 2010

With their fresh new Zef style, South African rap-rave crew Die Antwoord performed a high energy, jam-packed line up of catchy rap, indecent exposure and 'next-level-beats' from their debut album $O$. A crowd of expat South Africans, indie kids and…

Exposure: Randolph's Leap

New Glasgow band are a melting pot of folk, indie, pop and traditional

18 Nov 2010

With six members and six mouths, it’s a surprise that the arrival of Randolph’s Leap on the cultural horizon hasn’t been shouted about already. A melting pot of folk, indie, pop and traditional tunes, a rollcall of the Glasgow band and their respective…

Electro-hip hop insurgents Ratatat set for UK tour

‘Mogwai taught us how to drink beer like a professional rock stars’

16 Nov 2010

‘Mogwai taught us how to drink beer like a professional rock stars,’ says Ratatat’s synth‘n’bass extraordinaire Evan Mast. ‘We’d be lost without them.’ He speaks of a Japanese tour that united the rousing twain back in 2006: Mogwai the post-rock…

Subodh Gupta: Take off your shoes and wash your hands

Collection of splendid things by Indian art superstar explores changing cultural life of India

3 Nov 2010

Coinciding with the handover of the Commonwealth Games from Delhi to Glasgow, Tramway is showcasing a magpie collection of splendid shiny things by Indian art superstar Subodh Gupta. Take off your shoes and wash your hands consists of four works.

Souad Massi - Ô Houria (Liberty)

1 Nov 2010

(Wrasse Records) If people were not so hung up on language Souad Massi, who sings in Arabic, French and English would be a superstar. From ‘Everything Remains To Be Done’, a stunning duo with Francis Cabrel with Speed Caravan’s Mehdi Habbad cracking…

Robbie Williams rejoins Take That for 2011 tour

Original line-up set for dates in Manchester, Cardiff, Dublin, Glasgow, Birmingham and London

26 Oct 2010

Take That have announced that they are to embark on a European tour in 2011, and that formerly estranged member Robbie Williams will be rejoining the band for these live dates.

Human Don’t Be Angry - guitar-based project from ex-Arab Strap mainman

Malcolm Middleton's new project brings out his sensible side

21 Oct 2010

‘I set out with three unbreakable rules,’ states alt.pop saviour Malcolm Middleton. He’s referring to his brand-new solo endeavour Human Don’t Be Angry. ‘Rule one: don’t do interviews. Rule two: act like you know what you’re doing. Rule three: no beer…

Usher Hall marks reopening with Houston Symphony Orchestra performing Holst’s Planets Suite

Improvements to Edinburgh venue make it among 'world’s best concert halls'

6 Oct 2010

When some plaster fell from the ceiling of Scotland’s grande dame of concert halls over 14 years ago, who’d have known it was the start of major redevelopment which has just reached completion and is celebrated in style on 10.10.10? Tackled in two…

Adam Pierce's Mice Parade bring post rock inventiveness to Glasgow

New York multi-instrumentalist takes live band on UK tour

6 Oct 2010

Adam Pierce is the Richard Whiteley of rock. The New Yorker is an anagram buff (Mice Parade, see?) who moonlights with palindromic musicians (múm) and bedecks his work with cryptic clues (his gladdening troupe’s new album is entitled What It Means To Be…

Donkeys

6 Oct 2010

(15) 76min The second film to come out of the three-part Scottish-Danish co-production project The Advance Party is a very different beast from the first. By contrast to Andrea Arnold’s disturbing thriller Red Road, Donkeys is a black comedy also set…

Rebecca Hunt's Mr Chartwell examines nature of depression

Winston Churchill's 'black dog' basis for debut novel

23 Sep 2010

The idea of the ‘black dog’ as representing a cloying cloud of depression will forever be associated with Winston Churchill. But what if that dog had a name, could walk on two paws, wore a suit and was able to chat with his victims with a healthy dose…

Local Scottish artisan chocolatiers

Cocoa Black, The Chocolate Tree, Oban Chocolate Co and more

17 Sep 2010

Cocoa beans may not grow in Scotland, but the last decade has seen small, artisan chocolate makers spring up across the country. In this survey we take a particular look at examples of local influences in the ranges on offer.

Fred Berkmiller on Gartmorn Farm chicken

The Larder: Chef's Choice

17 Sep 2010

It’s not everyday a Frenchman will admit that non-Gallic produce rivals their own. Fred Berkmiller, of Edinburgh’s L’Escargot chain, on why Scottish Gartmorn chicken cuts it as an alternative to the famous authenticated Poularde de Bresse.

I Was There: The Mahabharata

The List's 25th Birthday Special

16 Sep 2010

Peter Brook brings his nine-hour epic, The Mahabharata, to the Tramway, 13 Apr 1988. By theatre critic Steve Cramer.

Bruce Haack - Farad (The Electric Voice)

15 Sep 2010

(Stones Throw) Listening to the bizarre, bewitching and above all unique work of ‘lost’ electronic music pioneer Bruce Haack, it’s tempting to trace his influence through Cabaret Voltaire, Brian Eno, Kraftwerk and any number of psychedelic…

Tinie Tempah - Disc-Overy

15 Sep 2010

(Parlophone) South London has just coughed up another gifted young MC in the form of Patrick Ogwugu aka 'Talk of 2010' Tinie Tempah. And Rascal needs to watch his back, Disc-Overy is a fiery first effort from the 21-year-old, packed full of…

Music Guide 2010

What's big and what's coming up

10 Sep 2010

Niki Boyle and Camilla Pia reveal Scotland’s amazing music scene and the gigs worth getting in line for Music

Davy Henderson - three albums that bridge the pop/art matrix

The Sexual Objects - Cucumber, The Nectarine No. 9 - Saint Jack, Win - Freaky Trigger

7 Sep 2010

The Sexual Objects - Cucumber (Aktion und Spass) The Nectarine No. 9 - Saint Jack (We Can Still Picnic) Win - Freaky Trigger (RPM) From Fire Engines onwards, Davy Henderson has bridged the pop/art matrix with singularly maverick aplomb. The…

In The Night Garden - live in Glasgow

Toddlers TV favourite come to Glasgow Green

7 Sep 2010

Walking past Glasgow Green over the next few weeks, you’d be forgiven for thinking that aliens had landed. In fact, it’s a far more innocuous gang of visitors from CBeebies’ land of charm, the Night Garden. Taking place in a stunning, purpose-built…

Barbershopera: Apocalypse No!

A superb show full of dazzling vocals

7 Sep 2010

In a hilariously funny show - where Satan’s horsemen adopt a jaded primary school teacher as their leader to incite the end of the world - the ‘three guys and a girl’ of Barbershopera tell the tale of Beth, a teacher, who is looking for the venue of one…

Chess: The Musical

1 Sep 2010

A love triangle set amid the kings, queens and pawns of an international chess tournament in a cold war setting provides for much intrigue in the musical which gave us the hit song, ‘I Know Him So Well’. Directed by Craig Revel Horwood of Strictly Come…

'Mainly, I’m proud that I don’t have to have a proper job' - David Shrigley interview

The Glasgow-based artist discusses his work

24 Aug 2010

'I suppose the voice I speak with in my work is someone who doesn’t have a sound grasp on all the realities of life. It’s someone who thinks all the really unimportant things are massively important and equally, pays no attention to massively important…

Ava Vidal

Short-lived comedy lessons

23 Aug 2010

When is a Fringe hour not a Fringe hour? When it’s Ava Vidal clocking off at just under 40 minutes. Which was a shame (for paying punters and the comic herself) as she was busy delivering a captivating story about her recent break-up from a ‘bad man…

Top 5 kids shows at Edinburgh Book Festival 2010

The festival’s last lap features some iconic characters, authors and places

22 Aug 2010

Julia Donaldson Along with Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler, JD’s first event contains an impressive amount of songs, stories and drawings, while event number two is a solo affair in which she will regale the nippers and their guardians with a tale…

Tropeiro - Restaurant review

19 Aug 2010

If you despair at the thought of summer vanishing without having cracked open a bag of charcoal, don’t. Glasgow’s latest concept diner, Tropeiro, has arrived to cheer us up with an all-you-can-eat-in-your-seat barbecue buffet. Thanks to a traffic-light…

Limp Bizkit set for Glasgow show

Nu-metal overlords on UK tour

14 Aug 2010

Fred Durst and co have been pretty quiet since their last release, 2005's The Unquestionable Truth, Part 1. Now they’re back, and have a new album Gold Cobra, due soon. Fans can check www.limpbizkit.com for previews, as Mr Durst has been known to let…

Pedestrian

Fishy tale from an engaging performer

12 Aug 2010

Tom Wainwright’s monologue, which he performs with simple but effective animation creates a man haunted by the surreal vision of a giant goldfish. Said Piscean apparition appears in a recurrent dream, while its narrator walks through the shopping…

I Know You Know

Robert Carlyle stars in working-class tale director of Human Traffic

12 Aug 2010

(15) 81min (Network) Despite garnering acclaim for his 1999 clubber comedy Human Traffic, writer/director Justin Kerrigan hasn’t made a movie since. Making the decade-long wait worthwhile, the Cardiff-based writer-director returns with a moving and…

Of People and Not Things

An examination of break-up as apocalypse

11 Aug 2010

Going into this show without knowing anything about it can be disorientating: the play is set in the aftermath of a world-destroying event (a couple breaking up), although this is only alluded to obliquely. It’s longer than the average Fringe show and…

Poland 3 Iran 2

Merhdad and Chris share the political football

9 Aug 2010

Iran’s narrow defeat at the hands of Poland in the 1978 World Cup serves more as punctuation than as the main text of this lecture-cum-barroom shaggy dog story. Lecture because its main visual element is a slideshow; barroom tale because it’s told in a…

Jessica Ransom

What would you do with a million?

9 Aug 2010

The bunker that is the Pleasance Cellar has been a launch-pad for several notable Fringe careers. Rhod Gilbert and Jason Manford both performed their debut solo shows in there and last year Jonny Sweet swept to Best Newcomer glory on that stage. Mind…

Doon MacKichan - Primadoona

Turning tragedy into comedy

8 Aug 2010

Life has heaped a lot of lemons on Doon MacKichan: death, divorce, illness, a career in voiceovers. It’s given her some treats as well, to be fair: children, two Emmys, the ability to Flamenco dance. The accomplished comedy writer and performer turns…

Detroit's electronic prodigy Kyle Hall

The unconfined artist gets ready to guest at Jelly Roll Soul

6 Aug 2010

‘I first got into electronic music at the age of 11,’ says Kyle Hall, the latest bright hope to emerge from the city of Detroit’s illustrious music scene. ‘I’d go over to my Uncle Ray’s crib and he’d show me his records and how to mix with them. I’d…

Pantha du Prince at Sneaky Pete's and Oran Mor

Minimal techno joins dots between alpine forest and the dancefloor

5 Aug 2010

‘A girl once crawled onstage behind me, and was constantly holding my trouser,’ shudders Germany’s Hendrik Weber, alias techno forager Pantha du Prince. What fate befell this tactile fan? ‘I explained it would be better for her to leave because I could…

Calendar Girls returns to Glasgow Theatre Royal

Elaine C Smith leads WI charity nude photo cast

5 Aug 2010

The show about the Women’s Institute fundraisers who stripped for a (tasteful) nude calendar returns with a cast headed by Elaine C Smith and featuring such well-kent faces as Denise Black, Jean Boht, Jennifer Ellison, Julia Hills, Rachel Lumberg, Ruth…

Cento Cose marks multimedia dance debut for physical theatre collective

Award-winning look at day-to-day life with Aphex Twin score

3 Aug 2010

Italian physical theatre collective Compagnia della Quarta’s multimedia Fringe debut is based on the idea that there are ‘cento cose’ (‘one hundred things’ in Italian) that contemporary life requires us to do each working day. ‘We started with “we do…

Step Up 3D

Other film releases, August 2010

3 Aug 2010

A group of underground street dancers from New York City team up with freshman Moose (Adam G Sevani) and find themselves pitted against the world’s best hip hop dancers in a life-changing showdown. Silly but euphoric and enjoyable street dance flick. If…

William Wegman and Edward Weston mark City Art Centre reopening

EAF presents first major Scottish show from two great photographers

27 Jul 2010

Celebrating the reopening of the City Art Centre after a period of refurbishment are two photographic exhibitions by American artists: Edward Weston, one of the great classical photographers of the 20th century, and the contemporary photographer William…

Work by photographer Chris Close returns to 2010 Edinburgh Book Festival

Portraits of visiting authors appear in Charlotte Square for second year

21 Jul 2010

Chris Close, the photographer behind last year's successful 'almost live' photography display at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, is set to return to Charlotte Square this year with a new series of portraits of visiting authors. Visiting…

Diciembre finds dark humour in Chile's Pinochet years

Teatro en el Blanco go back to basics with politically engaging EIF production

16 Jul 2010

The Pinochet years continue to leave a deep scar on the Chilean psyche. Playwright Guillermo Calderón tells Mark Fisher why Diciembre tackles some dark memories but still finds humour in his nation’s tortured past

T in the Park 2010: Black Keys, Frightened Rabbit and Eminem

T in the Park blog

11 Jul 2010

Saturday 10th July For the obsessive music fan, it’s one of the eternal frustrations of festivals that sometimes the bands you love don’t get the attention they deserve. This was very much the case with Broken Social Scene, who took to the stage at…

Current trends in tattoo art

7 Jul 2010

And you thought tattoos were an expression of individuality? Celebrity copycat body art is more popular than ever, with images of Rihanna and Cheryl Cole currently the most frequently ripped from the gossip mags and taken to the tattoo…

Horn of Africa - Restaurant review

7 Jul 2010

The Horn of Africa – named, not after the vuvuzela, but Somalia’s coastline – has been set up to provide low-cost, healthy and familiar food to the growing Somali population in Glasgow. There is not yet a menu so you take pot luck and eat what’s…

Five pop songs influenced by world music

7 Jul 2010

Arabic Gorillaz – ‘White Flag’ Damon Albarn has long foraged global sounds – his Chinese opera, his Malian album – but ‘White Flag’ was revelatory. Betwixt cameos from Kano and Bashy blazed the real stars of Plastic Beach: the Lebanese National…

Magic Cinema: Croupier, Smokin’ Aces, House of Games and The Prestige

7 Jul 2010

It’s a kind of magic. The Edinburgh International Magic Festival and Filmhouse have joined forces to present a short season of classic magic movies. The strong, not too obvious quartet is Croupier, Smokin’ Aces, House of Games and The Prestige. Ticket…

Spark, Amani and Vanishing Willows among recent food & drink openings

24 Jun 2010

Independent write-ups on all the restaurants worth knowing about in Edinburgh and Glasgow are available on our online Eating & Drinking Guide at list.co.uk/food-and-drink.

The Pineapple Chunks head up ECA Annual Summer Revel

10 Jun 2010

If ever there was a party in Edinburgh’s calendar that deserves the term legendary, the Revel is it. Everyone knows about Hogmanay, the Festival and even Beltane, but Edinburgh College of Art’s traditional end of term blowout tends to be both truly…

Oasis - Time Flies

10 Jun 2010

(Big Brother) A roughly chronological greatest hits, with the earlier and latter days of Oasis’ career divided across two CDs. Throw away forgettable CD two and you can add another star.