Theatre

Glasgay! theatre round-up, including Harold and Maude, All That Promise and Dustin Lance Black's 8

Already recognised as a festival not afraid of dealing with issues of sexuality in a challenging and unconventional manner, this year’s Glasgay! comes with its own political backdrop – the ongoing debate between the Scottish government and the Catholic…

The Authorised Kate Bane

Comic exploration of family life by acclaimed playwright Ella Hickson

'Write what you know' is the standard advice given to aspiring dramatists. But how do you edit your own life to make it fit for dramatic purpose? Up-and-coming playwright Ella Hickson's new piece for Grid Iron tackles this dilemma head-on, focusing on…

A guide to children's theatre companies in Scotland

Organisations in Scotland putting on shows for and by young people

One of Scottish theatre’s great success stories is the number of exceptional children’s companies to have emerged over the last 20 years. Catherine Wheels, Frozen Charlotte, Licketyspit, the Puppet Lab, Starcatchers, TAG, Visible Fictions and Wee…

Ten collaborative music, theatre and film projects from Scotland

Including Speed of Light, Pass the Spoon and Whatever Gets You Through the Night

Pass the Spoon. It sounded like an unlikely dish, with ingredients including off-beat artist David Shrigley (who wrote the libreto), modernist composer David Fennessy and Magnetic North director Nicholas Bone working with the Red Note Ensemble, but when…

Interview: Christopher Hampson - artistic director of Scottish Ballet

New artistic director ushers in a new era for the award-winning company

A stunning home in Glasgow’s Tramway, a new set of international dancers and a re-vitalised company – that’s what Ashley Page left behind when he bid farewell to Scottish Ballet after ten years as artistic director. His time at the company brought about…

The Arches: 21 defining moments

The cutting edge venue turns 21 this year - here are some of the stand-out moments in its history

1. Cafe Loco October 1991 First set up as an experiment by Arches founder Andy Arnold to bring theatre to clubbers, Cafe Loco showcased numerous emerging and experimental performers including early sightings of performance company Mischief La…

Actor William Troughton on Graham Linehan's The Ladykillers

The stage adaptation of the Ealing comedy classic also stars Shaun Williamson and Clive Mantle

Fans of The Ladykillers may have been sceptical when Graham Linehan’s stage adaptation of the film premiered last year. But the Father Ted creator’s version of the classic Ealing comedy – in which a gang of petty criminals occupy an old lady’s house as…

Kids' show Little Ulla aims to bring the festive spirit to under 5s

The show features narrative, puppetry, music and song, as well as actors who know how to have fun

With panto gags way over the head of your average five-year-old, early years Christmas shows have an important job to do. Happily, one of last year’s most successful festive offerings is back out on tour. The tale of a mountain goat who works as the…

Daniel Sloss - My journey through comedy so far

22-year-old comedian on comedy mums, nurturing venues and Frankie Boyle

The Scottish comedy scene is now way bigger from when I started and there are more open spots than ever before. In Scotland you have the Stand Comedy Clubs, which are easily in the top five comedy clubs in the world. The waiting list to do open spots…

A guide to Scotland's cabaret, circus, magic and puppetry festivals and organisations

Groups and festivals working in live art, including Conflux, Club Noir, Manipulate and Surge

Cabaret artiste The neo-burlesque scene has gone mainstream thanks in no small part to the efforts of Club Noir, which runs events all over the country from its base at the O2 Academy in Glasgow. Claiming a place in Guinness World Records for being…

A guide to comedy venues in Scotland

Bars, clubs and venues hosting comedy nights in Glasgow, Edinburgh and beyond

You can’t really talk about stand-up comedy in Scotland without mentioning the Stand Comedy Club, a venue that attracts top touring comics, household names trying out new material and is a platform for young comics to get their big break with Red…

Theatre and live performance spaces in Scotland

Profiles of Citizens, Dundee Rep, Traverse, Eden Court Theatre and more

The Arches. Subterranean vaults beneath Glasgow’s Central Station where you’ll catch a new generation of theatremakers, live artists and musicians following in the tracks of Nic Green, Kieran Hurley and Rob Drummond. Citizens Artistic director…

Profile: Scottish Opera - Scotland’s national opera company

Facts and statistics on Scottish Opera as it celebrates its 50th anniversary

Founded in 1962 by Sir Alexander Gibson, Scotland’s national opera company celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2012/13. Not without its dramas off-stage as well as on-stage over the years, Scottish Opera is one of five national performing companies that…

The Artist Man and the Mother Woman

Morna Pearson's Doric-infused play mixes domestic comedy, double-entendres and tabloid dénouement

At first glance this new play from Elgin-born dramatist Morna Pearson resembles a treatment for a grotesque sitcom. Geoffrey Buncher (Garry Collins) alternates between his job as an art teacher and a claustrophobic home-life with his mother, Edie (Anne…

Glasgow Girls

Dynamic musical tribute to power of friendship and community that packs a fearless political punch

There’s a scene in this lively new National Theatre of Scotland-produced musical in which the youthful heroines sing of their deep affection for Glasgow, for all its rough edges. The show itself inspires a similar reaction: there’s the odd cheesy moment…

Five dance companies in Scotland

Smallpetitklein, Plan B, David Hughes, Janis Claxton and Scottish Dance Theatre

Scottish Dance Theatre. Our national contemporary dance company consistently produces diverse work that challenges and entertains. Look out for changes with new artistic director Fleur Darkin. Smallpetitklein. Led by choreographer Thomas Small, this…

Factfile: National Theatre of Scotland

A profile of Scotland's national theatre company

What is it? Launched in 2006, the NTS aims to put all theatrical activity in Scotland, from community drama to mainstage classics, on a national footing. What’s the big deal? Billing itself as a ‘theatre without walls’, the NTS has no building of its…

A guide to the best upcoming Scottish theatre talent

The brightest and most multitalented young stage talents in Scotland

Joe Douglas After graduating in 2006 with a degree in theatre directing, Douglas got an early break when he became a trainee director in residence with the National Theatre of Scotland. His production of Dennis Kelly’s children’s show Our Teacher’s a…

American Idiot

Bold, flashy adaptation of Green Day's concept album

American Idiot is a bit of a hard sell, too clean cut for punk fans, too scuzzy for lovers of musicals. Which is a shame as it brings a freshness to the form that is a world away from other jukebox musicals such as Mamma Mia! and We Will Rock You. It’s…

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Bold reimagining of the Bard's heady comedy from director Matthew Lenton

Vanishing Point artistic director Matthew Lenton has come up with a wonderfully cheeky conceit for his first ever Shakespeare production, zeroing in on Titania's reference to a world that 'now knows not which is which' to relocate the Bard's heady…

Programmes, events and initiatives for Scots young and old, as part of the Year of Creative Scotland

The Year of Creative Scotland First in a Lifetime funding programme touches the lives of the young and old across the country. In Aberdeen, Citymoves' Dance-a-maz’in, an interactive dance maze, will afford young people and their families an exciting…

New artistic director for National Theatre of Scotland announced

Laurie Sansom of Northampton's Royal and Derngate will replace Vicky Featherstone in March

Following much speculation and anticipation, the new artistic director of the National Theatre of Scotland has been announced. Laurie Sansom will succeed Vicky Featherstone when she leaves in December to take up her new role at the Royal Court Theatre…

Cora Bisset on Glasgow Girls: the Musical

The production tells the true story of three Drumchapel teenagers taking on the immigration system

The dramatic story of the 21st century Glasgow Girls, the teenagers from Drumchapel who, in 2005, banded together to take on the immigration system when one of their friends was threatened with deportation, is an obvious one for the stage. Cora Bissett…

Ulysses

Captivating stage adaptation of Joyce's masterpiece brought to life by an excellent ensemble cast

For anyone familiar with James Joyce's magnum opus, the prospect of a stage adaptation of Ulysses is intriguing if eyebrow-raising. How the hell do you go about translating Joyce's epic, experimental account of a single day in Dublin for the stage? And…

Solar Bear's Therapeutic Theatre strand presents Inside Outside In Our Stride

The production will take place as part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival

Solar Bear theatre company’s Therapeutic Theatre strand was created five years ago for the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival, and it’s now developed into a process of engagement for its participants which culminates in a show at the…