West End Festival

The best upcoming events in Scotland for 2012 and 2013

Featuring Alien Wars, Frankie Boyle, Anna Karenina and Edinburgh's Hogmanay

Alien Wars When virtual terror experience Alien Wars opened in London, the then prime minister Tony Blair allegedly showed up, desperate for the chance to be frightened out of his wits by a man in a scary latex costume. He reportedly left the…

All the world’s a stage

Merchant City Festival (25-28 Sep) www.merchantcityfestival.com Located in the heart of old Glasgow, this event locates a programme of film, theatre, comedy, visual arts, street theatre, live music, food and fashion within an area of real…

Summer Festivals 2012: Community

Solas, Leith and West End Fests among the best community-focused fests around Scotland this summer

West End Festival Where: Various venues, West End of Glasgow, 1–24 Jun, westendfestival.co.uk Price: Free–£20 for bigger gigs Line-up: James Yorkston, Howard Marks, Suzanne Vega, Michael Marra, We Were Promised Jetpacks You want to learn Gaelic in…

Neighbourhoods, Watch! - Leith Festival Vs West End Festival

In the East corner, Edinburgh’s Leith Festival! In the West corner, Glasgow’s West End Festival! Kirstin Innes adjudicates the battle of the community fests.

West End Festival

The West End of Glasgow is currently gearing up for its yearly festivities. David Pollock meets the festival’s founder and finds out what’s new for 2009.

Cottier Chamber Project set for West End Festival 2012

Hebrides Ensemble, Scottish Ensemble and Red Note also on bill

Classical music always has a strong presence at Glasgow’s West End Festival these days, but this year is extraordinary. Not only does the Cottier Chamber Project make a big-style return visit with small-scale music, but no less than nine choirs form…

Theatre and dance highlights of the West End Festival 2012

Featuring Pygmalion, Man of the House and Pulse 12

At first glance, the theatre and dance programme for this year’s West End Festival looks a bit traditional as the team from A Play, a Pie and a Pint offers up Shaw and Jarry classics while The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet are brought back for the Bard…

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Glasgow’s West End Festival continues with an adaptation of Ken Kesey’s ground-breaking 1962 novel by dynamic young company XLC theatre. Kesey’s novel focuses on the furious pitch battle between rebellious patient RP McMurphy and the tyrannical Nurse…

Fete accomplis - The West End Festival

The West End Festival, which has been going since 1996, is a community festival in the proper sense of the word, running free workshops and concerts, hosting events that involve local businesses and generally inviting residents to celebrate the various…

Festivals - Something For Nothing

If you’re looking to wet a whistle, then look no further than the Orkney Beer Festival (22–24 August, www.visitorkney.com), held at the Stromness Hotel. A now annual wing-ding, guests are invited to join fellow tipplers for a taste of the local Orkney…

West End Festival

Best for al fresco frolicking There is of course more to the West End Festival than Scotland’s Mardi Gras (pictured), but the impact of 500+ musicians and costumed revellers stopping traffic on Byres Road (Sun 15 Jun) is not to be sniffed at. Propping…