"Ross Sutherland"

Comedian Dies in the Middle of Joke

Unusual Fringe play in which the comedian keeps on dying

It’s November 1983 and Britain is in turmoil. Ruled over by the Tories, the country is still reeling from participation in a war that no one can properly justify and the charts are full of bland drivel. Sound familiar? In a dingy London comedy club, the…

Top five literary events outside the Edinburgh Intl Book Fest

James Kelman, Ross Sutherland, Alan Bissett and more venture beyond Charlotte Square

There’s plenty of events for lit lovers in Edinburgh this month, with festival staple Edinburgh Book Fringe back for another year, plus the more indie stylings of Inky Fingers Minifest. The Book Fringe will have talks and readings by comedian Russell…

Comedians Mark Thomas and Ross Sutherland debuting theatre shows at Fringe 2012

Mark Thomas' Edinburgh show based on his father's degenerative illness

We know Mark Thomas. The radical, left-wing comedian and activist famously drove a tank disguised as an ice cream van up Whitehall in a televised attempt to have it exported to Iraq. More recently, he has been doing stage shows recounting his…

Wojtek the Bear bound for success at Fringe 2012

How the Polish/Syrian/Persian bear became an international phenomenon

Laura Ennor discovers how the real-life tale of a Persian bear who fought in World War II and lived out his days in Edinburgh Zoo has become an international phenomenon For all that the theatre is a showcase for the power of the imagination, sometimes…

Dying of laughter: Shows about death at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe

Dead funny Fringe has comedians inspecting death from every angle

Earlier this year, William Shatner made the headlines by advising that he might die onstage in his new one-man show. His life-threatening sales pitch was a literal one: at 80, the former Star Trek legend admitted that embarking on regular 100-minute…

The Hunger Games

Adaptation that successfully transcends its teen-fiction origins, with excellent cast and direction

(12A) 142min A dystopian thriller with cross-generational appeal, The Hunger Games is an adaptation of the first novel in Suzanne Collins’ trilogy. From writer and director Gary Ross (Pleasantville) and co-written by Collins herself, it’s set in…

Detours film project at 2011 Edinburgh Art Festival

Responses to work by Aidan Moffat, Josie Long and Ross Sutherland

While everyone might know about the Edinburgh Art Festival, a series of collaborations have been quietly reflecting the works exhibited in the various exhibitions around the city. Suzy Glass (behind the creative social network Central Station) and Angie…

Performance poet Luke Wright set for Glasgow Comedy Festival

Young poet to deliver some Cynical Ballads at Tron

The world of live poetry is a barely recognisable beast to the one which Luke Wright entered in the late 90s. Back then, the likes of John Hegley, Hovis Presley and Murray Lachlan Young were making stage names for themselves, but in a field which had…

Rise of the comedy supergig in 2011

John Bishop, Jimmy Carr, Russell Howard, Peter Kay, Lee Evans and John Cleese set for 2011 UK tours

When we get to this point next year and look back at the comedy highlights of 2011, no doubt much talk will be of the supergigs. John Bishop, Jimmy Carr, Russell Howard, Peter Kay, Lee Evans, Lenny Henry, John Cleese (yes, that John Cleese), Jason…

Edinburgh Comedy Awards shortlist a strong gathering led by Bo Burnham and Josie Long

2010 awards puts two women on shortlist for first time

According to Nica Burns, producer of the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards, 2010 is ‘a vintage year for comedy,’ and the shortlist for the main award ‘reflects the enormous changes in the comedy landscape’. Of course, this might just be the kind of…

Tim Clare's Death Drive

A road trip with a difference

Talented performance poets/live literati talking about going back to live with their parents is all the rage this year. That is, if a ‘rage’ can be constituted by two shows, the excellent piece by Ross Sutherland at the Underbelly, and here in the shape…

Ross Sutherland - The Three Stigmata of Pacman

Life’s daftness exposed via poetry and music

Over the past few Fringes, Luke Wright has earned himself a reputation as the cutting thrust of performance poetry. Now two of his fellow Aisle 16 buddies are getting their taste of an Edinburgh ‘summer’. While Tim Clare takes us on a Death Drive at Zoo…

Exposure: The Cinnamons

Winning over local music lovers from the Glasgow area, and discovering a wider fanbase via the Internet and social networking, The Cinnamons is far more than the small bedroom project it started out as. Combining a varied set of influences from various…

The best winter hotel breaks in Scotland

The Lovat, Loch Ness This beautifully restored hotel has been inspiring excellent reviews since refurbishment was finished in 2007. The Victorian main building is supplemented by studio annexes, with rooms done out in a hybrid of classic 19th century…

30 Rock leads Emmys

Celebrity Gossip

'30 Rock' has been nominated for an astonishing 22 Emmy Awards. The US comedy TV series - which stars Alec Bladwin and Tina Fey - is up for three of the most prestigious accolades, Best Comedy, Best Comedy Actor and Best Comedy Actress. The show…

The Hot 100 2008

It’s been a helluva year. 2008 has been a time of significant global change, socially, politically and culturally, with Scotland no exception. So here, for your delectation, is The List’s pick of the 100 people, places and things that rocked our world…

Gamerz

‘The elevator pitch for Gamerz is that’s it’s a bittersweet love-triangle set in Glasgow University’s Dungeons and Dragons society,’ says one-time role-playing geek and now film actor, writer and director Robbie Fraser (pictured, right). His low-budget…