Allan Radcliffe

Gordon Barr on Bard in the Botanics 2012

The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet and As You Like It to be staged in Glasgow's Botanic Gardens

15 May 2012

This season, for us as we move into our second decade, is all about discovery, exploration and new horizons so we were looking for plays that tied in to those themes. The link to The Tempest is fairly clear but As You Like It covers some similar ground…

Roman Bridge

An unflinchingly claustrophobic production with bold performances and muscular dialogue

9 May 2012

There’s a knowing nod to Samuel Beckett in Martin Travers’ Roman Bridge, the first full production in the National Theatre of Scotland’s Reveal 2012 season. The main protagonists are a pair of ragged-trousered hobos, who cling to each other, eat, sleep…

Enquirer

3 May 2012

Whether by luck or incredible foresight, the National Theatre of Scotland’s exploration of the demise of the newspaper industry couldn’t be playing at a more auspicious time. Entering the top floor of the Hub at Pacific Quay, the first thing that draws…

Further Than the Furthest Thing

Haunting, beautifully-designed production of Zinnie Harris' play

30 Apr 2012

From ripping out the seating for a powerful in-the-round production of Peter Shaffer’s Equus to the Mad Men-style two-storey 1950s maisonette of A Doll’s House, Dundee Rep has often impressed with its bold, imaginative use of design. The company’s…

King Lear

David Hayman heads an impressive ensemble cast in a gripping production of Shakespeare's play

26 Apr 2012

Incredibly, it’s 33 years since David Hayman appeared in a Shakespeare play at the Citz, and his casting here, as the Bard’s aged monarch, raging against the dying of the light, provides a link to that spell in the 1970s-1990s when the Glasgow…

A Streetcar Named Desire

Incredibly dynamic, exhilarating and edgy production from Scottish Ballet

25 Apr 2012

Early on in Scottish Ballet’s audacious adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire it hits home just how persuasively Tennessee Williams’ play has been adapted for non-verbal storytelling. Director Nancy Meckler and choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa have…

Playwright Martin Travers on Roman Bridge

Travers' first full-length play was completed with the aid of the National Theatre of Scotland

16 Apr 2012

The initial inspiration for Roman Bridge was the fact that rural Scotland is peppered with old stone bridges. Loads are called the Roman bridge but not many of them are. I like that, things seeming to be one thing and turning out to be something else.

The Silence of Bees

New play by the writer of Roadkill explores family tensions against a backdrop of bee-keeping

13 Apr 2012

This moving site-specific piece written and directed by Stef Smith, award-winning playwright behind 2010’s human trafficking drama Roadkill, focuses on three generations of women who have dedicated their lives to bee-keeping and honey production.

For Once

Poignancy and lyricism in play exploring fragility of family unit

7 Apr 2012

The sight of a hyper-realistic kitchen set, complete with fridge, cluttered shelves and fully functional sink usually portends an hour or two of domestic desolation of the kind favoured by the Angry Young Men of 50s/60s British drama. And when the…

Moonlight and Magnolias

Ron Hutchinson's comedy explores the story behind the making of a Hollywood epic

2 Apr 2012

The strange alchemy that sorts screen hits from cinematic turkeys is energetically explored in Ron Hutchinson’s play about the events leading up to the shooting of Hollywood blockbuster, Gone with the Wind. The story behind the filming of Margaret…

The Man Who Lived Twice

Stylish, striking and poignant study of 1930s dramatist Edward Sheldon and actor John Gielgud

28 Mar 2012

For a few years in the early 20th century playwright Edward Sheldon was the toast of Broadway, with melodramas such as Romance notching up lengthy runs and inspiring movies with Garbo and Dietrich. Crippled by rheumatoid arthritis, he withdrew…

Antigone

Lung Ha's Theatre impresses with an excellent, stripped-back adaptation of Sophocles' Theban tragedy

19 Mar 2012

Lung Ha’s Theatre Company has gone from strength to strength in recent years, notching up acclaimed adaptations of everything from Chekhov to Aldous Huxley and Jules Verne. The company’s latest outing returns to the origins of European Theatre and…

Photographer Alan Dimmick - interview

The Scottish photographer discusses his artistic habits and history

14 Mar 2012

What was the first exhibition you went to see? I recall as a very young lad going to the ‘Art Galleries’ at Kelvingrove a lot with my Mum in the late 60s – just remember being amazed. The Robert Mapplethorpe show at the old Stills in the High Street…

ANA

Audacious, enjoyable bilingual co-production from Scottish and Québécois companies

12 Mar 2012

The eponymous heroine of this enjoyable co-production between Scotland’s Stellar Quines and Québécois company Imago Théâtre is one of those everlasting figures present throughout history, a cross between Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and Dr Who, whom we…

Betrayal

Dominic Hill's treatment of Pinter's celebrated play is humourous and affecting

9 Mar 2012

With works by Pinter, Shakespeare and Beckett scheduled for his first season as artistic director at the Citz, Dominic Hill couldn’t have made a bolder statement about his ambitions for the venerable Glasgow institution. Yet his production of the late…

Robert Aldrich - Gay Life Stories

Fascinating insight into the lives of gay men and women throughout history

28 Feb 2012

(Thames & Hudson) Gay rights have made huge strides in the West in the past couple of decades and with that has come an increase in the numbers of openly gay celebrities from across the spectrum of public life. But what of the many unsung heroes of…

Roger Ackling - interview

The visual artist's current exhibition features burnt images created using magnifying glasses

3 Feb 2012

What was the first exhibition you went to see? Something at the Wallace Collection, London. Maybe Brueghel. What was your first paid job as an artist? Part time teaching at Wimbledon School of Art. What kind of music do you listen to while…

Passing Through charts encounter between a magician and a young woman

Theatre romcom two-hander from Peapod Productions

2 Feb 2012

Striking out on your own can be tough. But for actor Philip Kingscott, who set up Peapod Productions in 2010, the gamble has been worthwhile. Last year’s touring production The Garden was a five-star success, leading Kingscott to commission a new play…

The Infamous Brothers Davenport

Captures excitement of Victorian public séance but makes for unsatisfactory theatre

1 Feb 2012

Some 52 members of the crew on this co-production between Vox Motus and the Lyceum were required to sign secrecy clauses, so it’s no surprise that the show has its fair share of ‘how-did-they-do-that’ moments. In one scene, a table rises from the ground…

Preview of 2012 - Martin Creed: All the Bells

Turner Prize winner invites Brits to ring in the Olympics

6 Jan 2012

Controversial he may be but conceptual artist Martin Creed has always been brutally honest with the paying public. His most famous work to date, Work No. 227: the lights going on and off, did exactly what it said on the tin and helped the Glasgow-raised…

The King and I

This stylish production of the musical classic can't disguise the script's patronising tone

6 Jan 2012

Like most of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s quintet of hit musicals, the deceptively light surface action in The King and I struggles to keep the lid on the problematic themes rumbling away underneath. Where the culture clash between prim, feisty governess…

The Lost Sock Princess

Puppet Lab's festive show for under-sevens is infectious, interactive fun

19 Dec 2011

Ever wondered what happens to your socks when they disappear from the washing machine? Puppet Lab provides some highly persuasive answers to this conundrum in a big-hearted entertainment pitched at children under the age of seven. The show kicks off in…

Interview: Simon Hart, artistic director of the Manipulate Visual Theatre Festival

Highlights of the 2012 theatre and puppetry festival programme

19 Dec 2011

What can we expect from this year’s Manipulate programme? A great festival with an eclectic international mix: of stylish and sophisticated object theatre, digital projections, animations – and lots of water – in the Theatre Sans Soucis’ Hamletmachine…

Interview: Kirsty Whiten

Breeder Badlands show at Edinburgh Printmakers

19 Dec 2011

What made you want to be an artist? The uniform. And the pension plan. Your new solo show, Breeder Badlands, explores the complexities of the familial unit. What was the original inspiration for the exhibition? This work is really personal – friends and…

The Hot 100 2011: 100-50

The definitive list of Scottish creative talent

16 Dec 2011

100: Gordon Ferris. Kilmarnock crime author makes good. The already packed Scottish crime writing field has finally found a bit of elbow room for another burgeoning talent. Joining the likes of Rankin, Brookmyre, McDermid and co is this Ayrshire-born…

Hot 100 2011 - No. 49 to 1

The definitive list of Scottish creative talent

16 Dec 2011

The Hot 100 is the definitive list of Scottish creative talent. From fashion designers to performance artists, everyone who has made a sizeable splash in 2011 has a place in this countdown. It’s for people who’ve created a buzz, but it’s also about…

Cinderella (Dundee Rep)

Witty script, excellent performances and bold lack of concern for tradition

12 Dec 2011

Writer Phil Porter has taken perhaps the best-loved of all festive tales, pulled it apart and reassembled it with a bold lack of concern for tradition. Yes, folks, this is Cinderella but not as we know it. For starters, this version is set on a…

Cinderella (King's Theatre, Edinburgh)

Panto dream time Allan Stewart, Andy Gray, Grant Stott and Paul Elliot strike gold once again

8 Dec 2011

The great strength of the King’s panto, year upon year, is its ability to hook audiences of all ages and tastes. The script, co-written by Paul Elliott and everyone’s favourite dame, Allan Stewart, features great dollops of slapstick and toilet humour…

Liam Rudden of the Brunton Theatre’s Aladdin - interview

The writer-director shares his insight into the panto-creating process

6 Dec 2011

What are the challenges of adapting such a well-known story? The biggest challenge is ensuring that the narrative is not lost in amongst all the routines, gags and songs. Finding the right routines and songs to advance the story is crucial. How does…

St Andrew's Day - The best art from Scotland

Our editors pick highlights from Scottish art through history

25 Nov 2011

Virtually unknown until the late 1940s The Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch (to give the full name of the painting more commonly known as The Skating Minister) is now something of a Scottish cultural icon. The image was created by…

Top Hat

Loving tribute to the Fred'n'Ginger classic, starring Tom Chambers and Summer Strallen

24 Nov 2011

According to legend, screen hoofer Fred Astaire was such a perfectionist that, during the 40th take of a scene from Swing Time (1936), his partner Ginger Rogers’ feet started to bleed through her satin slippers. In this stage adaptation of one of…

Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh reopens

Three-year rejuvenation makes collection more accessible

18 Nov 2011

It’s a starry night in early November, and I’m about to get my first taster of the newly refurbished Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The imposing sandstone building that sprawls across an entire block of Edinburgh’s Queen Street has been closed…

South Pacific

New York revival with refreshing emphasis on character in Rodgers and Hammerstein classic

15 Nov 2011

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Pulitzer-winning musical set in and around a US naval base during World War II includes so many songs that have become standards that the plot seems almost surplus to requirements. You can almost feel the smiles of recognition…

Gayle Chong-Kwan: The Obsidian Isle

The photographer talks about her latest exhibition, inspired by the blind third century poet Ossian

15 Nov 2011

The Obsidian Isle documents a fictional island on which exist Scotland’s lost and destroyed buildings and places. What inspired this? As part of a photography award I received in 2009 I had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout Scotland. I…

27

Abi Morgan explores tensions between faith and science in a fascinating but frustrating new play

3 Nov 2011

The tensions that lie beneath the serene surface of convent life have proved fertile territory for writers and dramatists down the years, from Powell and Pressburger’s psychological horror Black Narcissus to Muriel Spark’s Watergate satire The Abbess of…

Hiding in Full View - Alison Watt interview

The painter discusses her latest exhibition, a response to American photographer Francesca Woodman

21 Oct 2011

What first made you want to be a painter? My father is a painter, so the idea of looking at and making paintings has always been a very normal and natural activity for me. The place I felt most at home as a child was in my father’s studio. It seemed to…

Saturday Night - Tramway, Glasgow, Sat 8 Oct 2011

Vanishing Point's Interiors follow-up explores similar themes but lacks direction

21 Oct 2011

Vanishing Point’s lovely, imaginative 2009 work, Interiors, revolved around a disparate group of characters at a dinner party. As the audience were cast in the role of voyeurs spying through lit windows the scene was played out in complete silence, the…

Apocalypse! - John Clancy's 'glamorously ugly cabaret'

Cabaret at the end of the world takes aim at complacency and hypocrisy

21 Oct 2011

There’s an inspired idea at the heart of John Clancy’s ‘glamorously ugly cabaret’, that, with a couple of tweaks and the right home, could develop into a truly anarchic calling card for new Scottish company The Occasional Cabaret. The premise of a…

Central Station: Charlie Anderson

Provocative rising artist with an eye on contemporary culture

21 Oct 2011

Since graduating in 2009, Charlie Anderson has pissed off art collectors, curators, graffiti writers, three world-renowned artists, been threatened by a leading London gallerist, and has been punched in the face by an Edinburgh artist. He has also won…

The Hunted - Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, Sat 15 Oct 2011

Enjoyably scary but slightly confused fairy tale mashup

20 Oct 2011

At first glance the new production from acclaimed young person’s company Visible Fictions seems a straightforward, if well-crafted, thriller, perfect for the spooky season. A wolf is at large, preying on the residents of a timeless fairy tale village.

Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off

Timely revival of Liz Lochhead's seminal allegorical play

21 Sep 2011

Liz Lochhead’s powerful, playful dissection of a key chapter in Scotland’s history may have debuted at the height of the Thatcherite 80s, but the play’s central themes – the pernicious effects of sectarianism, the Scots’ complex relationship with our…

New stage adaptation of Para Handy stories set for Scottish tour

Writer and director John Bett on timeless appeal of Neil Munro tale

16 Sep 2011

My Skye granny was an inveterate haunter of provincial auction houses and would often return home with baskets of books which nobody wanted and which a wily auctioneer had partnered with household items of more immediate interest to buyers. These books…

An Evening with David Sedaris

Bona fide literary superstar reads from his works

23 Aug 2011

David Sedaris is that rarest of beasts: a bona fide literary superstar and recording artist who regularly appears on TV shows such as Letterman, has performed at Carnegie Hall and has the fanbase to be able to sell out a week-long run at Edinburgh’s…

Ali Cook

Old-fashioned with homage to TV magic shows

23 Aug 2011

A familiar face from TV magic shows, Cook’s hour is determinedly old-fashioned with homage paid to the polyester-haired showmen of his youth in one sketch. Cook’s sleight-of-hand is impressive, while his elucidation of some of the world’s greatest…

Mary Christ - The Unmusical!

Crude, unfunny innuendo from excitable drag queen

23 Aug 2011

Sharing a black box theatre with Mary Christ is like being trapped in a cupboard with a vampire. The excitable drag queen gets up close and personal with her audience, divulging details of her sex life, but there’s no satire here, just 45 minutes of…

I, Malvolio

Revisiting Shakespeare’s maligned steward

22 Aug 2011

Appearing in the latter half of a Festival that has made its theatre audience work harder than in previous years, Tim Crouch keeps us on the edge of our seats with a show that probes cultural tastes through the figure of Shakespeare’s much maligned…

Untitled Love Story

Stories of love and loss that fail to catch fire

17 Aug 2011

Untitled Love Story is the first of David Leddy’s productions for years to be set in a conventional theatre. And, while the Venice-set meditation on lost love contains the lyrical writing and formal innovations that have made his past work so exciting…

Gareth Richards

A lack of confidence on the comedian's part undermines the good-quality material

15 Aug 2011

A Best Newcomer nominee from 2010, Richards should have more faith in his material. His topical routines, while nicely observed, are delivered in an apologetic manner that doesn’t inspire confidence. He seems more relaxed when performing his clever…

Delete the Banjax

The sketch group appear to be having fun, but the audience isn't in on it

15 Aug 2011

A couple of smart musical numbers and an inspired repeat joke involving a flipchart can’t distract the overall feebleness of this sketch quartet’s material. An unfunny extended pub quiz skit is a particular lowlight, and the excitably shrill…

The Tempest

Anarchic comedy showcases Korean theatrical traditions and retains spirit of the original

14 Aug 2011

Shakespeare’s swansong enjoys a unique status in the playwright’s canon. Part magical realist fantasy, part forerunner to the absurdist tragicomedy, part wry comment on the nature of playwriting itself, The Tempest floats outside of the classifications…

Cloud Man

Delightful puppet show with its head in the clouds

14 Aug 2011

Puppet maker/performer Ailie Cohen has been delighting young folk and their grown-ups for many a Fringe with her original stories and fairy-tale adaptations. Cloud Man is no exception, a deceptively simple story that will melt even the flintiest of…

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…

Ten Plagues

Intense, moving Marc Almond-starring plague musical strikes a chord

11 Aug 2011

A one-man musical based on eyewitness accounts of the London Plague of 1665 starring Marc Almond sounds on paper like the kind of parody you’d find on the website fakefringe.com. Indeed, the 80s pop icon seems nervous as he takes to the stage in black…

Interview: Jeremy Millar on exhibition Mystics or Rationalists?

Artist discusses his contribution to Ingleby Edinburgh Art Festival show

10 Aug 2011

How far do you agree with Sol LeWitt’s comment that ‘conceptual artists are mystics rather than rationalists’? I think I’d tend to agree: they’re certainly rather more mystics than rationalists. Art isn’t rational, but it can be mystical. What is…

Dave Gorman's Power Point Presentation

Inspired PowerPoint presentation from the genial everyman

8 Aug 2011

Fringe shows that rely heavily on technical apparatus always stir a slight sense of apprehension. There’s always the risk that a large measure of the show’s impact will be neutered by some unforeseen meltdown. ‘Do you like the big screen?’ asks a…

Free Run

Heavily padded parkour spectacle

8 Aug 2011

The warning that diffuses through the auditorium is ominous. ‘What you are about to see is not restricted to the stage’. Sure enough, this is one of those Fringe shows where you’re definitely not safer in the back row. Within moments of the house lights…

After the End

Gripping if uneven thriller adaptation

8 Aug 2011

The action of Dennis Kelly’s thriller takes place in a nuclear shelter in the aftermath of an explosion, but the play’s politics, we discover, are of the personal rather than global kind. The two-hander opens immediately following the atrocity. Louise…

Glenn Wool: No Lands Man

Hobo comic’s killer dispatches

8 Aug 2011

Gruff Canadian Glenn Wool hasn’t been at the Fringe for a couple of years, instead travelling the world, performing and gathering material inspired by his en route adventures. The hobo comic’s set opens with an account of the time he was strip-searched…

Korean Drum: Journey of a Soul

Dance to the rhythm of life

8 Aug 2011

Sometimes words are not required. Sometimes a single performer beating a frenetic rhythm on a drum suspended from an ornate frame is enough to raise the hairs on your arm. For those who love a bit of variety in their Fringe life, though, this showcase…

Pop-Up! The Amazing Adventures of Moo-Dong

The art of entertaining

8 Aug 2011

Theatre Bom’s Pop-Up! is based around the inspired notion of recreating famous paintings, such as Arcimboldo’s ‘fruit faces’ and Seurat’s ‘Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jette’, live onstage. Don’t be nervous: an in-depth knowledge of…

2011 Fringe for a Fiver - Theatre

22 Jul 2011

Not got a brass razoo to your name? Don’t let that spoil your Fringe fun as we present 50 shows you can see for a mere five of your Scottish pound coins Alice in Wonderland and Other Adventures with Lewis Carroll Richard Smithies brings to life the…

A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Botanical Gardens, Glasgow, until Sat 9 Jul

Gordon Barr's outdoor production retains its Shakespearean sparkle

8 Jul 2011

First things first: it is a bit of a shame that this year’s opening production for the 10th anniversary programme of Bard in the Botanics has been consigned to a small corner at the rear of the Kibble Palace. While the cast work as hard as ever and the…

Knives in Hens

Revival of David Harrower's 90s play tours Scotland

14 Jun 2011

Lies Pauwels’ revival for the NTS of David Harrower’s 1995 play is the very definition of ‘marmite’ theatre. From its opening moments, in which Susan Vidler as the Ploughman’s Wife, and Vicki Manderson as her alter-ego rampage around, flashing their…

The theatre shows to look out for at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011

Dance Marathon, Ten Plagues and Tuesdays at Tescos among highlights

9 Jun 2011

As ever the theatre programme of this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe is overflowing with keen ideas, exciting stories and risk-taking. The Traverse Theatre maintains its position as the beating heart of the Fringe, with Dominic Hill’s final programme…

Anna Karenina

Dundee Rep ensemble pull off moving and powerful version of Tolstoy's classic love story

6 Jun 2011

Despite the occasional casting oddities that arise from matching a permanent ensemble to the requirements of a text, Dundee Rep pull off a moving and powerful version of one of the pinnacles in Russian literature. Jo Clifford’s lovely 2005 adaptation of…

Dunsinane

Roxana Silbert's production of David Greig's play stars Jonny Phillips and Siobhan Redmond

27 May 2011

Much has been made of the parallels between David Greig’s depiction of 11th century Scotland and modern day Afghanistan in his audacious sequel to Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The tortuous relationship between conqueror and vanquished is certainly…

Scottish artist highlights from the 2011 British Art Show

Luke Fowler, Alasdair Gray, Nathaniel Mellors, Wolfgang Tillmans

28 Apr 2011

The last time the British Art Show toured to Glasgow was 1990, the year the Dear Green Place took on the mantle of European City of Culture and a watershed year for Scottish art. Twenty-one years on, Scottish visual artists make up a sizeable chunk of…

Tony Cownie's production of Liz Lochhead's Educating Agnes bubbles with wit and charm

Peter Forbes, Mark Prendergast and Nicola Roy star

28 Apr 2011

There’s lots to enjoy in this revival of Liz Lochhead’s translation of Moliere’s L’ecole des femmes, but perhaps the greatest pleasure comes from the wit and dynamism offered by the text itself. A palpable sense of anticipation grips the audience as we…

Stage Whispers: playwright Nicola McCartney discusses her new play Miracle, staging as part of A Play, A Pie and A Pint

25 Apr 2011

What was the inspiration for your new play, Miracle? I have been thinking and writing a lot over recent years about real life icons, and who they were before they become who they became. I received an SAC Writer’s Bursary in 2005 to write the original…

Rona Munro's rom-com-thriller Pandas features candid humour and fine performances but lacks focus

25 Apr 2011

Pandas set-up as a series of two-handers between seemingly disparate characters, all with a connection to tax-dodging businessman Andy (Keith Fleming), who imports rugs from China. When he’s shot in the backside and suffers a heart attack the main…

Robbie Thomson on Cryptic Nights project Inducer

Collaboration with Sarah Milne and Jack Wrigley

20 Apr 2011

What was the inspiration for your new project ‘Inducer’ with Sarah Milne and Jack Wrigley? ‘Inducer’ is an extension of our interest in experimental musical instrument design and an attempt to create a crude, mechanical form of electronic music.

Entertaining production of Gagarin Way despite smothering political debate

Gregory Burke's blackly comic kidnap-gone-wrong thriller

21 Mar 2011

Playwright Gregory Burke may be best known for the endlessly garlanded Black Watch. But judging by the packed and noisily receptive crowd at the Brunton Theatre in mid-March, theatregoers also have fond memories of his debut, the blackly comic…

Interview - Artist Shelly Nadashi

Glasgow Transmission show continues interest in puppet shows

21 Mar 2011

Your new installation continues your interest in puppet shows – how did that fascination come about? The first puppets’ performances I saw were in Hungary when I was traveling in 2000. They have some very authentic but contemporary puppetry there. I…

Ryan Hays attempts less humanistic perspective

Multi-disciplinary artist working towards his first solo show

21 Mar 2011

Ryan Hays graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone in 2006 then shortly afterwards relocated to Glasgow where he began exhibiting and curating larger shows such as the multi-medium art event A Wee Tasty in 2009. Two years ago he relocated to Berlin and…

Girl X highlights complex nature of disability sexuality debate

National Theatre of Scotland play succeeds despite dramatic limitations

18 Mar 2011

Girl X was inspired by the real-life case of a pre-pubescent girl with learning difficulties whose mother successfully sought legal approval to have her womb removed to spare her the discomfort of menstruation. The show’s creators Robert Softley and Pol…

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice - review

Dundee Rep take on Jim Cartwright's play steps out of original's shadow

8 Mar 2011

Jim Cartwright’s 1992 play about a painfully shy girl who seeks refuge in – and displays an uncanny talent for mimicking – the voices of the great musical divas loved by her father, was created as a vehicle for the unique talents of actress Jane…

Smalltown collects work by Douglas Maxwell, DC Jackson and Johnny McKnight

Random Accomplice’s trio of Ayrshire-set plays

7 Mar 2011

Random Accomplice’s trio of Ayrshire-set plays by three of Scotland’s leading talents seems intended as an affectionate parody of the portmanteau horror films popularised by Amicus in the 1960s. The individual segments do, however, offer a snapshot of…

Lung Ha's Around the World in 80 Days

Interview with Maria Oller, artistic director of Lung Ha's

24 Feb 2011

What inspired you to take on Around the World in 80 Days? I wanted to give the company members a chance to do a classic play. Around the World in 80 Days came to mind as a story that is rarely produced for the stage, and is funny, with lots of…

Stellar Quines' Age of Arousal explores early days of suffragette movement

Nimble performances and funny set pieces, but often wordy script

24 Feb 2011

A play, ‘wildly inspired’ by George Gissing’s The Odd Women – a novel which even sympathetic critics have dismissed as ‘turgid’ – may not sound like the most promising basis for a night at the theatre. Yet, Stellar Quines’ Age of Arousal proves highly…

Morag Macdonald's work involves repetitive mark making

Artists from North Uist and her exploration of shape and line

24 Feb 2011

Originally from North Uist in the Western Isles, Morag Macdonald graduated with a degree in Drawing and Painting from Edinburgh College of Art in 2008. Since then, while developing her own projects, she has tutored a range of English and Gaelic visual…

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart fuses karaoke with ceilidh music

David Greig play pays homage to Borders legend in pub setting

18 Feb 2011

The legend of the ‘teind’ or tribute paid by the fairy folk to the Devil every seven years is as old as the Southern Uplands and recounted in numerous Scottish Border Ballads, including the eerie ‘Tam Lin’. Playwright David Greig here pays homage to the…

Gregory Burke's Gagarin Way set for Carnegie Hall

New production brings out all four characters

11 Feb 2011

Rapture theatre has forged a strong reputation for its revivals of contemporary and classic plays, touring to the furthest corners of Scotland. Having previously triumphed with works as diverse as Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, the Scottish premier of Joe…

Artist Laura Duncan explores themes in sexuality

Aberdeen artist aims to show sex in a more positive manner

11 Feb 2011

Laura Duncan is currently working towards her BA in Photographic and Electronic Media at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen. At the moment she is exploring themes in sexuality and how to show sex in a more positive manner. She is also interested in…

Sex in art: Four examples of Scottish eroticism

The Wicker Man, Young Adam, Love Made Easy and The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania

1 Feb 2011

You can find good examples of Scottish eroticism without having to wallow through smut. The List picks four artworks that are worth seeking out for some homegrown, highbrow kicks

Royal Lyceum's A View From the Bridge full of fine performances

Tautly realised and powerful production of Arthur Miller play

28 Jan 2011

A View From the Bridge is the fifth Arthur Miller play to be staged by the Royal Lyceum in as many years, and director John Dove’s passion for the American playwright comes through loud and clear in a tautly realised and powerful production. The…

Random Accomplice's Smalltown offers three plays by leading Scottish playwrights

New works by Douglas Maxwell, DC Jackson and Johnny McKnight

26 Jan 2011

Typical. You wait ages for a great new play to arrive and then three come along at once. As luck would have it the trio of plays that make up Random Accomplice’s latest production, Smalltown, have been crafted by three of Scotland’s leading young…

Artist Hanna Tuulikki - From T-shirt designs for The Wire to free-folk

Sussex-born Anglo-Finn soundtracked Simon Yuill Stackwalker

26 Jan 2011

Hanna Tuulikki’s first love is to sing. Her second love is to draw. The Sussex-born Anglo-Finn thus juggles her time as artist, illustrator and musician in Glasgow where she stayed after studying environmental art at the GSA. Alongside still or…

The best free and cheap things to do in Glasgow and Edinburgh

Visit a library, go for a walk, bake a cake or see some cheap theatre

21 Jan 2011

Beat the January blues with these guaranteed pick-me-ups, suggested by our writers and some friends of The List. They’re all free, or cost just a few quid, so you’ll come out of winter with your bank balance intact and a smile on your face

Central Station - Anne Doble: Artinkulate

Intricacies with healthy Scottish/nautical flavour

14 Jan 2011

Anne Doble is a self-taught artist/designer-maker, running her own business, Artinkulate, from her home in Portknockie in the North East of Scotland. Prior to this she had a long career in retail management and latterly qualified as an anaesthetic…

Simon Crowther’s new comedy The Ushers aims to capture essence of 1996

Paisley-set production directed by Raindog's Stuart Davids

3 Jan 2011

The phrase ‘period drama’ is more likely to bring to mind a play set in Regency England or 18th century Paris than Paisley in the 1990s. Yet, Simon Crowther’s new comedy The Ushers, which follows a group of young characters as they deal with leaving…

The Hot 100 2010 - Mark Millar, Kevin Bridges and Alasdair Gray take top 3 spots

Our annual chart of the people from Scotland being interesting, successful and creative

16 Dec 2010

The Hot 100 is a list of Scots who’ve made a sizeable creative splash in 2010. It includes musicians, artists, writers, actors, fashion designers, technological innovators, shop owners, festival directors, record label heads and one mad cyclist.

The best visual art exhibitions in Scotland 2010

Martin Creed, Christoph Büchel, Alasdair Gray and Julie Roberts

16 Dec 2010

Martin Creed: Things A playful, humorous and beautifully installed exhibition by Turner Prize-winning artist Creed. Seventeen of the artist’s works were on show under the wonderfully vague title of Things, including piled-up boxes, pot plants, nails…

Central Station: Fraser Sim

Artist uses digital processes combined with handcrafted techniques

16 Dec 2010

Fraser Sim graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 1999, winning the Royal Scottish Academy Student Prize for Printmaking in the same year. Having worked in the UK and internationally as a graphic designer and web designer for several years he…

The best Scottish Theatre productions of 2010

My Romantic History, Roadkill, Sweeney Todd, The Government Inspector and Promises Promises

15 Dec 2010

Promises Promises Prolific Scottish playwright Douglas Maxwell hit a creative high-point at the beginning of the year with this blistering monologue told by a middle-aged, alcoholic teacher (Joanna Tope) who is provoked into violence when she…

Your Own - Your Very Own - Old Time Music Hall

Strathclyde Theatre Group perform a riotous mix of comedy, send ups and classic music hall standards

30 Nov 2010

The festive season is well underway, but if you’re not a fan of traditional pantos why not check out an altogether different form of Christmas entertainment. Strathclyde Theatre Group are once again donning the mantle of the Celebrated Gaslight Gaieties…

I am a Camera

Largely forgotten adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s Goodbye to Berlin omits social decay

30 Nov 2010

(12) 100min (Park Circus) Made in 1955 this, the first major film adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s Goodbye to Berlin, is largely forgotten, eclipsed by the multi award-winning stage and film musical Cabaret, also adapted from Isherwood’s tales…

Martin Campbell - Central Station

Glasgow artist's workshops encourage instinctive and quick decision making

23 Nov 2010

Originally from Benbecula in the Western Isles, Martin Campbell now lives in Glasgow and is currently in his final year of the product design course at Edinburgh College of Art. As part of his final year project he is looking at ways of getting people…

Dadafest International Scotland showcases work by deaf and disabled practitioners

The changing attitudes towards deaf and disabled arts companies

15 Nov 2010

Disability is perhaps the last remaining taboo when it comes to positive representation in the arts, and it’s only in recent years that disability and deaf arts practitioners have been recognised for the rich contribution they make to the UK’s cultural…

Central Station - Enda O’Donoghue

Irish artist explores themes found in photographs found online

15 Nov 2010

Enda O’Donoghue is an Irish artist who has been living and working in Berlin since 2002. He originally studied computer programming before changing to visual art and has worked professionally as a web designer, internet developer and in various dotcom…

The Importance of Being Earnest

Mark Thomson’s Lyceum production utilises recent Romeo & Juliet cast and includes ‘lost’ fourth act

3 Nov 2010

Oscar Wilde’s most celebrated comedy is one of those rep theatre staples that is almost guaranteed to bring in a sympathetic audience. The play is so familiar, in both its premise and as a vehicle for its creator’s witticisms, that you can almost hear…