Siân Bevan

Cecil Castellucci & Jim Rugg - The Plain Janes

4 Jan 2008

DRAMA (Minx) The latest entry in the new Minx range captures almost every chick lit cliché. High school setting? Check. Geeky girls save the day? Check. And, of course, there’s a moody pretty boy for those raging hormones. And yet it’s not terrible…

Various - Boxwars: The Album

13 Dec 2007

CARDBOARD BASHING PUNK ROCK (Boxwars UK) Boxwars combines punk and well-behaved fighting. ‘Warriors’ make cardboard armour then launch themselves into a mauling mosh pit until a winner’s declared. The gladiatorial combat is powered by energetic…

Singles & Downloads

29 Nov 2007

As it’s all a bit gloomy outside at the moment, here’s a mellow selection of singles to wrap your freezing fingers round. Starting off the collection is the latest offering from Kate Walsh ‘Tonight’ (Mercury - 3 stars), with vocals so warm and lovely…

Rick Shapiro

16 Aug 2007

Rick Shapiro is a five star comedian in a two star show. If you want structure, well thought-out lines, or even the assurance of sanity then look elsewhere. If, however, you’re prepared to sit through ten minutes of shambolic mutterings as our hero…

Men of Steel

16 Aug 2007

There are three feisty cookie cutters on the prowl, storming around having adventures and getting up to mischief. They’re powered by a trio of talented young puppeteers, a creative bunch who’ve already found success with the piece in their native…

Talking Pants

16 Aug 2007

Ian Billings, the exuberant star of Talking Pants is a writer for Chucklevision. But don’t let this influence your decision about his one-man show – there are no visual gags involving ladders, although the well-meaning energy he exudes as he bounds…

The Boy and the Dog Who Walked to the Moon

16 Aug 2007

This beautiful story follows the adventures of Tomas and his dog Don Alfonso as they travel to the moon, where Tomas hopes to find his mother. Along the way they encounter vibrant characters, such as the very grumpy eagle in the mountains, all depicted…

Eirlys Bellin

16 Aug 2007

Bellin performs entirely in the guise of Rhian Davies, a fame-hungry Welsh girl prepared to do anything to get on the telly. Draped in this character, Bellin actually auditioned for Big Brother, and secretly filmed her adventure. There’s so much…

Away

(Granta)

9 Aug 2007

SOCIAL DRAMA Amy Bloom’s latest novel follows the journey of Lillian, a Russian woman who watches her family being brutally killed and then travels to America to escape those memories and her country. Once there, the plot rockets through a number of…

Rainbow Fish & Under the Dragon Moon

9 Aug 2007

Theatre has travelled over from Singapore with the noble aim of telling simple stories with style. They set about this task in very different ways: Rainbow Fish uses black lights and beautiful puppetry, whereas Under the Dragon Moon is a collection of…

James Campbell’s Onomatopoeia Society III and Spinistry of Moonerism

1 Aug 2007

James Campbell is the guy that does stand-up comedy for kids, and has carved out a very nice niche for himself in entertaining the harshest critics on the planet.

Mrs Barbara Nice

1 Aug 2007

Janice Connolly is a lady whose character’s fame far exceeds her own. Her creation, the ever-cheerful Mrs Barbara Nice, is returning to the Fringe with Hiya and Higher, and all the actress who manufactured her can do is allow herself to be swept along.

Men of Steel

1 Aug 2007

Three of Australia’s leading puppeteers are zooming into Edinburgh and making inanimate objects come to life.

The Big Ugly Monster and the Little Stone Rabbit

1 Aug 2007

There are lots of monsters appearing at this year’s Fringe, but none so ugly as this one.

Family Festival

16 Jul 2007

CREATIVE KIDS FAMILY FESTIVAL AT THE GALLERY OF MODERN ART Gallery of Modern Art, Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow, Sat 21 July Modern art is quite often seen as one of the least accessible styles, particularly for littler viewers who might…

Karen Bayley

Profile

16 Jul 2007

PROFILE KAREN BAYLEY Who’s she then? The lovely Ms Bayley is a favourite on the circuit, particularly in her own clubs in Sutton Coldfield and Solihull. She’s up here to preview her show The More You Pee, the Less you Cry. Peeing and…

Records - The Fast Camels

3 Jul 2007

TRIP POP Hailing from Glasgow, The Fast Camels pay a psychedelic tribute to the 60s in their energetic debut album. Guitar heavy, with mature harmonies and strong rhythms, the band are unashamedly influenced by the likes of Love and Pink Floyd.

Siobhan Donaghy

Album

18 Jun 2007

AIRY POP Some may remember Donaghy as the one who quit the Sugababes, burnt her bridges, then suffered a flop album. Fear not, she’s back with So You Say, which has taken radio friendly pop and added a pinch of sophistication. Her vocals are…

The Male Gaze

Joe Treasure

9 Apr 2007

BLACK COMEDY At first glance, The Male Gaze is cheerful dick-lit. English bloke, stuck in LA, feeling detached from his wife, meets vivacious American woman for out-of-character adventures. Things soon take a darker turn, as a young girl’s suicide…

Profile - Heresy

Profile

9 Apr 2007

What’s that then? Every Thursday the Jekyll & Hyde basement on Edinburgh’s Hanover Street is host to a censor-free night of comedic devilment. Ooh, that sounds cheeky It is indeed. Resident MC Rick Molland (pictured) touts the proceedings as a ‘dark and…

Comedy Academy 4 Kids

Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Sat 17 Mar

28 Feb 2007

WORKSHOP It’s a well-worn sentiment that kids say the funniest things, but James Campbell has taken that to a whole new level. Campbell is known for his child-friendly humour and has now brought his Comedy Academy to Edinburgh, with the successful…

Glasgow Comedy Festival - Josie Long

ONE OF A KIND

27 Feb 2007

Whatever happened to good clean family entertainment? The oldies are right when they complain that comedy just isn’t nice anymore. That Jimmy Carr off the telly’s always bitching, and the mouth on some of the young ‘uns is frankly disgusting. You…

We Are Klang

Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Thu 15 Mar

27 Feb 2007

SKETCH SHOW We Are Klang, proud owners of the most obscure name in a genre of obscure names, are doing rather well. Winner of countless awards, it seems that people are really getting their ridiculous humour, so childish it’s bloomin’ intelligent.

Edward Dolnick

Stealing the Scream (Icon Books)

12 Feb 2007

ART HISTORY The title of Edward Dolnick’s light-hearted look at art history is misleading. This is less about the theft of Munch’s classic The Scream and more the tale of its saviour: policeman Charley Hill. The author worked with Hill to get the…

Out to Lunch - Live!

Profile

29 Jan 2007

What’s that then? Lunch and 50 minutes of improv comedy for five shiny pounds.

Pick of 2006 - Hot 100

Top 50

12 Dec 2006

The List’s Hot 100 celebrates the people who have made the biggest impact on cultural life in Scotland over the past 12 months.

Pick of 2006 - Hot 100

100 to 51

12 Dec 2006

I can admit it now: I was a fool to set up the Hot 100. When you think of the broad spectrum of cultural activities that we cover in The List, from film and music through to eating out, shopping and occasionally sport, it’s clear that the number of…

Sarah Miller

Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn (Bloomsbury)

26 Oct 2006

TEEN FICTION The premise of the book is interesting enough: for some unexplained reason a nameless female finds herself with full access to the confused mind of one Gideon Rayburn. Young Gid is just starting at an expensive prep school and the…

Josie Long

14 Aug 2006

A box of badges and sunshine soundtrack greet the audience, before the last dregs of cynicism are brushed away by the lady herself. The cheerful Long has endearing energy but unfortunately the material is often rambling to the point of…

We Are Klang

11 Aug 2006

Klangbang opens with the immense Greg Davies prancing around, promising a variety show filled with delights. Soon joined by Marek Larwood and Steve Hall, the crowd quickly realises that it’s in for something special, in all senses of the word. The range…

Andrew O'Neill

8 Aug 2006

Andrew O’Neill’s humour is surreal to the point of being ridiculously silly, which is why grounding it in such a subject is a stroke of genius. He calmly explains why and how he believes that a 13-year-old Winston Churchill was Victorian serial killer…