MUSIC / CHRISTMAS SHOWS / VISUAL ART / FILM / BOOKS / HOGMANAY PARTIES
MUSIC
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
TOMMORROW at Queen’s Cross Church, the Maryhill church designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the Toward Ensemble perform a programme of works by the architect/designer’s contemporaries Elgar, Nielsen and Grieg as well as contemporary Glasgow composers such as Rory Boyle and Eddie McGuire. Conducted by Paul MacAlindin, a founder member of both the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq and the Govan-based Glasgow Barons, the concert will be the first time the Ensemble have performed outside Castle Toward, once home to youth orchestras from across Scotland.
Tomorrow, Queen’s Cross Church, Glasgow, 3pm, £10. Tickets on the door and via bit.ly/TowardEnsemble
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
IN 2002, Mono opened its doors as the newest vegan eaterie in Glasgow. Inside the venue, the city’s newest independent record shop Monorail opened around the same time. Though separate entities, they say “we need each other, just like we all need each other” and celebrate 15 years on the go with a joint birthday part on December 8.
On the bill are Swedish synth-pop artist Molly Nilsson, who’s had releases on Glasgow’s Night School Records and says monorail is her “favourite record shop in the world”, and uplifting local quintet LYLO, whose new album, due out in January, is generating much excitement. Expect a good-natured night with tunes from Loosen Up DJs and an as-yet-unannounced special guest.
December 8, Mono, Glasgow, 8pm, £5. Tickets: bit.ly/Monobirthday www.monocafebar.com www.monorailmusic.com www.facebook.com/mollynilssonpage
CHRISTMAS SHOWS
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
DUNDEE Rep’s reputation for distinctive Christmas productions looks set to be maintained with Neil Duffield’s new adaptation of A Christmas Carol. Helmed by the Rep’s new artistic director Andrew Panton, the production features nine of the theatre’s resident ensemble players including Ann Louise Ross, above, who will take on the role of a female Ebenezer Scrooge. When it opens tonight, expect a sumptuous production offering a fresh take on this classic tale of redemption.
Until December 31, Dundee Rep Theatre, 7pm, Saturday matinees 2.30pm, £12, £9 children. Tel: 01382 223530 www.dundeerep.co.uk
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
FOLLOWING the success of their first panto Aladdin last year, Glasgow’s Britannia Panopticon presents Puss in Boots, the first event to be announced as part of the 160th anniversary celebrations of the world’s oldest surviving music hall. Written and directed by performer Grant F Kidd, the production aims to offer an affordable show with the focus on fun, silliness and festive cheer.
December 8, 9, 10, 16, 18, 22 and 23, Britannia Panopticon, Glasgow, times vary, £7, £5 concessions. Tickets: bit.ly/PussinBootsPanto www.britanniapanopticon.org
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
INTERNATIONAL hit-makers La Clique return to Edinburgh for La Clique Noel, a new show giving their trademark mix of contemporary cabaret, adult circus and vaudeville a festive twist. Acts include the fire-eating, sword-swallowing Heather Holliday, burlesque star Vicky Butterfly and German aerialist Tim Kriegler.
Until January 6, Festival Square Spiegeltent, Lothian Road, Edinburgh, various times, prices start at £19.50 weekdays and £24.50 weekends. Tel: 0131 510 0395 www.edinburghschristmas.com www.facebook.com/Official.LACLIQUE
VISUAL ART
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
SOMETIMES charming, sometimes macabre, automata have bewitched people for centuries. Titled A Curious Turn, pictured above, this exhibition features 30 automata sculptures from leading makers of the last 40 years, some of which visitors will be able to turn, push and crank to see them in action. On December 9 from noon to 3pm there’s a drop-in session (£3.50 per child) for those aged four to 12 to make their own moving sculptures with a Christmas theme.
Until February 24, Inverness Art Gallery and Museum, Tuesday to Thursday noon to 4pm, Friday and Saturday 11am to 4pm, closed Sunday and Monday, free. Tel: 01463 237114 www.highlifehighland.com
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
JANEANNE Gilchrist is a photographer, image-maker and free-diver, and this is her first solo exhibition following the Retina Scottish International Photography festival in 2015, for which she won the 2016 JD Fergusson Arts Award.
The photographs in Above, Below, Beyond were shot when she was alone out in the sea in the period after her mother’s death. Foraged items from the depths such as bird skeletons, decomposing plastic bags and garments discarded by fishermen become mysterious, fragile objects from another world.
Until April 13, The Fergusson Gallery, Perth, Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, closed Monday and Sunday, free. Tel: 01738 783425 www.culturepk.org.uk
FILM
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
GLASGOW’S CCA is presenting two programmes of films this month based around the theme of place.
CinemaAttic, which promotes Spanish, Iberian and Latin-American cinema in Scotland, is hosting a selection of shorts from established Basque filmmakers in Kimauk – Best of the Basques on December 7 (7.30pm, £5, £4 concs).
On December 13 (6pm), Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network present a free evening of films made in Scotland looking at identity, diversity and compassion to mark International Migrants Day.
Graham Drysdale’s uplifting Christmas feature drama Wiglia, which stars indie musicians Iwona Glowinska and Duglas T Stewart, is accompanied by a short from Gaynor Macfarlane and Etienne Kubwabo’s documentary Scotland’s Memoir.
CCA, Glasgow. Tel: 0141 352 4900. www.cca-glasgow.com www.facebook.com/cinemaatticglasgow www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/gramnet
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
AS part of States of Danger and Deceit, a touring season of European political thrillers from the 1960s and 1970s, Dundee Contemporary Arts screened Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion, Elio Petri’s 1970 film about a corrupt police official starring Gian Maria Volonte.
Tonight (December 2) sees a screening of The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, above, a key film of the New German Cinema starring Angela Winkler as a woman whose life changes after she meets a man who is suspected by the authorities of being a political activist.
Screening 6pm, £7.50, £5 concs, Dundee Contemporary Arts. Tel: 01382 909 900. www.dca.org.uk
BOOKS
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
OFTEN described as one of Scotland’s greatest living poets, Douglas Dunn will read from his new book Noise Of A Fly – his first in 16 years, and the first since he was awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2013.
Dunn will be accompanied by Birmingham-born Matthew Griffiths, who has a PhD in poetry and climate change and a poetry collection titled Natural Economy.
December 7, CCA, Glasgow, 7pm, £7. Tel: 0141 352 4900. www.cca-glasgow.com.
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
EDINBURGH: A Personal View In Photographs is Douglas Corrance’s response to a life spent in one of the world’s most beautiful and fascinating cities.
Since starting his professional life age 15 as a junior photographer for the Highland News, the award-winning Corrance has followed no other profession, with this collection, including the striking image above, spanning 50 years of the city’s people, pageantry, scenery and architecture.
Corrance will show some of his favourites on the big screen at this event, and will tell some of the stories behind them.
December 9, Blackwell’s Bookshop, Edinburgh, 3pm, free but ticketed. Tickets from bit.ly/Corrance
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
CRIME thriller writer Stuart MacBride, author of ten books so far in his Aberdeenshire-set series centring on detective sergeant Logan McRae, will sign copies of his latest book We Are Dead, a new standalone spinoff featuring McRae’s old boss Roberta Steel.
December 16, Waterstones, Aberdeen, noon, free, non-ticketed.
www.waterstones.com/events/stuart-macbride-book-sign/aberdeen www.stuartmacbride.com
HOGMANAY PARTIES
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
A HUGE hit at the Fringe over the past couple of years, Massaoke is likely the most fun alternative to Edinburgh’s official street party in welcoming in 2018. Bringing together one of the tightest live bands to play classic hits from the 1980s through to the present day, the mass sing-a-long night aims to inspire everyone in the room to dance and sing until they go hoarse. If you’d rather sing Livin’ On A Prayer than Auld Lang Syne this Hogmanay, this is the party for you, with DJs into the wee hours and drinks supplied by Summerhall’s on-site brewery Barney’s and gin distillery Pickering’s. Sustenance will be provided by the city’s seafood experts ShrimpWreck.
Sunday 31 December, Summerhall, Edinburgh, 9pm, £15 advance, £20 on the door. Tickets: bit.ly/ www.massaoke.com www.summerhall.co.uk
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
AFTER taking last year off to see how they celebrate Hogmanay elsewhere, Twitch and Wilkes, the DJs behind world-renowned clubbing sensation Optimo, say the break made them realise “there is almost certainly nowhere better on the planet to bring in New Year than Glasgow”. Topping off their 20th anniversary year, which included a magnificent one-day festival in August, their Hogmanay party at the city’s School of Art features an all-Glasgow line-up including live sets from eccentric groove-makers General Ludd and LAPS, whose Who Me? was one of the best singles of 2017.
December 31, Glasgow School of Art, 10pm, £18. Tickets from bit.ly/OptimoHogmanay www.optimo.co.uk www.facebook.com/generalluddgla www.facebook.com/ladiesaspimps
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here