The List 737

FR EE

! r A s e a c , HAil

THE COENS' OLD H OLLYWOOD HOMAG E OPENS GLASGOW F ILM FESTIVAL

PLUS

ANOMALISA | HINDS | BRITISH ART SHOW 8 WHITE | HINTERLAND | ROMESH RANGANATHAN

4 FEB—7 APR 2016 | ISSUE 737

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CONTENTS

FRONT

4 FEB – 7 APR 2016 | LIST.CO.UK

W

e’re saluting the Coen brothers this month as their latest fun-fest Hail, Caesar! opens this year’s Glasgow Film Festival in February (it’s out everywhere in March). It kicks off a thrilling programme, which includes Charlie Kaufman’s latest, Anomalisa, Palme d’Or winner Dheepan, and some pretty amazing events: Con Air in a secret location anyone? And if you fancy seeing Trainspotting, Scream or From Dusk Till Dawn in IMAX, now’s your chance: vote for your favourite at list.co.uk/gff16, and turn to page 17 for all of our GFF coverage.

In March, the Glasgow International Comedy Festival brings a host of top funny talent to the west, including Romesh Ranganathan, who chatted to us about hitting the TV big time (page 27). Later in the month, Hinterland marks the start of the Festival of Architecture at St Peter’s Seminary near Helensburgh (page 36). And the Edinburgh International Science Festival starts a little earlier than usual at the end of March, so don’t miss out on that (page 33).

Plus, there’s some great new restaurants opening both east and west: read more on page 44, ahead of the release of the 23rd edition of The List Eating & Drinking Guide in April.

2

News

11

Joanna Newsom

15

FEATURES

17

Glasgow Film Festival

17

Edinburgh Science Festival

33

Hinterland

36

FOOD & DRINK

41

Born in the Borders

42

AROUND TOWN

COVER STORY

the finest film festivals in Europe, GFF is also a pearl of diverse attractions. As well as the banner headline likes of Joel ‘n’ Ethan Coen and Charlie Kaufman, the city lays on the cream of Argentine cinema, pairs up some cinematic dream teams, keeps it brief with top film shorts, goes large on classic IMAX screenings, keeps the geeks happy via Nerdvana and scares the devil out of us with FrightFest.

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38

49

Declaration

49

Highlights

50

BOOKS

51

StAnza

51

Amy Liptrot

52

Highlights

53

COMEDY

54

Isy Suttie

55

Dylan Moran

56

Highlights

57

59

HippFest

59

Anomalisa

60

High-Rise

63

Highlights

64

KIDS

GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL Not only one of

41

Glasgow Restaurant Festival

FILM Editor

2

Hollywood’s Golden Age

66

Build It!

67

Highlights

68

MUSIC

69

Hinds

70

Scottish albums

72

Enter Shikari

73

Highlights

78

Classical Highlights

83

THEATRE Northern Ballet’s 1984

84 84

The James Plays

86

Scottish Dance Theatre

88 89

BRITISH ART SHOW 8

Highlights

After the winter just gone, we all need a dose of the chuckles. Let Romesh Ranganathan, Rory McGrath, Shappi Khorsandi and a bunch of Scottish comics help you laugh it up.

The touring exhibition parks the bus in Edinburgh with plenty of thought-provoking work across the city from the likes of Rachel Maclean and Linder Sterling.

VISUAL ART

90

Joseph McKenzie

90

GREAT OFFERS

GLASGOW COMEDY FESTIVAL

Win tickets to The Crucible at The Lyceum Win an exclusive Glasgow Restaurant Festival dish crawl Win tickets to NEHH Presents . . .

Hector Bizerk + support

8 8

Win tickets to The Big Bang Bash at National Museum of Scotland

8

Win tickets to Museum Lates

8

Free £10 voucher for Tipple Box Cocktails

8

Sara Barker

92

Highlights

93

TV

94

The Night Manager

94

Mid Morning Matters

95

FIRST & LAST

96

8

Omid Djalili

96

GRAPHIC CONTENT

CONTRIBUTORS Publisher & General Editor Robin Hodge Director Simon Dessain

What we’ve been talking about With the Glasgow Film Festival opened by those cine-obsessed siblings the Coens and Hail, Caesar!, their homage to classic Hollywood, we wondered what people might choose as their top film from that Golden Age. Well, we can wonder no longer, as the below seems a fair representation of Tinseltown’s finest hours

CASABLANCA It makes me feel . . . emotions.

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? It’s a rare case where the two leading roles are both female and with two actors who clashed in real life as much as their characters did within the movie.

From a female perspective, it’s very close to the bone stuff.

SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS For a movie that is essentially about kidnapping and the realities of Stockholm syndrome, the musical numbers and jazzy dancing make it a real treat. Bless her beautiful hide indeed!

VERTIGO It still leaves me in awe.

Arguably the greatest film ever made, not just in the Golden Age.

THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE The fantastic John Huston film that Paul Thomas Anderson says heavily influenced his masterpiece There Will Be Blood.

HIS GIRL FRIDAY Cary Grant as a cynical editor drives everyone round the bend!

EDITORIAL Editor Yasmin Sulaiman Senior Digital Editor Scott Henderson Research Manager Rowena McIntosh Senior Researcher Murray Robertson Research Alex Johnston, Rebecca Monks, Henry Northmore, Kirstyn Smith Subeditors Brian Donaldson, Paul McLean SALES & MARKETING Media Sales Manager Chris Knox Senior Media Sales Executive Debbie Thomson Media Sales Executive Rachel Cree Sales Support Executive Jessica Rodgers Promotions Executive Jade Regulski Digital Business Development Director Brendan Miles Partnership Director Sheri Friers

PRODUCTION Production Director Simon Armin Senior Designer Lucy Munro Designer Jen Devonshire DIGITAL Senior Developer Andy Carmichael Digital Designer Sharon Irish Software Developer Iain McCusker Senior DBA Andy Bowles ADMINISTRATION Accounts Manager Sarah Reddie

ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS Cary Grant as a hard-bitten pilot drives Jean Arthur round the bend!

THE SEARCHERS Coming nearly 20 years after John Ford and John Wayne worked together on Stagecoach, it’s not just an exploration of the classic Western themes, but comes with added darkness that rather turned Pappy and the Duke’s earlier works on their head.

BRINGING UP BABY Cary Grant as a geeky palaeontologist is driven round the bend by Katherine Hepburn!

2 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE I suspect some stuffy folks would deem to be undeserving of the accolade. Well, I disagree, and I’ve seen it about 50 times.

I WAS A MALE WAR BRIDE Post-WWII Europe drives Cary Grant round the bend!

HIGH NOON I have a very fond memory of watching it one evening with my dad in a Travelodge while we split up a long journey. It’s so good I don’t even prefer the sci-fi remake (Outland).

SECTION EDITORS Around Town / Music Kirstyn Smith Books / Film Scotland Yasmin Sulaiman Comedy / Front Brian Donaldson Dance / Kids Kelly Apter Film Reviews Emma Simmonds Food & Drink Donald Reid TV Henry Northmore Theatre Gareth K Vile Visual Art Rachael Cloughton

Published by The List Ltd HEAD OFFICE: 14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE Tel: 0131 550 3050, Fax: 0131 557 8500, list.co.uk, email editor@list.co.uk GLASGOW OFFICE: at the CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3JD Tel: 0141 332 9929, glasgow@list.co.uk ISSN: 0959 - 1915 © 2016 The List Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden without the written permission of the publishers. The List does not accept responsibility for unsolicited material.

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Use of magazine content is at your own risk.

Printed by Acorn Web Offset Ltd, W.Yorkshire.

REALIST The

Y R A U R B E F

2 The James Plays THEATRE

After stunning success at the 2014 Edinburgh International Festival, National Theatre of Scotland’s production of Rona Munro’s historical trilogy about the Stewart kings takes to the road. See preview, page 86. Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 13 Feb; King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 8–Sun 10 Apr.

PHOTO © JONTY WILDE

1 Glasgow Film Festival FILM

Bookended by new films from the Coen brothers (Hail, Caesar!, pictured) and Charlie Kaufman (Anomalisa, see March), this year’s GFF already sounds like a triumph. But add in FrightFest, Argentine cinema, classic dream teams as well as thought-provoking documentaries and you’re left with a truly memorable moment in the Scottish cultural calendar. See feature, page 17. Various venues, Glasgow, Wed 17–Sun 28 Feb. 4 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

3 British Art Show 8 VISUAL ART

This touring exhibition arrives with over 40 artists showing their wares. Works are on display through the spring from the likes of Laure Prouvost, Bedwyr Williams and Rachel Maclean. See feature, page 38.

Various venues, Edinburgh, Sat 13 Feb–Sun 8 May.

PHOTO © SALVA LOPEZ

So much culture, so little time.

We boil it down to 20 of the best events

4 Hinds

5 Build It!

Madrid’s finest garage rockers, fresh from supporting the Vaccines and Libertines abroad, bring us a new album entitled Leave Me Alone. If they keep this up, there’s little chance of that. See preview, page 70. Stereo, Glasgow, Sun 21 Feb.

Lego was voted the greatest toy ever in a Channel 4 poll and the movie went on to cement its staying power. Kids (both young and less young) can watch a model of the museum being built or get their hands on some interaction. See preview, page 67. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, until Sun 17 Apr.

KIDS

PHOTO © LOUISE SPENCE

MUSIC

6 WHITE MUSIC

Leo Condie and his fellow Glasgow noiseniks helped the capital’s Hogmanay celebrations bounce along and their disco-punk vibe has been tipped as one of the sounds of 2016. See preview, page 69. Electric Circus, Edinburgh, Fri 19 Feb; QMU, Glasgow, Sat 20 Feb.

7 Edinburgh Student

8 Scottish Dance Theatre 9 Mid Morning Matters

The country’s sole student-run arts fest has its second outing. There’s workshops, exhibitions and stalls, plus a launch party at the Biscuit Factory on Thu 11 Feb with special guest performances. Various venues, Edinburgh, Fri 12–Fri 19 Feb.

SDT are proud to present a double bill of works which furthers the Dundee-based company’s reputation for accessible modern choreography and marks a jolly nice way to celebrate their 30th birthday. See preview, page 88. Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 17 & Thu 18 Feb.

VISUAL ART

Arts Festival

DANCE

TV

with Alan Partridge

North Norfolk’s finest digital radio DJ delivers some more awkward chat and uncomfortable silences as he upsets and degrades as many people as he can in a single series, Go Alan!. See preview, page 95. Sky Atlantic, Tue 16 Feb.

10 Harry Giles

PHOTO © ANDREJS STROKINS

CHOSEN BY RALLY & BROAD’S RACHEL MCCRUM

I’m looking forward to the start of the new tour of Harry Giles’ show Everything I Bought and How it Made Me Feel. For a year, Harry logged every transaction that he made (from sandwiches to train tickets) and tried to plot the impact of all this, emotionally, psychologically and intellectually, because it was making him miserable. I’ve seen the show in scratch a couple of years ago, and it’s a fascinating look at taking the minutiae and mundane transactions of our lives and trying to work out what it all means. It’s got real emotional heft.

Absolutely recommended!

Everything I Bought and How it Made Me Feel, Appleton Tower, Edinburgh, Thu 18 Feb; The Glad Cafe, Glasgow, Sun 21 Feb; Rally & Broad: The Ampersand Sessions, Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Fri 19 Feb, Stereo, Glasgow, Sun 21 Feb. See rallyandbroad.com for full line-ups.

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 5

H C R MA

1 Glasgow International COMEDY

Comedy Festival A truly excellent line-up has been gathered for this year’s GICF with a typically diverse range of local, national and international funny folk.

Among the talents appearing are Romesh Ranganathan (pictured), Frankie Boyle, Ardal O’Hanlon, Jenny Éclair and Richard Herring plus a whole host of people who have appeared in Scot Squad. See feature, page 27 and previews, page 54.

Various venues, Glasgow, Thu 10–Sun 27 Mar.

PHOTO © ANDY HOLLINGWORTH PHOTO © JAMES JOHNSON

PHOTO © JAMES ROSS

2 StAnza

3 Hinterland

Once again, Scotland’s poetry festival pulls together another very fine array of verse experts such as Lemn Sissay (pictured), Christine De Luca, Don Paterson, Rebecca Sharp and Thomas Lynch. But it’s not all about the poetry as there’s a programme of visual art, architecture, music and film events too.

See preview, page 51. Various venues, St Andrews, Wed 2–Sun 6 Mar.

Dubbed ‘Scotland’s greatest modernist ruin’, St Peter’s Seminary is transformed into a light and sound spectacular by those clever NVA public art folks. A very fitting space to launch the country’s year-long Festival of Architecture. See feature, page 36. St Peter’s Seminary, Cardross, Fri 18–Sun 27 Mar.

BOOKS

6 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

AROUND TOWN / VISUAL ART

The

REALIST

AROUND TOWN / KIDS

4 Anomalisa

International 5 Edinburgh Science Festival

FILM

He may have been denied the chance to make a proper film for the best part of a decade, but Charlie ‘Synecdoche, New York’ Kaufman has hit back in startling fashion with the existentialist, animated antics of Anomalisa. See feature, page 22 and review, page 60. Glasgow Film Theatre, Sun 28 Feb; general release from Fri 11 Mar.

6 Adele MUSIC

Some of the reviews of her long-awaited 25 album may have ranged from tepid to lukewarm, but when Adele rolls out her old and new songs live, boy will they soar. Packed Hydro houses will stand as clear testament to her continued popular acclaim. The SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Fri 25 & Sat 26 Mar.

If poetry was the new rock’n’roll, does this make science the new acid jazz? Probably not, but behold amazing goings-on as the EISF focuses on how science can make a better world for all of us.

See feature page 33 and preview, page 67. Various venues, Edinburgh, Sat 26 Mar–Sun 10 Apr.

PHOTO © ANDY MARTIN

PHOTO © EMLI BENDIXEN

7 Aye Write!

8 Sara Barker

9 Field Music

Glasgow’s book festival delivers another packed programme of literary delights, plus the annual Wee Write! and the inaugural Aye Con. There’s a sneak early treat of the festival with Jon Ronson appearing at the Royal Concert Hall (Thu 4 Feb).

See list.co.uk/books for coverage. Mitchell Library, Glasgow, Thu 10–Sun 20 Mar.

One of the GENERATION lot, contemporary Scottish artist Barker delivers ambitious multi-layered pieces which explore physical and imaginative space. Ali Smith has produced a new text for this Fruitmarket exhibition which is entitled Change-The-Setting. See preview, page 92. Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, Sat 12 Mar–Sun 5 Jun.

The Sunderland indie guitar band have, guess what, partially put down the guitars for latest album, Commontime. Rock action is still there whether it’s in the form of math-rock, art-rock or funky funk-rock. Listen hard and you can hear bits of Talking Heads, Bowie and Wings in there. See review, page 74. CCA, Glasgow, Sun 13 Mar.

BOOKS

VISUAL ART

MUSIC

10

CHOSEN BY CANNED LAUGHTER’S GRANT STOTT

The Perfect Murder

March is going to be a tricky time for me with Canned Laughter taking to the road throughout the month, but there are a couple of windows of opportunity and I’m really keen to see The Perfect Murder which is on at The King’s in Edinburgh in the first week of March. I love a good murder mystery and this comes with great reviews and stars Shane Richie and Jessie Wallace. I saw Deathtrap at The King’s a few years back and it’s the perfect venue for this sort of drama.

The Perfect Murder, King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Mon 29 Feb–Sat 5 Mar; Canned Laughter, Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Tue 15–Sat 19 Mar; King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 29 Mar–Sat 2 Apr. 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 7

READER OFFERS WIN AN EXCLUSIVE GLASGOW RESTAURANT FESTIVAL DISH CRAWL

BUTCHERSHOP_ROBINMITCHELL

WIN TICKETS TO THE CRUCIBLE AT THE LYCEUM

April 2016 will see Glasgow’s first annual restaurant festival, a two week opportunity to celebrate and sample the city’s flourishing dining scene. You will be able to enjoy an array of foodie events, special offers and dish crawls across the city. Top chefs and local food stars will take over Candleriggs Square in the Merchant City from 11 Mar-17 Apr with pop up restaurants, unique dining experiences and live music.

The List has teamed up with Glasgow Restaurant Festival to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a Finnieston dish crawl for two. To be in with a chance of winning just log on to list.co.uk/offers and tell us…

What three restaurants and type of cuisine would be your perfect Glasgow dish crawl?

Glasgow Restaurant Festival Various Venues 1 Apr – 19 Apr 2016 Tickets: Free

glasgowrestaurantfestival.co.uk @GRFestival TERMS & CONDITIONS: Competition closes Fri 25 Mar 2016. #GRFest See list.co.uk/offers for full t&c’s. Usual list rules apply.

When young women are discovered trying to conjure spirits, the Godfearing people of Salem, Massachusetts are told the devil is in their midst and must be rooted out at all costs. Accusations fly, scores are settled, and fear and suspicion reign. With terrifying power and momentum their faith becomes a murderous instrument of lust, paranoia and revenge.

Following huge acclaim for All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, The Price and A View from the Bridge, John Dove returns to direct The Crucible, completing The Lyceum’s acclaimed journey through the best loved works of Arthur Miller with a cast of 19 actors.

The List are giving away a pair of tickets to see the show on Sat 12 Mar at 7.30pm. To be in with a chance of winning just log on to list.co.uk/offers and tell us:

Which Hollywood star was Arthur Miller married to between 1956 and 1961?

The Crucible Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh 30B Grindlay Street Edinburgh EH3 9AX 18 Feb - 19 Mar 2016

lyceum.org.uk @lyceumtheatre #TheCrucible #Lyceum50 TERMS & CONDITIONS: Competition closes 17 Feb 2016. No cash alternative. Usual List rules apply.

8 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

WIN TICKETS TO MUSEUM LATES: CELTS This May the National Museum of Scotland’s legendary Lates will return with a Celtic twist.

On Friday 13 May join us for an evening of entertainment inspired

by Celts, the museum’s major exhibition organised with the British Museum. Lates favourite Vic Galloway will host sensational live music on the Grand Gallery stage alongside pop-up bars, a silent disco, object handling and talks, plus the rare opportunity to simply explore the museum galleries at night.

The List are giving away a pair of tickets to this fantastic event at the National Museum of Scotland. To be in with a chance of winning just log on to list.co.uk/offers and tell us:

The Celts exhibition is organised in partnership with which other museum?

Museum Late: Celts National Museum of Scotland Chambers Street Fri 13 May 2016, 7pm - 10.30pm Tickets: £20/£18 Late plus exhibition entry, £12/£10 Late only 18+ only

nms.ac.uk TERMS & CONDITIONS: Competition closes Fri 29 Apr 2016. Entrants must be over 18 years old.

No cash alternative. Usual List rules apply.

CREDIT © JOHN NEED

‘I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand.

I saw Sarah Good with the Devil!’

READER OFFERS WIN TICKETS TO NEHH PRESENTS...

HECTOR BIZERK + SUPPORT

WIN THE MANIPULATE WINTICKETS TICKETSTO TO THE BIG BANG FESTIVAL RECEPTION

BASH AT NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND

Nothing Ever Happens Here in association with Black T from Tennent’s returns to Summerhall and we’re giving you the chance to win tickets to see Hector Bizerk + Support TBC. Hector Bizerk have toured internationally and made great stride in U.S. while simultaneously developing their unique brand of experimental hiphop.

Expect razor sharp poetry from front man Louie with the incredible tribal rhythms of Audrey Tait to create a crescendo of thought-provoking music that encapsulates audiences to move both mentally and physically. A celebration of modern hip-hop culture with a very Scottish twist.

The List are giving away a pair of tickets to NEHH presents... Hector Bizerk + Support on Thu 25 Feb with complimentary Black T on arrival. To be in with a chance of winning just log on to list.co.uk/offers and tell us:

Where is Black T from Tennent’s brewed?

NEHH Presents... Hector Bizerk + Support Summerhall, Edinburgh EH9 1PL Thu 25 Feb 2016 8pm - late Tickets - £10

summerhall.co.uk @TennentsLager @NEHHSH

TERMS & CONDITIONS: Competition closes 19 Feb 2016. Entrants must be over 18 years old. No cash alternative. Usual List rules apply.

FREE £10 VOUCHER FOR TIPPLE BOX COCKTAILS Join us for an out-of-this-world space party! You can win a pair of tickets to the Science Festival’s Big Bang Bash at National Museum of Scotland.

Unleash your inner astronaut as you take a spacesuit selfie, help build a Mars colony from LEGO® bricks, send an encrypted message on a genuine Enigma machine and learn about the astrolabe whilst crafting one. Step inside our planetarium to discover the wonders of the solar system or take to the dance floor for the space themed Science Ceilidh.

There’ll also be short talks from space experts including Mars One finalist Ryan MacDonald and astrobiologist Lewis Dartnell. Not to mention the chance to get a space-themed cocktail from the Bar at the End of the Universe and dance the night away to a DJ set from Kid Canaveral. Get ready for an intergalactic night out to remember.

To be in with a chance of winning one of five pairs of tickets to the Science Festival’s Big Bang Bash just log on to list.co.uk/offers.

Tipple Box are on a mission to make fun, great tasting cocktails accessible to everyone so you no longer have to purchase off the shelf, generic bottles of spirits and frozen pouches.

We’re giving you £10 towards a Tipple box subscription making your first box only £14! Each box contains the craft cocktail ingredients, mixers and premium spirits you need to make two recipes and six great tasting cocktails at home.

Big Bang Bash National Museum of Scotland 1 Apr 2016, 7pm

sciencefestival.co.uk @EdSciFest

Head to TippleBox.co.uk/thelist and use the discount code ‘LIST10’ against a monthly subscription box.

tipplebox.co.uk @TippleBoxUK TERMS & CONDITIONS: Offer valid until 6 Apr 2016. Strictly one voucher can be purchased and redeemed per customer. Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 years to purchase alcoholic beverages in the UK. Visit tipplebox.co.uk/terms-conditions for full t&c’s.

TERMS & CONDITIONS: Competition closes Mon 21 Mar 2016. Usual List rules apply.

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 9

NEWS

NEW YE AR, NEW W R I T E R S The Scottish Book Trust has announced the recipients of its New Writers Awards for 2016, with a bookshop manager, two posties, a journalist and a library assistant among the list of winners.

Each recipient will receive a £2000 cash award and support tailored to their needs. The winners (pictured) are Greg Whelan, Iain Bain, Karen Ashe, Sarah Urwin Jones, Vicky MacKenzie, Jen Cooper, Louise Peterkin, Rachel Plummer, PM Freestone, Robert McGinty and Karyn Dougan.

CHOOSE LIFE, CHOOSE TRAINSPOTTING It’s been 20 years since Ewan McGregor tore down Princes Street to Iggy Pop, and Robert Carlyle brought the glass-throwing, booze-loving, foul-mouthed Begbie to the big screen. In honour of this special moment, The People’s Film Collective (a new event from the team behind Tenement TV) will be screening Trainspotting at Saint Luke’s in Glasgow on Tue 23 Feb, along with a Q&A and live entertainment. You can also vote to see the film in IMAX at Glasgow Film Festival at list. co.uk/gff16. Find out more on page 20.

SING A SONG FOR THE M ACKINTOSH BU ILD I N G Creative Scotland has awarded part funding to the Glasgow School of Art choir to commission a new choral work for the ensemble from Sir James MacMillan CBE. This will be premiered at

For more news go to

LIST.CO.UK /NEWS ANNOUNCEMENTS, LINE-UPS AND OPINION

the reopening of the Mackintosh Building. Lyrics for the commission have been taken from a poem held in the GSA archives written by Francis Henry Newbery, director of the school from 1885–1917.

Research Book of the Year, Poetry Book of the Year and Fiction Book of the Year. The winners of each will go on to compete for the overall Saltire Scottish Book of the Year title.

G O O D BYE TO MACSORLEY’S

WI C KE RMAN D OWN

MacSorley’s Music Bar on Jamaica Street in Glasgow is closing, playing its final gig on Valentine’s Night. While local bands and Scottish food have been their focus for the past decade, the bar has been there for well over 100 years.

Wickerman, one of Scotland’s biggest music festivals, has been cancelled following the death of its co-founder, James Gilroy, just over a year ago.

Last year’s event went ahead as a tribute to his memory, but this year, Mr Gilroy’s family are looking to take some time out from the festival.

SMHAFF TURNS TEN

HIGH HOPES FOR CALTON HILL SCHOOL

The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival has launched its tenth year with a series of special announcements. A new play from Alan Bissett about the life of Syd Barrett will premiere in October while Emma Jayne Park has been named as associate artist for the festival. A partnership with National Theatre of Scotland will result in a double-bill of new shows entitled Eve / Adam, which explore transgender lives. The festival will run Mon 10–Mon 31 Oct with the theme of ‘Time’.

Several big names in music have backed a bid to site an independent music school in the old Royal High School building on Calton Hill. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Mercury Music Prize judge Simon Frith, and percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie have offered their support. If successful, St Mary’s Music School (currently based in the West End) will take over the site which will create a new concert venue for Edinburgh, as well as a school for young musicians.

F LY I N G T H E LI T E RARY FLAG The shortlist for the Saltire Literary Awards has been announced, and includes Irvine Welsh, Michel Faber, Kate Atkinson, Janice Galloway and Andrew O’Hagan, among others. The awards date back to 1937, and there are six categories, including First Book of the Year, History Book of the Year,

T H E AFT E R E FFECTS O F THE GLASGOW EFFECT You’re probably sick of hearing about it by now, but just in case you’ve managed to escape the madness and hysteria that is the reaction to The Glasgow Effect, check out our writer’s opinion on the whole affair at list.co.uk.

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 11

NEWS Death at one’s elbow: celebrities, fans and the grieving process 2016 started in sadness, with the deaths of David Bowie and Alan Rickman, among others. As fans post about their grief on social media, Kirstyn Smith looks at the reasons why we mourn celebrities that we’ve never met

PHOTO © BRIAN DUFFY

T

S Eliot’s cruelest month may have been April, but if he were alive today he’d be forced to consider giving January the honour. Instead of breeding lilacs out of the dead land, this month seems intent on doing the opposite.

Less than a fortnight in, 2016 took a nosedive when the news broke that, just three days after marking his 69th birthday by releasing his resoundingly lauded Blackstar album, David Bowie had succumbed to cancer. Four days later, before the world had the chance to collectively exit the ‘denial’ stage, another blow came in the form of Alan Rickman’s death, also from cancer and at the same age.

Story fodder for years to come, the answer to the ‘where were you when you heard David Bowie had died?’ question will be, for many: ‘on social media’. A collectively shocked and pissed-off general public took to the web to air their woes and search for comfort in the digital arms of others as the shockwaves rippled on. When Alan Rickman’s death was announced a handful of days later, a Facebook post on my feed summed up the reaction of most people I know: ‘Fuck you, cancer. Take a day off.’

Pouring out our grief on social media is a phenomenon that divides as much as it unites; the ‘grief police’ will always be around to let people know how, where and why you should be feeling sad.

It was a topic addressed recently by the Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, when she spoke out about 12 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

writing a raw and frank post about the sudden death of her husband in May 2015. ‘People started talking to me more openly. And even strangers, because I’m not the only person who experienced loss this year or in previous years.’

They say death is the last taboo, and this is as true online as it is in person. But the perceived detachment offered by social media encourages discussion, conversation and acknowledgement of world-shifting experiences. The technology is there, and on it we share news of our breakfasts, our pets, our families. So, why not our grief?

Bowie fan, Natalie, found solace in social media: ‘Twitter is a great medium for talking to like-minded people and was the first place I turned when I heard the news. It was really lovely to share stories with ordinary people who felt the same way I did about Bowie. I didn’t see any one-upmanship, just real emotion and shocked sadness.’

While the phenomenon of sharing every thought and feeling online is a relatively new one, it’s not as though we’ve never publicly united to mourn the death of a public figure before.

‘You could refer to the death and the funeral of Winston Churchill,’ says psychiatrist Dr Lars Davidsson, medical director of the Anglo European Clinic. ‘There were about a million people lining the road when his coffin passed through London. I think people have always mourned public figures who die, it’s just that Facebook and Twitter provide us with the technology to do it in a different way.’

These new technologies are often the precipitant as well as the solution. Social media, particularly Twitter, allows artists and celebrities to connect to their fans in a way they never could before, allowing for closer perceived bonds and a more intimate access to their everyday lives. So it’s not the most unusual occurrence for the fan / celebrity relationship to become a reality: Wizards of Waverly Place actor Jake T Austin recently announced on Instagram that he is now in a relationship with a fan who had ‘Twitter stalked’ him for six years.

Alan Rickman fan, Janelle, says: ‘Life is about connectedness, and if someone I never met can bring me into a (metaphorical) embrace with even more humans I’ve never met, then that is a beautiful collective experience. How lucky we are to have such support and opportunity. Knowing we’re not crazy for crying over someone we don’t know.

Knowing we’re all rather alike, in fact, and need that hand to hold through shared posts and favourite scenes.’

If the goal of an artist is to create work that moves and engages, it’s only natural for us to also feel bound to that artist as well.

COMING UP • Edinburgh Student Arts Festival (Fri 12–Fri 19 Feb): Scotland’s only student-run arts festival showcases art from various educational institutions in the city, and features everything from performances and exhibitions to talks and workshops.

• Gl Glasgow Fil Film F Festival (Wed 17–Sun ti l (W d 17 S 28 Feb): highlights from this year’s event include the world premiere of Where You’re Meant to Be at the Barrowland (Fri 19 Feb), Raiders of the Lost Ark (pictured) and Silence of the Lambs at Kelvingrove Art Gallery (Sat 20 Feb), as well as an appearance from Richard Gere, for the UK premiere of his new film, Time Out of Mind. See feature, page 17.

• StAnza (Wed 2–Sun 6 Mar): this poetry festival has over 100 guests from all over the world, reading and talking about all things versified.

Highlights include Andrew McMillan, Don Paterson and Jo Bell.

• Glasgow International Comedy Festival (Thu 10–Sun 27 Mar): the cream of the comedic world swoops upon Glasgow for another barnstorming festival. See feature, page 27.

• HippFest (Wed 16–Sun 20 Mar): silent film festival returns to Bo’ness for a sixth year. See preview, page 59.

• Puppet Animation Festival (Sat 19 Mar–Sat 9 Apr): a feast of puppetbased entertainment from the UK’s largest and longest established annual performing arts event for kids.

• Edinburgh International Science Festival (Sat 26 Mar–Sun 10 Apr): the festival’s programme launches on Tue 9 Feb. See feature, page 33.

• Beltane (Sat 30 Apr): a modern interpretation of the ancient fertility festival of Beltane in the spectacular setting of Calton Hill.

PROGRAMME LAUNCHES FEBRUARY 9 sciencefestival.co.uk

MARRIAGE CAN BE MURDER

SHANE RICHIE

16 – 20 February FESTIVAL THEATRE

JESSIE WALLACE

29 February – 5 March KING’S THEATRE

15 – 19 March FESTIVAL THEATRE FOLLOWING TEN YEARS OF THE AGATHA CHRISTIE THEATRE COMPANY, A NEW CHAPTER

21 – 26 March FESTIVAL THEATRE

21 – 26 March KING’S THEATRE

+‘H I L A R I O US ++ ’ +

Featuring a sound track of classic 70s hits by Donny Osmond, David Cassidy, Marc Bolan and many more

12 – 16 April KING’S THEATRE

19 – 23 April KING’S THEATRE

ENERGETIC, STRIPPED-BACK SHAKESPEARE

WITH

Dudley Sutton AS Candy 26 – 30 April KING’S THEATRE

5 – 7 May KING’S THEATRE

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THE MOST

FANTASMAGORICAL

JASON MANFORD as Caractacus Potts

STAGE MUSICAL IN THE HISTORY OF EVERYTHING! MICHELLE COLLINS as Baroness Bombhurst

27 April – 21 May 2016 FESTIVAL THEATRE

0131 529 6000 edtheatres.com

5 – 16 October 2016 FESTIVAL THEATRE

BIG PICTURE

PHOTO © ANNABEL MEHRAN

JOANNA NEWSOM Yes, we know she sounds a bit like Kate Bush and that she’s wed to Andy ‘Brooklyn NineNine’ Samberg. But there’s quite a bit more to the Californian singer-songwriter than those snippets. There’s the fact that she’s carved out a bona fide indie-folk cult status by playing the harp, for pity’s sake, rocketing into the hearts of anyone who loves an ethereal vocal and obtuse lyrics while inflicting a rather expensive birthday / Christmas gift request upon the parents of many a teenage girl. Her new tour will no doubt feature plenty of songs from Divers, Newsom’s first album in five years, laden with tunes such as ‘Sapokanikan’, ‘Waltz of the 101st Lightborne’ and the sublime ‘Goose Eggs’.

Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Wed 2 Mar.

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 15

CREATIVE BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Name of business? Dress for the Weather Tell us more: Dress for the Weather is a design practice working in architecture and art run by Matt McKenna (pictured) and Andy Campbell. Our process is informed by a study of place and an understanding of social factors to produce spaces which are beautifully equipped for their climate, culture, economy and place.

Work to date includes arts spaces, work on restoration and renovation of existing buildings as well as involvement in healthcare and community projects.

Where can we find you? www. dressfortheweather.co.uk Cultural Enterprise Office offers free advice and support to those starting, running and growing their creative business or practice.

Clients come to us for all kinds of help – defining what they do, promoting their work, sourcing funding, and advice about legal structures and intellectual property rights.

www.culturalenterpriseoffice.co.uk

13 February–8 May 2016 #BAS8 | britishartshow8.com British Art Show 8 is also showing at partner venues: Inverleith House and Talbot Rice Gallery

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E X H I B I T S C H A N G E R E G U L A R LY Rachel Maclean, Feed Me (detail of film still), 2015 Š Rachel Maclean 2015. Courtesy the artist and Film and Video Umbrella. National Galleries of Scotland is a charity registered in Scotland SC003728

16 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

2B PICARDY PLACE (TOP OF BROUGHTON STREET), EDINBURGH. 0131-556-4272

GLASGOW FIlm festival

W O G S GLA

WED 17– SUN 28 FEB

Film Festival Glasgow’s a Glasgow’s annual nnual ffeast east o off ccinema ine ema ttakes akes iin n a wh whole hole h ost o yles an nd g enres ffrom rom m sshort hort fillms ms to to music music host off sty styles and genres d ocumentariess a nd ssurreal urreal a nimattion tto o cclassic lassic documentaries and animation b lockbusters. They’ ’re a overed h ere a ep eer blockbusters.

They’re allll co covered here ass w we peer iin n tthe he d arkness at th he Coen b rothers, C harliie K aufman, darkness the brothers, Charlie Kaufman, Aid dan M offa at and and some lost treasures of the th he city city itself itse elf Aidan Moffat

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 17

GLASGOW FIlm festival

D N O Y BE

As Joel and Ethan Coen open the Glasgow Film Festival with Hail, Caesar!, their comic paean to the golden age of Hollywood, Niki Boyle matches up some of the pair’s back catalogue gems with other timeless classics

T

he words ‘premiere’ and ‘opening gala’ have an undeniable air of old-school Tinseltown glamour about them, conjuring up red carpets, black ties, glittering gowns, paparazzi flashbulbs and spotlights strafing the sky above Hollywood Boulevard. It’s fitting, then, that Glasgow Film Festival’s opening gala is the UK premiere of Hail, Caesar!, a tongue-in-cheek tribute to Hollywood’s glitzy golden age, starring modern day matinee idols George Clooney, Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson.

Appropriately for a film fest launcher, Hail, Caesar! is a movie that’s in love with movies, which is just what you’d expect from writing-directing team Joel and Ethan Coen, a duo whose obsession with cinema inhabits every story they shoot. Here is a mere handful of examples from their filmophiliac back catalogue. For optimum results, we recommend scheduling a double-bill and settling down with a p p jumbo bucket of popcorn ...

W Were you on board for Miller’s Crossing (1990)? Try M iit holding A Fistful of Dollars ((1964)

S Set in Prohibition-era USA, M Miller’s Crossing is of a piece w with 1940s noir fiction and ccinema; indeed, certain story bbeats and character names in Miller’s Crossing are lifted straight from Dashiell Hammett’s celebrated crime novel The Glass Key. However, we reckon the plot – about a taciturn gangland hustler (Gabriel Byrne) who finds himself working for rival mob bosses – also tips a wink to Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars (itself a Westernised remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo), in which an unknown loner plays two warring crime families off against each other.

18 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

Were you a sucker for The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)? Make a date with His Girl Friday (1940) d

T Tim Robbins stars as naïve eentrepreneur Norville Barnes in the C Coens’ oft-overlooked screwball ccomedy, which shares DNA with P Preston Sturges’ Sullivan’s Travels aand Christmas in July as well as A Alexander Mackendrick’s The Sweet Smell of Success. However, the stand-out performance in Hudsucker is not Robbins’ easily-duped hula hooper but Jennifer Jason Leigh’s hard-hitting reporter Amy Archer, a note-perfect tribute to fast-talking newshound w s His is Girl Gi l Friday. iday.

Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) in Howard Hawks’ Does The Big Lebowski (1998) tie your room together? Say hello to The Long Goodbye (1973)

In a (reluctant) interview with Indiewire, Joell Coen stated that The Big Lebowski structuree consciously mimics that of a Raymondd Chandler noir. ‘We wanted to do a Chandlerr kind of story; how it moves episodically andd deals with the characters trying to unravell a mystery, as well as having a hopelesslyy complex plot that’s ultimately unimportant.’

Lebowski buffs looking for a cinematic reference point should check out Robert Altman’s Chandler adap The Long Goodbye. Starring Elliott Gould as Philip Marlowe (the hard-boiled detective made famous by Humphrey Bogart), the movie’s 1970s setting, Californian backdrop and druggy subplot will provide familiar touchstones for followers of The Dude (aka His Dudeness or El Duderino if you’re not into the whole brevity thing).

GLASGOW FIlm festival HAIL, CAESAR!

D you feel a kinship with Did O Brother, Where Art Thou ((2000)? Give it another look with Cool Hand Luke (1967) w

T The aforementioned Sullivan’s T Travels also had a part to play in tthe genesis of the Coens’ masterful D Depression-set quasi-musical: O Brother, Where Art Thou? was originally the title given to Sturges’ film-within-the-film.

For our money though, Joel and Ethan’s Deep South riff on Homer’s Odyssey is best paired with the evergreen Paul Newman classic Cool Hand Luke. It might not share a time frame with O Brother (being set in the 1950s as opposed to 30s), but Luke’s chain-gang milieu, fugitiveson-the-lam plot and sinister, shades-sporting uber-villain still stand as significant links between the two.

Do you have True Grit (2010)? Er . . . then have True Grit (1969)

OK, so this pairing is a bit moree obvious, but if nothing else it servess to underline just how much thee g Coens have held back from doing straight remakes (there’s only thiss and their unfairly reviled take on Ealing comedy The Ladykillers in the canon). In fact, they prefer to distance their True Grit from the 1969 John Wayne flick entirely, instead pitching it as a re-imagining of Charles Portis’ original 1968 novel. Still, even if the two films

didn’t share the same source material, Wayne’s shadow inevitably looms large over any entry in the Western genre, especially one that explores the macho cowboy persona. It’s worth watching both films in quick succession to see the subtle (and not so subtle) variations between Wayne and Jeff Bridges’ versions of hard-drinking US Marshal Rooster Cogburn, not to mention Kim Darby and Hailee Steinfeld’s differing takes on tenacious teenager Mattie Ross.

C you make reference to Can IInside Llewyn Davis (2013) w without innuendo? Then do tthe same with I’m Not There ((2007)

R Released only six years prior, II’m Not There isn’t so much a cinematic forebear as a ccomplementary perspective on aan overlapping topic; namely, one Robert Zimmerman and the New York folk scene that spawned him. The Coens’ highly-lauded character study of a fictional Greenwich Village also-ran only briefly depicts Bob Dylan’s gamechanging emergence on the scene, making it a nice counterpoint to Todd Haynes’ 2007 biopic which contains too much Dylan for one actor (Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale and Heath Ledger are among the six stars tasked with playing him). Fun fact: both Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) and idiosyncratic backing singer Al Cody (Adam Driver) have gone on to greater (or, bigger) things since working with the Coens, battling their way through space in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Hail, Caesar!, Glasgow Film Theatre, Wed 17 & Thu 18 Feb. General release from Fri 4 Mar. 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 19

GLASGOW FIlm festival

E Z I S R E P SU

ME

Scott Henderson urges you to grab your bucket of popcorn and celebrate some blockbuster birthdays on the big, big screen, as three movie classics come to Glasgow IMAX

‘G

oodness gracious / great balls of fire!’ Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Glasgow Film Festival continues its masterful balance of arthouse festival flicks and populist fare, reaching the broadest spectrum of cinephiles and movie nerds, with a strand of decadal blockbuster anniversaries from 1976 to 1996 on glorious, neckstraining IMAX presentation. Better yet, The List is giving you the chance to pick one of the films that screens.

As you’ve probably already guessed, one of the films in GFF’s IMAX Blockbusters series is 1986’s Tony Scott-Tom Cruise classic, Top Gun, and there really couldn’t be a more natural home for the aerial combat actioner than on IMAX. Prepare yourself to re-live the greatest love triangle since The Philadelphia Story, as Maverick, Goose and Iceman go toe-to-toe to find out who is the best of the best of the best, with honours. Also, there’s shirtless beach volleyball, Kelly McGillis and moody love scenes that literally take your breath away. Our flight suit is already on order.

Sticking with 1986, and a blockbuster with a greater mix of sci-fi brains, military brawn and some of the finest work of the late James Horner, how about Aliens: The Director’s Cut? Comparisons to the other Ridley brother’s earlier Alien are futile; these are two very different space beasts.

In the unlikely scenario you need convincing how amazing Aliens will be on IMAX (the Nostromo, the escape scene, the Queen? Come on!), the UK Colonial Marine Corps will patrol the viewing area for added atmosphere, so keep your eyes peeled for Private ‘illegal alien’ Vasquez, Private ‘game over’ Hudson and Lieutenant ‘always was an asshole’ Gorman.

Stretching back to 1976, the festival has opted for the Brian De Palmadirected Carrie. Starring Sissy Spacek, it’s the first of Stephen King’s books adapted to film. This tense atmospheric 70s horror should play well on IMAX, especially its famed, blood-soaked climax. You probably won’t be quoting along with this one – more likely you’ll be busy chewing your fingers down to the bone.

Best of all, the final selection in the strand gets to be chosen by you, List readers. Take yourself back to 1996: three of the year’s most memorable films are vampire gore fest From Dusk Till Dawn (remember when Tarantino was still trying his hand at acting?); Scream, Wes Craven’s brilliant return to form, satirizing the slasher genre he’d mastered; and finally our very own scum-of-the-earth, generation-defining Brit flick, Trainspotting, in which we dare you to pick the best scene. Even tougher might be choosing between these contemporary classics, so make sure you pick wisely, because it’s unlikely you’ll get the opportunity to see any of these films on an IMAX screen again.

Vote to see From Dusk Till Dawn, Scream and Trainspotting in IMAX at list.co.uk/gff16 – the poll closes Thu 11 Feb, 5pm.

Carrie, Fri 19 Feb; Aliens: The Director’s Cut, Sat 20 Feb; Top Gun, Fri 26 Feb; and The List Reader’s Choice, Sat 27 Feb; all at Glasgow IMAX, 7.30pm. Vote at list.co.uk/gff16 20 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

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GLASGOW FIlm festival

‘The clouds are made of cotton!’

22 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

GLASGOW FIlm festival ANOMALISA

HUMAN NATURE

Charlie Kaufman has had a tough time getting a film made over the past decade.

James Mottram talks to the director and his team about a radical animated affair which finally ended that unlucky streak

W

hen a 60-day pitch for Charlie Kaufman’s new movie Anomalisa went up on Kickstarter in 2012, most fans didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Looking to raise $200,000, the attached production company, Starburns Industries, saw more than double this hoped-for amount come in from those willing to see the next work from the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Yet it says something about the short-sightedness of Hollywood that the man who penned the exceptional Spike Jonze movies Being John Malkovich and Adaptation has had to resort to the crowd-founding website for seed money. ‘I’ve been trying,’ explains Kaufman, who has been absent from our screens since his 2008 directorial debut Synecdoche, New York. ‘But the business has gotten really hard.’

To quote from the Anomalisa Kickstarter pitch: ‘The entertainment industry is filled with incredible scripts, written by incredible talent, that have not or will never get made.’ Since Synecdoche bombed in cinemas, Kaufman has written three screenplays and three television pilots, directing one. None have been greenlit. This includes Frank or Francis, a musical set around the film industry, despite an attached A-list cast including Nicolas Cage, Kate Winslet and Jack Black.

In a world of remakes, reboots and re-imaginings, it almost defies belief that Kaufman’s original mind has been largely ignored these last few years. ‘I think people have very mixed feelings about genius,’ says Tom Noonan, one of the stars of Synecdoche and Anomalisa. ‘They love it and they really fucking hate it. To have somebody doing what you wish you could do and be celebrated for it brings up a lot of resentment.’

Whatever the case (‘you never really hear the truth from anyone’, sighs Kaufman), it’s a huge relief that Anomalisa got going. Resolving to turn it into a full-length feature in the wake of the Kickstarter success, Kaufman joined forces with animator Duke Johnson, who oversaw the Emmy-winning stop-motion episode of TV series Community, to codirect this story about a motivational speaker, Michael Stone, who is spiralling into a personal depression.

Set over one weekend, as Michael arrives in a Cincinnati hotel to give a keynote speech, the film’s very contained nature points to its origins, a 2005 stage production. Performed live as part of composer Carter Burwell’s Theatre of the New Ear (a series of sound plays with Foley artists creating sound effects live on stage), it was like watching a radio drama unfold. As Kaufman says: ‘You’re creating this imagery, hopefully, in the audience’s mind’.

When Kaufman’s friend, Dino Stamatopoulos – the founder of animation company Starburns Industries – approached him to turn the play into a film, he was initially resistant. ‘Translating it into a visual thing was almost antithetical to what it should be,’ Kaufman admits. ‘But once we started working on it, it felt like it was becoming something beautiful; and that seemed beautiful to me. It was its own thing. The play existed and this existed.’

In the film’s case, the animation is so detailed that it appears computer-generated. In fact, there wasn’t a pixel in sight. The puppets are all tangible with faces created using a 3D printer. ‘I want people to

know how hard it was to do this stuff,’ says Johnson. ‘There was no computer animation in the entire movie. People say: “What’s outside the windows? Is that computer animated?” We built that city and those buildings. We lit them with individual lights. The clouds are made of cotton!’

There were overlaps with the original play, of course, not least with the cast returning to voice the characters, including David Thewlis as Michael and Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lisa, the shy telesales agent our anti-hero meets and falls for during his long dark weekend of the soul. As Leigh says: ‘For me, it’s about the search and the longing for intimacy – for a really unconditional love – and how transitory that is.’

The third actor in Anomalisa is the aforementioned Tom Noonan, voicing literally everybody else. ‘When we did the movie, Charlie wanted it to all sound very similar,’ says the actor, touching on the film’s thematic interest in the Fregoli Syndrome. This real-life delusional condition causes the sufferer to believe everyone else is the same person (nodding to that, Kaufman wrote the play under the pseudonym Francis Fregoli while the film’s hotel is also called ‘Fregoli’).

Perhaps amid Anomalisa’s many layers is the idea that Hollywood is prone to such a syndrome, where everyone sounds the same. Thankfully, after the wilderness years, Kaufman’s unique voice is finally being heard. Winning the Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, Anomalisa has since been nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Animated Feature, a category usually dominated by younger fare. As Kaufman notes, one thing about Anomalisa is for sure: ‘It’s not for children’.

Anomalisa, Glasgow Film Theatre, Sun 28 Feb. General release from Fri 11 Mar. See review, page 60.

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 23

GLASGOW FIlm festival

OUT WITH THE OLD

In Where You’re Meant to Be, Aidan Moffat confronted arguably his biggest critic, Sheila Stewart, a folk legend who took offence at the former Arab Strap man’s reworking of traditional music. As the film premieres at the Glasgow Film Festival, Brian Donaldson talks to Moffat about his experiences with a woman who sang for a president and a pope

‘T

he one bit I was quite shocked at when I first saw it was me wanking off a Nessie toy.’ The mainly unflappable Aidan Moffat is considering a moment in Where You’re Meant to Be (a sort-of tour diary crossed with a culture clash between the old and the new in folk music), when even he might have gone a little too far. ‘I thought, “I don’t know if I want anyone to see that”, but when I watched it again I thought it was quite funny. We showed it at a preview thing at the end of the Commonwealth Games and someone wrote a comment somewhere saying they thought it was me making a statement about the tourist industry. When I read that I thought, “that’s hilarious, let’s keep that bit in”. I did worry about my mum seeing it, but then she’s got all the Arab Strap records.’

There’s an old story that Mrs Moffat could handle the references to drugs and sex within the lyrically frank decade-long Arab Strap oeuvre, but she could happily have done without all the c-words. And here again in Where You’re Meant to Be, Moffat is rousing up the locals (from Kirriemuir to Loch Ness) with his curse-laden interpretations of traditional Scottish songs.

Among the offended is Sheila Stewart, a folk music veteran who went from being raised in the travelling community around Perth to receiving an invitation from President Gerald Ford to perform at the White House (she also sang for Pope John Paul II in front of 350,000

24 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

people at Bellahouston Park in 1982). Stewart unwittingly becomes the star of the documentary (directed by Paul Fegan, who previously earned plaudits for Pouters, his short film about fierce rivalry among pigeon racers) during which she takes great exception to Moffat’s interpretation of ‘The Parting Song’. He first performs it to her as they drive along in her car, a scenario which Moffat admits was utterly terrifying. ‘The trouble with Aidan is that he just doesn’t listen’, is Stewart’s withering response as she delivers her verdict that the old songs aren’t fit for tampering with.

‘That has been a common criticism of me,’ Moffat admits of her comment. ‘School was very much: “he needs to pay more attention, but he’s OK when he asserts himself”. But to be fair, I did a lot of research into those old songs and, as I say in the film, Sheila was a bit overly protective of that one song in particular and maybe a bit too quick to judge. As it transpires in the film, she wasn’t necessarily being entirely honest about her opinions on reworking songs.’

Where You’re Meant to Be is set to become the first film ever shown at the Barrowland and will be followed on the night by musical performances from Moffat and other artists seen in the film. His original plan for the documentary was to capture his adventures within the traditional ceilidh circuit where he would deliver a few songs and poems before the locals also did a turn. Interspersed

AIDAN MOFFAT + LOST TREASURE

FIlm festival

RED DAWN

David Pollock hears about Lost Treasure, an unfinished short film which explores the scandal of Scottish depopulation

PHOTO © NEALE SMITH

with the live action would be footage of Moffat meeting colourful characters along the route, many of whom remain in the finished film. Among them is a grieving widower who finds solace in those old songs (and is naturally another harsh critic of Moffat’s versions) and the rivals on the shores of Loch Ness who have dedicated their lives to spotting the fabled monster.

But once Stewart got on board, it changed everything and became much bigger than a simple ‘tour diary’ feature.

Moffat sensed a kinship with her for their shared love of storytelling, everyday language and the vocal delivery where ‘the feeling means more than the notes’.

But their light-hearted jousting leads to a wonderful finale when she takes to the Barrowland stage to interrupt Moffat’s band as they perform ‘The Parting Song’ in order to do the ‘original version’ – a true gift for the filmmakers and a genuine treat for the crowd. It’s a moving and spirited ending to the gig as well as the documentary, a moment made ever more poignant by the fact that this was Stewart’s final performance just a few months before her death at the end of 2014.

‘I’d started writing some songs and made a few trips here and there for research,’ recalls Moffat. ‘Everyone talked about Sheila so I started listening to her work which is quite hardcore traditionalist. We got hold of her after a while and Paul went to talk to her and discuss the film. He came back and showed me some of the footage with her and I was actually surprised at how funny she was; I didn’t expect her to be so relaxed and good-humoured because she had this reputation for being a somewhat formidable woman. But she was great fun and totally up for being involved. Though I suspect Sheila wanted to be involved so she could make sure people knew what she thought about what I was doing.’

‘I did worry about my mum seeing it’

Where You’re Meant to Be, Barrowland, Glasgow, Fri 19 Feb; Glasgow Film Theatre, Wed 24 Feb.

Last year’s Glasgow Short Film Festival featured an intriguing historical curio, a 30th anniversary celebration of a community film project, Clyde Film. Through meeting those involved with this project made by young filmmakers from Cranhill, the festival’s director Matt Lloyd learned of the Dawn Cine Group, a similar collective from the 1950s, and of their films Let Glasgow Flourish (about city housing conditions) and Lost Treasure (concerning rural depopulation).

The former film was shown at last year’s festival; the latter, still unfinished, will launch this year’s GSFF as part of a new audio-visual work created by filmmaker Minttu Mäntynen and musicians Drew Wright (aka Wounded Knee) and Hamish Brown (of Swimmer One).

‘As far as we can ascertain, none of the Dawn Cine Group are still with us,’ says Lloyd. ‘They were the filmmaking arm of the Clydeside Film Society and set out to cover pressing social and political issues of the time, as well as marches and demonstrations, and a visit by British trade unionists to the USSR.’ Lloyd can’t say for certain whether they were all signed up members of the Communist Party, but based on the work they produced he doesn’t believe that they were mere propagandists.

‘They had a more nuanced, less dogmatic political outlook,’ he insists. ‘Lost Treasure attempted to tell the story of the Highlands, particularly the draining of its human resources, and to suggest why that mattered for Scotland as a whole. It was a hugely ambitious and wellresearched project that set out to do what The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black Black Oil did some years later.’

What still exists of the piece is partly dramatic and partly documentary, forming an interesting backdrop to a situation which remains live.

‘So many of the ideas explored are alarmingly relevant today,’ says Brown. ‘There’s the current work of Andy Wightman gaining an audience and the ongoing spectacle of the Land Reform Bill progressing through Parliament. It’s a really interesting time to revisit this project.’

Q Lost Treasure, Glasgow Film Theatre, Wed 16 Mar. Glasgow Short Film Festival, Wed 16–Sun 20 Mar.

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 25

GLASGOW FIlm festival

DAY BY DAY

Sandwiched between the glitz of the opening and closing galas – and that cheeky appearance by Richard Gere on the final day – is a lot of very tasty GFF filling. Here are our top picks from across the festival

THU 18 FEB

FRI 19 FEB

Kick off with the exceptional High-Rise (GFT, 8.20pm, see review, page 63), adapted from JG Ballard’s novel. The Discovering Duvivier strand presents La belle éqipue (GFT, 6.30pm), and it’s orange jumpsuit time with a secret location screening of Con Air (buses leave GFT at 6.45pm).

Catch Dheepan (GFT, 5.45pm), Jacques Audiard’s tense Palme d’Orwinning drama about a Sri Lankan family seeking asylum in Paris. Also on is Jerzy Skolimowski’s Warsaw-set thriller 11 Minutes (CCA, 1.15pm) and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers classic Swing Time (GFT, 10.30am).

SAT 20 FEB

SUN 21 FEB

MON 22 FEB

TUE 23 FEB

John ‘Once’ Carney returns with another Dublin-set, music-filled film, Sing Street (GFT, 6.15pm), starring Aiden Gillen. You can also catch Don Cheadle in Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead (GFT, 9pm), or weep into your popcorn at Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (GFT, 11.15pm).

Norway’s Joachim Trier (Reprise and Oslo, August 31st) makes his Englishlanguage debut in Louder than Bombs (GFT, 5.35pm), a thoughtful drama starring Jesse Eisenberg and Gabriel Byrne, while Winona Ryder and Peter Sarsgaard turn up in the witty Experimenter (CCA, 8.45pm).

Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers’ Club) returns with Demolition (GFT, 8.30pm), starring Jake Gyllenhaal as an investment banker struggling after his wife’s death. Sidney Lumet’s undisputed classic Network gets a screening in the belly of the beast at Pacific Quay (BBC Scotland, 7pm).

Robbie Fraser’s new documentary Hamish (GFT, 6pm) explores Scottish cultural icon Hamish Henderson’s life as a poet, soldier and activist.

There’s Mark Cousins’ love letter to his hometown, I Am Belfast (GFT, 3.30pm) and comedy fun wth Rab Florence’s Videogame Empty event (GSA, 8pm).

WED 24 FEB

THU 25 FEB

FRI 26 FEB

SAT 27 FEB

Hannah Murray (Game of Thrones, Skins) stars in Bridgend (GFT, 8.30pm), Jeppe Rønde’s dramatisation of a spate of young suicides in the Welsh town. The Road to Civil War: Marvel Renaissance (CCA, 1pm) takes a look at the comic book giant’s resurgence, introduced by local boy Mark Millar.

Paul Higgins and Kate Dickie star as a grief-stricken Scottish couple in Couple in a Hole (GFT, 6pm).

Cate Blanchett shines in Truth (GFT, 6.15pm, see review page 62). Plus, it’s the first day of This is Now: Film and Video After Punk (1978-85) at Tramway, which runs until Sunday.

Zhang Yang’s Paths of the Soul (GFT, 5.45pm) documents a group of Tibetan villagers’ 1200-mile pilgrimage.

Laurie Anderson’s stream-ofconsciousness essay Heart of a Dog (CCA, 6.30pm) reflects on love and death in a playful way, and FrightFest is over at GFT for horror lovers.

GFF’s final weekend pays tribute to Roald Dahl’s 100th birthday, with Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr Fox (12.30pm) and Matilda (3.30pm) at Kinning Park. There’s Oscar-nominated Turkish film Mustang (GFT, 8.30pm) plus a unique screening of Romeo + Juliet at the Trades Hall (7.30pm).

Glasgow Film Festival takes place Wed 17–Sun 28 Feb. Check out the full programme and ongoing coverage at list.co.uk/gff16 26 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

HAHA HA Glas go Comw e Fest ival dy

IRRATIONAL MAN

Acclaimed stand-up and TV presenter Romesh Ranganathan brings some brutal honesty to the Glasgow International Comedy Festival. Brian Donaldson wonders, is he really that grumpy and negative offstage too?

I

s Romesh Ranganathan an irrational person or does everyone else simply have it all totally wrong? This is the dilemma with which the Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated stand-up is wrestling as he brings us his third full solo show, Irrational, filled with his own beliefs, perceptions and perspectives.

‘Irrational is about me working out my opinions and whether I’m the only one that’s got it right,’ he muses. ‘I talk about Gogglebox being a sign of the end of days, though its popularity suggests that I’m wrong and everyone else is right. But the idea that people are entertaining when they watch television is a fallacy. They need to set up a camera in my room and watch a chubby man vegetating in silence.’

Above all, Irrational will be driven by Ranganathan’s desire to breathe honesty into everything he utters in a live show. It’s even written on his body, with a tattoo of Richard Pryor (the comic who epitomised honesty on stage) adorning his arm. ‘I want to say things on stage that I wouldn’t have the guts to say in conversation,’ admits Ranganathan. ‘People say that I’m quite grumpy and negative on stage and that I surely can’t be like that off it, but I really am. I’ve done bits where I’ve perhaps talked about my kids annoying me and you hope that the audience realise that you do actually love your children. You can still be a good parent and be frustrated by your kids. But when you say that for the first time and don’t get it across properly, you can just seem like a horrible person.’

Whether he’s horrible or not is neither here nor there when you assess the speed at which Ranganathan has raced to prominence in British stand-up. Both his Edinburgh Fringe solo appearances have resulted in award nominations: a Best Newcomer shortlisting

for his 2012 debut, Rom Com, and a 2013 main award nomination for Rom Wasn’t Built in a Day. As his star has risen, TV inevitably came calling with his CV now filled by an iPlayer short under the BBC’s Funny Valentines umbrella, regular appearances in The Apprentice: You’re Fired, while Asian Provocateur, his BBC Three travelogue about him heading to Sri Lanka for the first time and co-starring his mum, was received warmly in all quarters.

Of course, Ranganathan wasn’t always on the end of such praise. He started out with both a passion for stand-up and a strong belief that making a crowd eat out of his hand would be a cushy number. ‘I’m embarrassed to say it, but I thought it would be easy. So I booked this gig, wrote my set and looked forward to accepting the plaudits. Obviously I tanked. But I still enjoyed it, kept doing open spots and then got to the final of So You Think You’re Funny in 2010. In the semi-final, one of the judges, Dan Antopolski, told me: “we saw you go on and thought, this guy is definitely going to be a comic”.’

And yet, it all might never have happened had he stuck in at school. Not as a kid, but as a maths teacher. ‘There was a running joke that I really wasn’t the best maths teacher,’ he recalls.

‘And I probably wasn’t as mathematical as most maths teachers. When it comes to preparation, these days I will sit down and think, “OK, I’m writing now”, but what I tend not to do is word exactly what I’m going to say. I’ll map out what the ideas are and what I think is interesting and then I’ll talk about it and hope that funny will arrive.’ Thankfully for Romesh Ranganathan, and for us, his funny has been arriving in droves.

Romesh Ranganathan: Irrational, The Garage, Glasgow, Sun 13 & Mon 14 Mar.

PHOTO © ANDY HOLLINGWORTH

‘I thought comedy would be easy’

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 27

HA A HHA gow Glas omedy C ival e F st

SOLO TRADER

Brian Donaldson speaks to Rory McGrath, a familiar TV face who is finally taking the plunge into touring on his own. One thing’s for sure, you can’t say he hasn’t done the research

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‘I don’t think I could act the curmudgeon for too long’

ory McGrath is not only gearing up for his debut solo live tour, he’s marking his 60th birthday on stage at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival. In Rory McGrath Remembers . . . (or is it forgets?), the star of shows such as They Think it’s All Over, Chelmsford 123 and Three Men in a Boat is drawing upon a wealth of experience of life and the comedy industry. ‘It’s stand-up with a sort-of memoir theme,’ he states. ‘I’ll use my personal and professional life as a skeleton to hang stuff on. I want it to be like a pair of very unpleasant, uncomfy, cynical slippers that people of a certain age can put on. I grew up through an era of very offensive humour to now where it’s all, “well no, you can’t say that as it’ll offend everybody”. I still haven’t really worked out where I am in all that.’

As part of his research for writing and performing a live solo show, McGrath took in some 80 comedy shows during the last Edinburgh Fringe (including Twins, a double act featuring one Annie McGrath, his actorcomedian daughter) which opened his eyes to several things. ‘Comedy is so much more selfreferential now because audiences understand the grammar of comedy. I’ve heard so many

comedians talk about the gag’s construction or the high concept. They’ve educated the audience in the mechanics of stand-up but that’s very unme. And everyone looks younger. When you get an older bloke coming on and telling us what he hates, I believe him more than I would when a 19-year-old talks about what’s hateable: yes, well, we all hate coffee bars that sell latteccinos or whatever. Hate something else!!’

As McGrath prepares to launch himself upon live audiences, there’s another thing he’s taking time to consider: exactly how people see him and how he sees himself. ‘For some unknown reason which I can’t work out, even though I’m permanently doing grumpy material, people always think I’m jolly and cheery. On paper, the material may be 90 minutes of grumps but I just don’t think I could do it like that. I don’t think I could act the curmudgeon for too long because ultimately I want both myself and the audience to have a laugh.’

Rory McGrath Remembers . . . (or is it forgets?), Òran Mór, Glasgow, Thu 17 Mar.

FAITH HEALER UK-Iranian stand-up and new boss of the British Humanist Association, Shappi Khorsandi tells Kirstyn Smith that she would love a chat show You can’t accuse Shappi Khorsandi of not having strings to her bow. On the up and up (and up) as a stand-up, over the years she’s also appeared on panel shows, podcasts, written a book (A Beginner’s Guide to Acting English) and even graced the stage as part of Let’s Dance for Sports Relief. Still. ‘A chat show would be nice,’ she says. ‘I said . . . A CHAT SHOW WOULD BE NICE.’ Khorsandi is bringing us a new show, coming off the back of her most recent tour, Because I’m Shappi, which travelled exhaustively across the UK throughout 2014 and 2015. So, what can audiences expect from the new show? ‘I’m getting a puppy so I may smell of dog wee,’ she explains. ‘Other than that, expect more laughter and warmth and neediness. It’ll have loads of new material because going back to a show you’ve toured extensively is like sleeping with an ex: you are left with a slight dull ache afterwards.’

28 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

In the world of comedy, a new year brings with it a new, looming, Edinburgh Fringe, for which Khorsandi is ready.

Sort of. ‘I’m going up with a show called Oh My Country. I’ve written five jokes so far. Hoping to write 107 more before August.’

Another development is her recent appointment as President of the British Humanist Association, which she says affects all aspects of her life and career. ‘In a world where the voices of the great faiths are heard and considered in every public issue, the voice of the humanist should be heard too. Morals, principles, ideas and philosophies are not exclusive to believers. Amen.’

Q Shappi Khorsandi: Live!, Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 25 Mar.

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4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 29

SHC O T S A W

SCOTTISH COMEDIANS

HA!

stival is correct Fe y d e m o C w o sg The Gla as a broad and e tl ti s it to in l a n o ti end to slip the Interna ill once more desc w ix m l a ic h p ra g o impressive ge the excellent local f o t a h w t u B . h rc a y upon the city in M em what show the th f o ch n u b a d e talent? We ask the festival . . . t a to rd a rw fo g n were most looki

CRAIG HILL I can’t tell you how excited I am that Chris Wilson’s Christ on a Bike show is getting another outing at Glasgow Comedy Festival. I was so impressed that this was the first show he’d ever written: so funny and the kind of show you’d normally see a couple of years into someone’s comedy career. I’m making sure all my friends see this one because it really would be a crime to miss it! Can’t wait to see where he goes from here. Get on yer bike and get a ticket.

Craig Hill, Òran Mór, Fri 18 & Sat 19 Mar; Christ on a Bike, Wild Cabaret, Sun 27 Mar.

LARRY DEAN

RACHEL JACKSON

PAUL SNEDDON

Mark Nelson is one of the best acts in the UK who not enough people know about. He can be incredibly dark with some of his material, but all his jokes have sharp, astute punchlines. It is honest stand-up, brilliantly written and performed. Great chance to see him before he is doing much bigger rooms. Is The Hydro ‘a room’?

I’m most looking forward to WITSHERFACE sketch show. Cannae wait to see this group of strong, funny women! I love how it’s a mixture of new faces and more established names. They caught my interest on Twitter so can’t wait for the actual show now.

A rare chance for a Glasgow audience to catch the star of Letterman and The Daily Show, reprising her 2015 Edinburgh Fringe hit American Cunt.

One of the USA’s top satirical stand-ups, Jena Friedman has the rare gift of being able to mix political comment with knob gags. A pure delight.

Rachel Jackson, Broadcast, Sun 20 Mar; WITSHERFACE, Saint Luke’s, Fri 11 & Sat 12 Mar.

Scotland: 45 Events that Shaped a Nation, Yesbar, Sun 27 Mar; Jena Friedman, Saint Luke’s, Sat 19 Mar.

Larry Dean, Yesbar, Mon 14, Fri 18 Mar; Mark Nelson, The Stand, Sat 12 Mar. 30 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

HAHA HA Glas go Comw e Fest ival dy

JULIA SUTHERLAND

CHRIS FORBES

ALAN BISSETT

If he’s not sold out (again!), go and see Gary Little. Gloriously honest stand-up from one of our best storytellers, guaranteed to provide big belly laughs throughout.

When you work in comedy full-time and see stand-ups performing every weekend, it’s easy to become a little anaesthetised by seeing the same type of thing again and again. That’s why I’m mostly looking forward to seeing Richard Gadd’s Waiting for Gaddot. Convention and predictability go out the window when Gadd performs, allowing you to enjoy a very real, visceral and, above all, entertaining experience.

His surreal, absurdist and at times violent style won’t be for everyone but if you’re into that kinda thing, you’ll love it.

One of my favourite Scottish comedians is Julia Sutherland, who does the most wonderful line in goofball self-deprecation. Nobody works through their ‘issues’ so hilariously. Her new show is about her various failings as a parent.

Creche not provided, just in case she goes all Anakin Skywalker on your loved ones.

Alan Bissett, Tron Theatre, Fri 11 Mar; Julia Sutherland, Yesbar, Fri 11, Fri 25 Mar.

Chris Forbes, The Hug and Pint, Sat 19 Mar; Richard Gadd, The Stand, Sun 13 Mar.

PHOTO © STE

PHEN CRUICK

SHANK

Julia Sutherland, Yesbar, Fri 11, Fri 25 Mar; Gary Little, Webster’s Theatre, Sat 12 Mar.

VIV GEE

I love Chunks. No breaks, no stand-up. Each act is allowed a short Chunk of time on stage. When each Chunk is finished and if the idea worked, you’re left wanting more; if not, who cares, you’re already munching the next Chunk of popculture monster mash.

I’m looking forward to seeing Stuart Mitchell.

His sharp one-liners and observations never fail to make me laugh. There is no waste in his sets, every detail and every line has been carefully planned to get maximum laughs which stay with you long after seeing him.

Ally Houston, The Griffin, Fri 11 Mar; Chunks, The Griffin, Mon 14, Wed 16, Sun 27 Mar.

Viv Gee: Stand-Up Comedy Crash Course, Yesbar, Mon 14, Mon 21 Mar; Stuart Mitchell, Yesbar, Thu 24 Mar.

PHOTO © JESSICA MCDERMOTT

ALLY HOUSTON

PHOTO © NEIL MACMILLAN

FERN BRADY

KEIRON NICHOLSON When I met Nicholas Cooke he was busy launching a cult comedy night hosted by a talking bear who screamed tearfully at audiences about the time he had to mercy-kill Paddington. Since then his tastes have turned away from the mainstream.

Keiron Nicholson, The Griffin, Tue 22 Mar; Nicholas Cooke, The Griffin, Tue 22 Mar.

I first met Darren Connell in 2011. We were in the final of a comedy competition and he kept spewing with nerves then trying to hug me. I didn’t hear from him after that, other than the odd drunk message on Facebook where he’d ask to have sex with me and mention his ‘fudge tits’.

Last year I saw him do a sold-out show where women were genuinely throwing themselves at him and realised I’d missed my chance. The best bit was when he mentioned getting recognised from Scot Squad while still working as a window cleaner. I thought he was making it up until his boss from the window cleaning company started heckling him. His show this year is going to be even better.

Fern Brady, Blackfriars Basement, Thu 24 Mar; Darren Connell, The Stand, Wed 16, Fri 18 Mar.

JAY LAFFERTY Glasgow’s comedy festival has all the innovative shows that the Fringe does without the pressure of performing for 28 flipping days. Like Glasgow’s life expectancy, it’s short and sweet. Go see The Last Laugh: it mixes stand-up and theatre to highlight why you should never date a comic!

Jay Lafferty, Yesbar, Sat 12 Mar; The Last Laugh, Cottiers, Thu 24 Mar. For more Scottish comedian picks see list.co.uk 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 31

CO-PROMOTION

ORGANISED BY

Soapbox Science Edinburgh In Edinburgh this July, Edinburgh Napier University presents Soapbox Science: a unique event where female scientists share their research with the public.

Inspired by Hyde Park’s legendary ‘Speaker’s Corner’, Soapbox Science will feature 12 speakers on four soapboxes across three hours, with each given an hour to talk. The speakers will all be women conducting research in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects in the UK. This free public event will be held on the Mound in Edinburgh city centre, and brings awareness of cutting-edge science to people in the city in a fun and accessible way. At its heart is the promotion of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, offering support, encouragement and advice for young female scientists.

Soapbox Science was first held in London in 2011, and now events take place across the UK and Ireland. It’s always held in bustling public spaces, including riverside walks, parks, town squares and even beaches. Soapbox Science will be held in Edinburgh for the first time in 2016, and the call for speakers is open until Fri 26 Feb. Edinburgh Napier University received the Equality Challenge Unit’s Athena SWAN bronze award in April 2015. Athena SWAN is a charter that encourages universities to commit to advancing women’s careers in STEM and medicine, which it does by recognising and rewarding efforts to promote gender equality.

HEAR WHAT WOMEN IN STEM AT EDINBURGH NAPIER UNIVERSITY HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THEIR RESEARCH: DR CLAIRE GARDEN, SENIOR LECTURER IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE I’ve been a neurobiologist for 19 years, working on learning and memory and Down Syndrome. I now study how hormones affect brain development. Research has always been an important part of my work, which now includes teaching and leadership. As a senior lecturer and Head of Biomedical Sciences, I lead an ambitious, multi-disciplinary group, and am responsible for around 700 students in four locations globally.

VALERIA MACCHIA, STUDENT, BSC (HONS) MARINE AND FRESHWATER BIOLOGY Studying in this multicultural university is a privilege for me, because I am able to learn from professors and experienced students with varied cultural and professional backgrounds.

I am engaged in several projects related to my field of study that help me find answers to unknown phenomena. Field studies and laboratory work enable me to develop skills in data collection and analysis as well as data and results interpretation. I am also involved in outreach activities, where I can share my experience as a young scientist.

PROFESSOR HAZEL HALL I’m Director of the Centre for Social Informatics in the Institute for Informatics and Digital Innovation. My main research expertise and teaching interests lie in information sharing in online environments. Other themes in which I maintain an active interest include social computing / media, online communities and collaboration, library and information science research, and research impact.

SOAPBOX SCIENCE EDINBURGH TAKES PLACE ON:

SUN 24 JULY THE MOUND, EDINBURGH (NEXT TO THE NATIONAL GALLERIES)

NOON–3PM, FREE

FIND OUT MORE AT: SOAPBOXSCIENCE.ORG & BLOGS.NAPIER.AC.UK/LSSS/WOMEN-IN-STEM

BIG

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CHEESE

Cheese boffin Paul Thomas brings the wonder of cheese to the Edinburgh International Science Festival and tells Will Bain all about the science behind one of the world’s most beloved foods

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heese: surely one of mankind’s greatest achievements. Imagine a world without it. French culture, actually all culture, would be stifled; many of the world’s most beloved dishes would be defunct or non-existent; and the Mighty Boosh would never have met Tommy Nookah. What’s more, Stone Age peoples would never have produced enough calories to survive over winter in northern climes, so Scotland wouldn’t be what it is. Cheese has fundamentally shaped our landscapes and societies, so, as great achievements go, it’s definitely up there. But how much do we know about it?

We have been making it for thousands of years but when you consider it, cheese is pretty mysterious. A blend of milk, microbes and salt p y g from banal block cheddar to complex p q produces everything roqueforts and reblochons. Three ingredients, yet infinite

variety. There’s no constant; everything from the colour, texture, shape, density, weight, smell and taste, are mutable. How many foods can boast of such variety? There are no commonly eaten mouldy versions of bread. You don’t see much in the way of spreadable coffee, or crumbly ham. So what is it about cheese that makes one taste as different from the next as chalk and, er . . .

In April, there’s an opportunity to find out, when Cheeseology comes to the Edinburgh International Science Festival. Hosted by cheese polymath Paul Thomas, Cheeseology is dubbed as an ‘exploration of the food science that lies behind the development of flavour in different cheese varieties’. Through a combination of tastings and talks he’ll take g the the audience through microbiology and biochemistry behind cheesemaking and t panoply of flavours in trace the chees back to their source. cheese Tho Thomas is a good man for j the job.

A biochemist by traini training and pan-European chees cheesemaking consultant by profe profession, he’s on a quest to map out the processes that turn milk and microbes into avo Cheeseology, he says, flavour. ‘will be a simplified version t day job, rooting out of the the causes of flavours and textu textures in cheeses’. It will b illustrated in a delicious all be way by tastings of salient che cheeses from the excellent Geo George Mewes Cheese. As wel as being fodder for well foo dorks, this is a chance food to dive deep into why you lik the cheeses you do, and like wh to look out for when what yo you’re buying cheese.

A Affable and authoritative, Th Thomas has a talent for bringing complex co concepts to life. And, most im importantly, he loves his ch cheese, wistfully recalling ta memories of the Irish taste w washed rinds and perfect st stiltons he worked with d during his four years as a affineur at IJ Mellis’s an w warehouse on Albion R Road in Edinburgh. He a also loves his science, g going all geekishly 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 33

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I You’d be hard pushed to find something as predictable as a periodic table or a Bunsen burner in Edinburgh International Science Festival’s 2016 programme.

Rowena McIntosh finds insightful discussions, technology workshops, club nights and family activities that explore the wonders of science

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PHOTO © CHRIS SCOTT

DINO DAY Play with robotic dinosaurs, join a dinosaur egg hunt, discover fossils, meet Velma the Velociraptor and dig up the newest species of ’saur yourself. Summerhall, Sat 26 Mar.

SLIPPING THE MIND Guardian writer and neurologist Jules Montague hosts a discussion on human memory, examining how it’s stored, how it’s affected by technology and the role of nostalgia in making us who we are. National Museum of Scotland, Thu 31 Mar.

that might have been binned and get tips from food experts on how to be less wasteful. Summerhall, Tue 5 Apr.

NEXT GENERATION MINDFULNESS Part talk, part experience, this event looks at the integration of meditation with technologies to help us engage with both the real and digital world, as well as how mindfulness can promote better health. Summerhall, Tue 5 Apr.

LOST AT SEA WEARABLE CIRCUITS WORKSHOP excitable over graphs on enzyme activity, and ‘the complex stuff going on at a molecular level when curds form’.

If it sounds dry, it isn’t; this is cheese we’re talking about after all, and Thomas breaks it down for the layperson, contextualising his expertise into every day life. And though he’s a boffin, his passion is for artisan and farmhouse cheeses; the little guys, threatened by industry and policy.

This is good, as one of his many roles is as a consultant for the Food Standards Agency, training environmental health officers on what poses a risk in cheesemaking and what doesn’t. ‘They start off often really not having any idea of where the hazards lie. But we get their hands into the milk and actually get them to produce a cheese which they then take home, and they end up feeling really clued up about the process.’ One of the EHO’s on the programme was so inspired, they enrolled in the professional cheesemaking course that Thomas teaches at the School of Artisan Food at Welbeck in Nottinghamshire.

So, can you boil cheese down to biochemistry? Do our cheeses taste the way they do because of science, or is there something ineffable going on? Thomas explains that ‘with the right conditions, you can make any cheese anywhere in the world’. Caerphilly from Philly, brie from Bury – all it takes is the right sort of milk and an understanding of how temperature, moisture, acidity and salinity interact with microbes to produce crumbliness or sweetness or, well, cheesiness. Cheeseology is a chance to pick up some of that understanding and start to get under the rind of this ancient food that we still haven’t quite figured out.

Bottom line, it’s the science of how we perceive one of mankind’s greatest achievements, so really it’s pretty essential knowledge. Why don’t they teach this stuff in schools?

Cheeseology, Summerhall, Edinburgh, Sat 2 Apr. 34 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

A tech and textile workshop will create a circuit which attaches to clothing, a flag or a banner. Learn some basic electronics and design a circuit using LED lights, buzzers and switches. Summerhall, Thu 31 Mar.

FEEDING TIME AT THE ZOO Hear from the keepers and nutrition experts about Edinburgh Zoo’s initiatives around sustainable food production, visiting the penguins for canapés and the chimpanzees for starters along the way. Edinburgh Zoo, Fri 1 Apr.

BIG BANG BASH Houston, we have a party. Enjoy themed cocktails, spacesuit selfies, a portable planetarium, roving scientists performing experiments, a science ceilidh and a DJ. National Museum of Scotland, Fri 1 Apr.

FOOD WASTE MEAL Scottish households throw away 566,000 tonnes of food every year.

Sample dishes made from scran

Catherine Wheels present a playful show for ages 8–12 exploring how 28,800 bath toys accidentally helped scientists map the sea’s currents.

See preview, page 67. Summerhall, Tue 5-Thu 7 Apr.

FULL SPECTRUM Music meets tech wizards in this sell-out science festival club night by EISF and promoter / DJ Astrojazz. It promises top DJs, live algorithm-inspired visuals and audience-responsive rave aids.

Summerhall, Fri 8 Apr.

EDINBURGH MINI MAKER FAIRE A chance for the whole family to check out the technology that creative makers are developing across the country. There are gadgets and gizmos aplenty with software, hardware and food.

Summerhall, Sun 10 Apr. Q Edinburgh International Science Festival, various venues, Edinburgh, Sat 26 Mar–Sun 10 Apr. Full programme launched on Tue 9 Feb.

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HINTERLAND

O

bservers with a knowledge of Scotland’s built environment or a taste for off-the-beaten track adventures will be well aware of St Peter’s Seminary in Cardross, near Helensburgh. One of the most famous ruins in the British Isles, it was built in the 1960s as a training college for Roman Catholic priests. Designed by modernists Isi Metzstein and Andy MacMillan of the celebrated Glasgow firm Gillespie, Kidd & Coia, it’s been lying abandoned in an ever-more advanced state of decrepitude for nearly three decades.

For eight years, Angus Farquhar (creative director of public art organisation NVA) has been intent on returning this iconic but largely unexplored building to our use, taking up the mantle from the late Gareth Hoskins’ original plans for the place. Some years ago NVA toured an exhibition entitled The Invisible College to venues including Glasgow’s Lighthouse which made clear the case for restoration. Not least, this was done through a powerful film reel which showed Murray Grigor’s 1972 Space & Light – a tranquil examination of this space while it was still used by the church

REBUILDING

BLOCKS David Pollock talks to NVA’s Angus Farquhar about Hinterland, the ambitious new project to bring St Peter’s Seminary back to life

36 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

PHOTO © JAMES JOHNSON

Generated image of the night-time experience at Hinterland

HINTERLAND

– with a shot-for-shot analogue detailing the vandalism, destruction and disappearance of the building over time.

‘This is very much the building’s last chance,’ says Farquhar, talking of NVA’s project. Right now, ‘Hinterland’ is a ten-day light and sound installation around the seminary’s grounds which will transform it for public viewing as the Festival of Architecture 2016’s opening event in March. But in the long term, the focus is on restoring parts of the building as a multipurpose arts and performance space. ‘We’ve just spent six months clearing asbestos out of the place, and it showed us just how dangerous it was. Nearly 80 vaults were due to fall this winter and we’ve raised nearly a quarter of a million to arrest that. This gives you an idea of how fragile it is.’

Saving this building, says Farquhar, is not just a simple act of preservation, but about maintaining a physical link to the 20th century and its social changes. ‘Places retain a certain quality and authenticity because they retain the architecture of their period,’ he says. ‘But from about 1920 to 1970, vast parts of that period in terms of its monumental buildings are being destroyed; literally erased.

These buildings often haven’t been looked after, but the ideologies which made them have also been called into question. Look at social housing in Britain; it’s seen as failed architecture which didn’t deliver

the promised dream of a new life. But I believe that rejecting the architecture as well as the ideology is kind of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.’

To hear Farquhar speak about the ideology and political intention of a building is fascinating.

What disgusts him is not the brutal concrete lines of modernism, but the extravagant, statement-making constructs of the kind that are currently going up across central London.

‘But St Peter’s is the total reverse. All of the beauty, the rigour and the poetry is contained within the building. It’s not a superficial construction; it’s filled with aspiration.’

Next year NVA will celebrate its 25th anniversary, a period of time which has seen it move around Scotland creating short-term, site-specific interventions on the landscape, from ‘The Storr’ on Skye in 2005, to ‘HalfLife’ in an Argyll forest alongside the National Theatre of Scotland in 2007, and 2012’s ‘Speed of Light’ promenade performance across Arthur’s Seat at the Edinburgh International Festival. With ‘Hinterland’, Farquhar’s plan is to face the next two and a half decades of NVA’s life in one place, creating an artistic hub and meeting post for the whole country. The birth of ‘Hinterland’, he declares boldly, is intended to be as seismic an intervention on the Scottish arts scene as the birth of Tramway in the early 1990s.

‘We want to deliver this as a national platform for public art,’ says Farquhar.

‘The intention is to take a bruised, battered, gloriously monumental building and reuse it in a way which is open, generous and sensitive to the times, and to use what we’ve got more effectively. A lot of what’s interesting right now is happening outside galleries, theatres, and typical 19th-century bourgeois ways of presenting art. That’s what I’d define as public art: something which gets out there and connects with people during their everyday experience in a different way.

‘I don’t want to create peripheral work that sits within a neat little hermetically sealed market for those who have got time to dwell on the finer points of art,’ he continues. ‘As an artist, I want to engage with the horror and complexity of the world as it is now, and create a space for elevated thinking; for thinking beyond what’s going on in the ordinary dayto-day. Because let’s face it, that’s exactly what this space was designed for.’

PHOTO © JAMES JOHNSON

PHOTO © NORD

‘WE WANT TO DELIVER THIS AS A NATIONAL PLATFORM FOR PUBLIC ART‘

Architect NORD’s model of the new St Peter’s Seminary

Hinterland, St Peter’s Seminary, Cardross, Fri 18–Sun 27 Mar.

Generated image of St Peter’s performance space which will open in 2018

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 37

BRITISH ART T SHOW 8

age of Eyes s of Love: Marri Linder’s Diagram

Rachel Maclean’s Fee d Me

THE GRATEFUL 8

The vivid work of Rachel Maclean and Linder is set to light up British Art Show 8 in Edinburgh. Neil Cooper asks them about politics, performance, princesses and Playboy

A

t first glance, the pink love-heart framed around a blue-eyed and smiling figure looks every inch a child-friendly Disney character. Only the fact that the cartoon creation appears to have a bag over its head while apparently shooting itself in the head jars somewhat.

The image is from Feed Me, the new hour-long film by Rachel Maclean, which is being screened as part of British Art Show 8 at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. As with much of her backcatalogue, the film takes familiar pop-cultural tropes and subverts them with a cut-up narrative.

‘I’ve always been interested in the fantasy of childhood,’ says Maclean.

‘Children’s TV likes to imagine childhood as something that’s innocent and sealed off from adulthood. I was also thinking about Britney Spears and her transition from child to young adult, and how her career began to unravel. That’s typical of Disney princesses who are always about 15 or 16, on the cusp of becoming a woman.’

Such a concern for gender politics is there in the work of Linder too, whose Diagrams of Love: Marriage of Eyes also appears at BAS8. For the last four decades, Linder has subverted through a series of taboo-busting photo-montages and expansive performance-based work. For BAS8, seven dancers from Northern Ballet will perform Children of the Mantic Stain, a work inspired partly by the writings of surrealist painter Ithell Colquhoun.

‘I like the hallucinogenic quality in both Colquhoun’s writing and paintings,’ says Linder. ‘In the midst of my research, I stayed in the artist’s flat above Raven Row gallery [in London]. The flat has never been changed since the last occupant, Rebecca Levy, passed away in 2009, aged 98. I was mesmerised by her choice of carpets, which are a triumph of 1970s design.

I used to stare at the carpets in the half-light and see things that weren’t there. For the rug design, I created a photo-montage of Levy’s carpets and added all-seeing 70s glam rock eyes so that the rug looks back at you.’

38 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

Both Linder and Maclean’s work is driven by a political root as much as a performative one. ‘A lot of my motivation for making art comes from being angry,’ says Maclean. ‘I’m really interested in looking at fairytales to explore class and gender politics, displacing them in a way that’s historical but also contemporary.’

Linder says she doesn’t deliberately set out to make political work, ‘but it always turns out that way. I often work with something that’s been discarded, such as a 1964 Playboy or a Good Housekeeping cookery book from 1948. I hijack the images around us, taking them somewhere they’re not meant to go. I make things right by making them wrong.’

This chimes with Maclean, who grew up on ‘girls magazines, MTV, Disney and computer games: that all feeds into my work, but becomes warped somehow.’ While her films are deeply theatrical, Maclean has yet to work in a live arena. ‘I think it would be fun to do that at some point. I’d like to get loads of people on board and do something Busby Berkeley-esque.’

While Linder’s performance work has been documented on film, the medium itself is something she’s yet to fully exploit. ‘I recently collaborated on a film with [French fashion house] Maison Margiela featuring a dancer dressed in a coat made of blonde wigs. I remember the huge cinemas that my parents took me to in the 60s before the multiplexes took over. That’s been replaced by the tiniest screens imaginable that we hold in our hands. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry about all this, so I make work about it instead.’

Feed Me and Diagrams of Love: Marriage of Eyes, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Sat 13 Feb–Sun 8 May. Children of the Mantic Stain, Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh, Wed 30 Mar.

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4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 39

Innovative tastings Expert-led masterclasses

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GLASGOW RESTAURANT FESTIVAL Glasgow’s first city-wide Restaurant Festival has been announced for 1–19 April, with restaurants across the city lined up to offer special set-price menus showcasing Glasgow’s contemporary dining scene. At the same time, a Spiegeltent in the Merchant City, seating up to 200, will be open from 10am–10pm daily, hosting a busy series of pop-ups as well as live entertainment. Look out also for multi-course ‘restaurant crawls’ around districts such as Finnieston, as well as special events in restaurants (such as The Honours, pictured) including supplier nights, tastings and masterclasses. As a bit of a warm-up act, the Glasgow Comedy Festival, which immediately precedes the Restaurant Festival in March, will see the Spiegeltent hosting weekend pop-ups from restaurants including Red Onion and Porter & Rye. Q Various venues, Glasgow, Fri 1–Tue 19 Apr.

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 41

FOOD & DRINK

DRINKS NEWS

NEWS & REVIEWS

In Edinburgh’s West End, Carters Tap is a spruced-up reincarnation of Carters, the Morrison Street shrine to cult crime flick Get Carter. A signed photo of Michael Caine remains, but otherwise it’s draught ales (Stewart Brewing, Barney’s and Pilot are prominent), local spirits, and lots of wood and leather. Win a voucher at list.co.uk/offers North Hop, the craft beer, gin, food and music festival born in Inverness in 2014, is jumping off to new locations in 2016, with plans for events in Aberdeen, Glasgow, the Highlands and, first-up, the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh on Sat 5 Mar. More at northhop.co.uk

BORDER REVIVAL A farm steading near Jedburgh is a focal point for a regional reawakening in food and drink, as Donald Reid discovers

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Vivid watercress soup flooding around a precisely poached duck egg yolk

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BORN IN THE BORDERS Lanton Mill, by Jedburgh TD8 6ST, 01835 830495, bornintheborders.com Ave. price two-course meal: £16 (lunch); £25 (dinner) 42 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

RECOMMENDS . . .

LA LANTERNA GLASGOW

Glasgow’s oldest established independent Italian restaurant has stood the test of time producing award-winning authentic Italian dishes for many generations, and proud to sell Birra Moretti on draught. lalanterna-glasgow.co.uk

SUPPORTED BY

SIDE DISHES

News to nibble on Morrison Street’s Milk has taken over the cafÊ in the Fruitmarket Gallery, while Leo’s is the new cafÊ operator in the Dovecot on Infirmary Street.

The Food Assembly is a concept on the move around Europe, and Scotland’s second is underway in Glasgow on Monday evenings at Drygate. The Food Assembly allows you to pre-order from various local producers online and collect in person at a social weekly gathering.

Glasgow’s version features a number of Ayrshire producers, including Dunlop Dairies and Clash Farm.

Edinburgh’s version is the Leith Food Assembly, which takes place every Monday evening at Jeremiah’s Taproom on Elm Row. Find out more at thefoodassembly.com

The early months of the year are often a time for renewals and refurbishments. Top of the hit parade in Edinburgh is the £1million spent on Castle Terrace’s new look, featuring a large-scale mural hand drawn by

artist Nichol Wheatley, as well as upgrades to the kitchen, wine cellar and chef’s table. They’ve also expanded the dining area to include 70 covers and added a 16-cover private dining room. In other developments around town,

Just opened in the Alea Casino on the banks of the Clyde at Springfield Quay in Glasgow is Tony Singh’s latest venture, Tasty.

The Leith-born chef and star of BBC’s The Incredible Spice Men is going to town on his promise

to bring a bit of ‘Glas-Vegas’ glamour to his menu, with haggis pakora, chicken tikka pie and Punjabi-spiced salmon alongside milkshakes, sundaes and dessert cocktails from Tony’s Tasty Sweetie Shop.

New openings in the capital include Scotland’s first sighting of the Byron chain of burger restaurants with their prominent new store on the corner of North Bridge and the Royal Mile.

Maki Maki at 75 Nicolson Street is a new wee Asian fusion diner with links to nearby Maki & Ramen and Kampung Ali. Meltmongers are now serving smart toasties in Bruntsfield, and Obadiah is the latest coffee nook to squeeze itself into the Grassmarket.

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4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 43

SUPPORTED BY

FOOD & DRINK

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

RECENT OPENINGS

The latest offering from restaurateur Alan Tomkins breathes new life into a Maryhill pub, reveals Tiff Griffin

W

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THE STRATHMORE 795 Maryhill Road, West End, Glasgow, G20 7TL 0141 946 3131, strathmoreglasgow.co.uk Average price two-course meal: ÂŁ12 (lunch/dinner)

The best of the new restaurant, cafĂŠ and bar openings in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Prices shown are for an average two-course meal for one.

Glasgow

Eusebi herself weaves around greeting customers like family friends. Everything is sourced meticulously, as one would expect from 40 years of importing from artisan Italian producers. This is the real deal – molto autentico – and the whole experience, from the welcome to the plates piled high with meats, olives, pastas, pizzas and salads, is delightful.

BAVARIA BRAUHAUS BARS & PUBS 30 Bothwell Street, City Centre, 0141 457 7100, bavariabrauhaus.com, ÂŁ18 (lunch/dinner) Only selected breweries, the ‘big six’, serve beer in the official halls at Munich’s Oktoberfest. Bavaria Brauhaus’ USP is that it has them all (including weissbier, and some ‘hells’ lager) on tap. This, along with a choice location in the financial district, sets the Brauhaus up well for after-work hordes and big weekend groups. Like all beer halls, it needs to be busy to bring its high, bright space to life, though there’s a merry soundtrack of oompah horns. Food is predictable – roast chicken, veal in breadcrumbs, sausage platters – and generally a little underseasoned and a tad overpriced. But being able to choose any of those great beers is the biggest pull here.

NOODLE

EUSEBI DELI

Edinburgh

ITALIAN 152 Park Road, West End, 0141 648 9999, eusebideli.com, ÂŁ16 (lunch/dinner) After an eight-year wait for Eusebi Deli to open its sister restaurant, it is little wonder that this West End outlet is often stuffed full. It has a charming retro Italian cafĂŠ vibe, helped by family snaps and cabinets displaying everything from seasonal salads to ready-made lasagnes and divine-looking dolci. Owner Giovanna

CHINESE 98 Bath Street, City Centre, 0141 353 1889, £8.50 (lunch/dinner) This unassuming addition to Glasgow’s Chinese scene is marked out by the fact that their noodles are handmade to order. The open-plan space (more cafÊ than restaurant) leaves chefs in full view as they roll and shake out these pleasingly chewy, irregular and fresh delights. It makes a big difference. Nothing is fancy, but it feels genuine and tastes good: rich, clean broths, veg that’s full of flavour but still crisp, chicken dumplings served in the steam basket, while a cold counter offers simple accompaniments. Things crunch, contrast and sizzle when they’re meant to.

No alcohol, or pork dishes, but there is a Chinese language menu with some intriguing options.

THE WALNUT

BISTROS & BRASSERIES 9 Croall Place, Leith Walk, Leith, 0131 281 1236, £14 (dinner) Dining along Leith Walk always has something tucked up its sleeve: witness December’s opening of this unassuming former cafÊ, which has been given a light, bright makeover with a huge blackboard dominating one wall. The frequently changing menu is simply divided into small plates, meat, veg and fish. Scottish produce does the tiniest fist bump with French rustic: mains beguile piled into chunky bowls, crowned with crispy veg swirls or velvety

braised octopus. It’s BYOB, prices are exceptionally reasonable and they make their own oatcakes: all in, one nut that’s definitely worth a crack.

THE PRINTING PRESS BAR & KITCHEN BISTROS & BRASSERIES 21–25 George Street, New Town, 0131 240 7177, printingpressedinburgh.co.uk, £18 (set lunch) / £28 (dinner) As statements go, this splashy refurb of the former Tempus into a 160-seat bar and restaurant is a bold one.

Food’s available from breakfast through to bar nibbles till 1am, with the aim of putting eating front and centre of the George Street experience. The space is classy and sassy, with a menu offering a strong focus on game, as well as the familiar trinity of salmon/seafood/beef. Desserts are homemade, with a marmalade steamed pudding stealing the show. The Printing Press has ambition as bright and clear as its twinkling chandeliers.

THE RABBIT HOLE BISTROS & BRASSERIES 11 Roseneath Street, Southside, 0131 229 7953, ÂŁ11 (lunch) / ÂŁ20 dinner Arriving in the space previously occupied by Sweet Melindas, The Rabbit Hole offers a new layout and design but a very similar commitment to the ethos of neighbourhood dining. A new wooden bar offers a focal point and space for less formal perched dining, while a window banquette curves around a go-to table for those looking to dine with a bigger group.

Food is earthy, practical and a little bit Italian: stuffed lamb saddle served on caponata, a grilled lobster or a lunchtime soup and sandwich. It’s easy-going, family friendly, regular friendly, and stay-a-bit-longer friendly.

Independent write-ups on all the restaurants worth knowing about in Glasgow and Edinburgh are available on our online Eating & Drinking Guide at list.co.uk/food-and-drink 44 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

Rustic family style cooking, complimented by a large selection of the best wines from the Languedoc area of France.

The restaurant has great views of Calton Hill and is minutes from Waverley Train Station and the famous Royal Mile.

Two AA Rosettes for Culinary Excellence

enu: Lunch M 0

£14.5 2 courses £17.00 3 courses OW BOOK N

Opening hours: 12pm - 2.30pm 6pm - 9.30pm 7 days per week _ 0131 557 3032 www.lagarrigue.co.uk

Join Jean Michel on an all inclusive week of wine tasting and gastronomic experience in the unspoiled Languedoc area Taking bookings now for: April 17th–24th May 11th–15th Call Jean Michel to find out more on: 07760 761 170

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 45

SUPPORTED BY

FOOD & DRINK

REPLENISHING THE LARDER Hebridean Food Compan y

Great Gle n Game

Drinks merhouse

Sum

2015’s Year of Food & Drink showcased some of the best that Scotland’s producers, brewers and distillers had to offer. Donald Reid and Louise Stoddart pick out a few of the notable new arrivals Plan Bee’s Honey Beer Together with Beehive Brae, these guys launched their honey beer in April last year, just before the bees got busy for the summer. The honey gives the beer a smooth texture and light, floral taste; but that wasn’t their only aim. Plan Bee was created for the betterment of bees, so every bottle they sell goes towards protecting the decreasing honeybee populations. Their other innovative honey products include Elderflower & Rose Mead, edging one of the oldest alcoholic drinks back into fashion.

Tonic Water – to go with all that gin It’s been hard not to notice the surge in new gin distillations all across Scotland – we’ll mention Isle of Harris, Rock Rose and Porter’s in passing, but they’re by no means the only ones. With so many newbies, Summerhouse Drinks cleverly filled that obvious gap in the market, offering a small batch of Scottish-made tonic water to make the ultimate Scottish G&T. Walter Gregor’s Tonic is an addition to Summerhouse’s already popular collection of soft drinks made using natural ingredients on their family’s farm in Aberdeenshire.

Hebridean Food Company Scotland’s beef and lamb carries a well-established reputation, not least when it’s held up as a product of the country’s clean, green, rough and tough landscape. Douglas Stewart from North Uist graduated from the Scottish Agricultural College, launching his Hebridean Food Company website and countrywide delivery service in 2015. It provides an opportunity to sample blackface lamb and pedigree Highland beef that migrates between the machair grasslands of the uninhabited tidal island of Vallay and the heather grazing of North Uist. It’s an emblematic example of a traditional, low-impact, semi-wild system of stock management that’s unique to its Hebridean location and apparent in the cooking and eating qualities of the meat.

46 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

Cream o’ Galloway Cheese While cheesemaking in Scotland has its adventurous side – there’s even some halloumi happening – there is also a lot of respect paid among the nation’s small band of cheesemakers to traditional methods.

Wilma Finlay and Sarah Haworth at Cream o’ Galloway, better known for its ice-cream and go-karting, have been delving back to the styles of cheeses made on their own farm up to the 1970s. Look out for Carrick, a hard cheese that has already picked up a couple of admiring awards, Laganory and a new blue cheese that’s in its final stages of preparation for the market.

Curing our charcuterie miles In Scotland, many of us are pretty fond of European charcuterie, and we make short work of sharing boards piled high with the stuff.

However, locally produced charcuterie is increasingly available: Borders-based Hammond’s crowdfunding campaign is aiming to help them move to a larger site, while organic charcutiers at Peelham Farm and Highlanders Great Glen Game have been picking up awards for their Scottish take on cured meats. Joining in are Highland Wagyu, with Scotland’s first-ever Wagyu salami, bresaola and pastrami.

And for dessert . . .

Ice-cream is always fertile territory for unusual flavours, but offering something pleasantly unusual are Stew’n’Drew’s in Hopeman, Moray.

Wanting to give something back to the locals, the ambitious duo took inspiration from butteries (or rowies), that breakfasty-brunchy staple of the north east, and turned it into ice-cream. Wowee Rowie is one of many flavours that these two have concocted, along with wasabi and cask-strength whisky, plus a few more conventional options, including strawberry and espresso.

Find out more at food.list.co.uk

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Dunbar’s award-winning community science festival is back!

CIFEST DUNBARWSEEKEND FAMILY LIGHT NIGHSTSS AT TORNE

ADULT PROGRAMME

SATURDAY 5TH & SUNDAY 6TH MARCH 2016 2 full days of stage shows, drop in sessions, workshops, storytelling sessions and the SCI-FUN interactive exhibition.

FRIDAY 4TH - SUNDAY 6TH MARCH 2016 Light Installation & Projection at Torness power station with EDF Energy celebrating Scottish Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design.

THURSDAY 10TH - SUNDAY 13TH MARCH 2016 4 evening events of presentations and panel discussions.

Go to our website for the full programme, venue & ticket details and other information.

www.dunbarscifest.org.uk www.jonsavagephotography.com Jon Savage Photography

48 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

AROUND TOWN

F the latesotr listings annews, reviews, g d list.co.uko to /aroundto wn

DECLARATION New human rights festival in Glasgow wants to get people talking ‘We decided that an interesting way to kickstart a bigger public conversation about a human rights-based approach to healthcare would be to go right back to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and look at each article in turn, thinking afresh about what each one means for people in Scotland today,’ says Andrew Eaton-Lewis.

The result is Declaration, a festival of conversations, provocations and performances from thinkers, campaigners and writers across Scotland. Co-organiser Eaton-Lewis felt the time was right. ‘The conversation has been getting a bit louder in recent years – for example, on International Human Rights Day in 2013, the Scottish Human Rights Commission launched Scotland’s National Action Plan for Human Rights (SNAP), which has shaped some of the thinking on this subject.’

Partnering with NHS Health Scotland, the Mental Health Foundation, the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland and the University of Strathclyde, some highlights include a 50th anniversary screening of Cathy Come Home, Ken Loach’s drama about homelessness; a night of performance exploring the ‘right to rest and leisure’ curated by Rally & Broad’s Jenny Lindsay (pictured); and the Glasgow Girls’ Amal Azzudin discussing the right to asylum.

‘It’ll also bring together people from the health sector, campaigners, writers, filmmakers, musicians and theatre performers,’ says Eaton-Lewis, ‘and, most importantly, some of the people most affected by breaches of human rights in healthcare.’ (Kirstyn Smith) Q Declaration, various venues, Glasgow, Thu 3– Sun 6 Mar, declarationfest.com

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 49

AROUND TOWN | Highlights

HITLIST

BUILD IT! ADVENTURES WITH LEGO® BRICKS National Museum of Scotland, until Sun 17 Apr, nms.ac.uk.

Exhibition of LEGO® builds from Warren Elsmore and his team. See preview, page 67.

DECLARATION FESTIVAL

Various venues, Glasgow, Thu 3–Sun 6 Mar, declarationfest. com A new festival supporting health and human rights. See preview, page 49.

convention.net Body artlovers of the world unite, with artists from across the globe plus music, competitions, and the chance to just mingle with other lovers of the art.

SCOTTISH TATTOO CONVENTION Corn Exchange, Edinburgh, Sat 26 & Sun 27 Mar, scottishtattoo-

GLASGOW RESTAURANT FESTIVAL Various venues, Glasgow, Fri 1–Tue 19 Apr A showcase of the

best of Glasgow’s dining scene. Enjoy specially priced menus as well as an array of foodie events.

The festival takes over Candleriggs Square for two weeks of pop-up restaurants in a vintage Spiegeltent, with Scottish produce stalls and live music too. See preview, page 41.

AROUND TOWN HIGHLIGHTS Events are listed by city, then date.

Submit listings for your event at list.co.uk/add

GLASGOW CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS: YEAR OF THE MONKEY George Square, Sun 7 Feb Chinese New Year celebrations to usher in the Year of the Monkey, featuring dragon dancing, lion dancing, martial arts displays, pipers, dance performances and more.

LENTFEST Various venues, Wed 10 Feb–Sun 27 Mar, lentfest.co.uk An annual festival of faith and arts, incorporating theatre, film screenings, music, poetry and visual arts, across the Archdiocese of Glasgow.

JAMES MARTIN: PLATES, MATES & AUTOMOBILES Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Mon 22 Feb, tickets. glasgowconcerthalls.com James Martin celebrates 20 years cooking on TV with a live tour featuring cookery demonstrations and some special guest pals. Also Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Tue 23 Feb, usherhall. co.uk SKEPTI-CALEY Caledonian University, Sat Feb 27, glasgowskeptics.com A day of science, scepticism and critical thinking. Speakers include Andrew Copson from the British Humanist Association, podcaster Myles Power and Dr Lucy Pickering.

50 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

Celts: Art and Identity

RESOLUTION RUN Glasgow Green, Glasgow, Sun 13 Mar. Also Cramond Promenade, Edinburgh, Sun 6 Mar, stroke.org. uk/resolution Put those New Year’s resolutions to good use at these races organised by the Stroke Association.

Choose from a 5k or 10k distance.

EDINBURGH PLAGUE! National Library of Scotland, Thu 4 Feb–Thu 7 Apr, nls.uk A cultural and social history of contagious diseases in Scotland. See how horrors including the Black Death and cholera have ravaged the country and the varying reactions to the plagues in folklore, religion and the press.

CAPITAL SCI-FI Meadowbank Sports Centre, Sat 27 & Sun 28 Feb, capitalscificon. co.uk Science-fiction convention featuring trade tables, panel talks by comic artists and writers, Jedi Academy sessions, cosplay competition, retro games station, guest signings and the exhibition Star Wars in Glasgow Part 2: Edinburgh Invasion.

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF MIDDLE EASTERN SPIRITUALITY AND PEACE Various venues, Tue 6–Sun 20 Mar, mesp.org.uk This international festival draws together people from a wide range of spiritual backgrounds, cultures, traditions and communities to celebrate peace and mutual understanding via spiritual, educational, artistic and cultural events.

PHOTO © TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM

GLASGOW GOES GREEN FESTIVAL SWG3, Thu 11 Feb, swg3.tv A celebratory showcase of workshops, films, music, food and drink – all linked together by sustainability and Glasgow.

GLASGOW ST PATRICK’S DAY FESTIVAL Various venues, Sat 5–Wed 16 Mar, glasgowstpatricksfestival.co.uk Celebrate the Irish heritage of Glasgow and Scotland with a programme of film, talks, family activities, dancing and, of course, a whole lot of music.

CELTS: ART AND IDENTITY National Museum of Scotland, Thu 10 Mar–Sun 25 Sep, nms.ac.uk A major exhibition reviewing what we know about the different people who, over the centuries, have been identified as ‘Celts’, with artefacts, manuscripts, weapons and stunning art objects. A special exhibition organised between the National Museum of Scotland and the British Museum in London.

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FESTIVAL Various Venues, Sat 26 Mar–Sun 10 Apr, sciencefestival.co.uk Hands-on science for adults, children

and families in venues across the city with programme ranging from the entertaining to the controversial and, of course, the icky. See feature, page 33.

OUTSIDE THE CITIES ELECTRIC GLEN Rouken Glen Park, Giffnock, Fri 5–Sun 14 Feb, electricglen.co.uk East Renfrewshire’s Rouken Glen Park shines electric. Combat winter darkness by visiting the illuminated park, with its visual and sound installations, and drink up the geology of the unique landscape. Wheels-only route available.

BOOKS

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STANZA St Andrews’ poetry festival gears up for its 19th year We’re waxing lyrical about StAnza: Scotland’s international poetry festival, which takes place each spring in St Andrews. There are two themes for 2016: ‘City Lines’ and ‘Body of Poetry’, and there are hundreds of acts lined up to tackle them.

The big headliners include Guardian First Book Award-winner Andrew McMillan, who’ll be performing at Parliament Hall on Sat 5 Mar alongside Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prizewinner Fiona Benson, plus two-time TS Eliot prize-winner Don Paterson, who’s appearing with poet and broadcaster Lemn Sissay at the Byre on Fri 4 Mar. Other notable guests include Edinburgh Makar Christine de Luca, who is performing ‘Sea Threads: comings and goings / Sea Treeds: comins an gyaains’, with saxophonist Tommy Smith at the Byre on Wed 2 Mar, as well

as Jo Bell, Pascale Petit, Sean O’Brien, Brian Johnstone, John Burnside and Jemima Foxtrot (pictured) with her show Melody, which we loved at last year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

That said, over 100 readings, performances, discussions and events will take place during the festival, featuring poets and writers from all over the world, including Australia, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Georgia, Ireland and the USA. This year, the festival also has its first dedicated translated language focus with a strand of events showcasing German poetry (or Deutsche Gedichte, if you will).

The official festival launch takes place at the Byre on Fri 4 Mar, with a multi-arts performance from Thomas Lynch, Rita Bradd, Jane Yolen and Rebecca Sharp. (Rebecca Monks) Q StAnza, St Andrews, Wed 2–Sun 6 Mar, stanzapoetry.org

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 51

BOOKS | Reviews MEMOIR

AMY LIPTROT The Outrun (Canongate) OOOOO

PHOTO © LISA SWARNA KHANNA

Jobless and not long out of rehab, Amy Liptrot found herself back at the family home on Orkney after spending much of her 20s in London. The Outrun tells the story of her recovery from alcoholism, and her relationship with both her city and island homes. Without descending into self-pity or exhibitionism, Liptrot writes frankly about addiction and the highs and lows of her hedonistic London lifestyle. Fond memories of tipsy afternoons spent idling with friends in London Fields are juxtaposed with bleaker recollections of late-night solo booze runs and disintegrating relationships.

In Orkney, Liptrot comes to understand her addiction, finding new thrills in sea swimming and the dancing lights of the aurora borealis. While Liptrot paints a vivid picture of island life, she wisely eschews the language of wilderness and retreat. Her crisp, often beautiful prose is refreshingly free of the romantic rapture and Boy’s Own derring-do that characterises some nature writing, with Orkney presented as a living, working island rather than an idyllic retreat.

Her Orkney experiences – tending the lambs on the stretch of coastland known as the Outrun; spending a summer monitoring corncrakes for the RSPB; tracing the journey of the flotsam and jetsam that washes up on the shore – fill a gap in her life and aid her recovery, but she remains attracted to the city. Indeed, some of Liptrot’s finest landscape writing is on London, an islander’s perspective giving her a particular sense of urban space. Insightful and wonderfully evocative, The Outrun is an outstanding debut, deftly blending memoir and nature writing. (Stewart Smith) Out now.

COMIC MEMOIR

HISTORICAL FICTION

LITERARY FICTION

CRIME

The Actual One (Orion) OOOOO

The Mauricewood Devils (Freight)

Black Widow (Little, Brown) OOOOO

OOOOO

The High Mountains of Portugal (Canongate) OOOOO

Dorothy Alexander’s greatgrandmother’s father was killed in the Mauricewood coal pit fire in 1889, one of 63 men and boys who lost their lives in the tragedy, many of whose bodies could not be buried until the 1890.

The novel recounts the disaster from the dual perspective of eight-year-old Martha, the daughter of miner Davie, and his wife Jess. The clever structure pays tribute to the oral tradition with the accounts told as monologues without dialogue, interspersed with factual information about the mine and the inquiry, powerfully contextualising their perspective.

The tragedy is meticulously researched, creating a detailed picture of East Lothian life in the late 19th century. Jess bears witness to both her personal loss and the collective as new widows support each other in their grief.

As bodies are brought to the surface we learn details of the men’s personalities, quirks and family life in a story that is as much a testament to human kindness as it is a powerful insight into the devastation of so much loss.

(Rowena McIntosh) Out 18 Feb.

Continuing his fascination with the relationship between humans and animals, Yann Martel has produced a triptych of stories spanning nearly a century, all centred on a small Portuguese mountain village. Presented as an allegory of creationism, each piece has its own protagonist, from the loveable Tomás on his 1904 road trip, to the doctor who makes an astonishing discovery during an unusual post-mortem. And then there’s Peter, the Canadian politician who, overcome with grief after his wife's death, buys a chimpanzee and moves to his ancestral Portuguese home. The seemingly disparate stories link fluidly as an old family secret is slowly revealed to Peter.

The prose is sharp, comical, and carries a deeply poignant message: though religion may be one person’s belief structure and another’s laughing stock, it is important to humanity. In places though, Martel has sacrificed pace and plot with deep metaphors, which leaves the novel an intriguing mystery but one that fails to match the inventiveness of Life of Pi. (Kevin Scott) Out now.

ISY SUTTIE Reading a book by Isy Suttie is a whole lot similar to seeing her live or on the small screen. There’s nothing wildly original or controversial about the Matlock-born musical comic but it’s impossible not to be drawn into her whimsical spell.

And so it is with The Actual One, Suttie’s recollections of that bittersweet moment when you aren’t quite ready to grow up while all around you are taking on adult pursuits. Those inconsiderate types certainly wreck the buzz that seemed to carry Suttie through her 20s while a litany of poor choices, tough gigs and dating calamities cram the pages.

Suttie rarely comes off too badly (though merrily supping port at New Year while everyone else seems be contracting norovirus is a definite low point). But the unlikely star of this tale is Mrs Suttie, her dear mum, who chirpily goes around trying to sort out her little girl’s life, the peak of her endeavours coming when she works relentlessly on Isy’s internet dating profile. No good can come of that. And hilariously, it most certainly doesn’t.

(Brian Donaldson) Out now.

52 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

DOROTHY ALEXANDER

YANN MARTEL

CHRIS BROOKMYRE There’s a certain sense about Scottish thriller writer Chris Brookmyre’s new book that weighty ‘Issues with a capital I’ are being explored, so heavily does it resonate with subject matter of its time. Briefly, the book follows the court case of Diana Jager, either a strong and confidently successful female surgeon or a scheming and possibly psychotic manipulator, who is accused of the murder of her husband.

Jager has suffered too, though, by those who attacked her with misogynist abuse and threats following the hacking and outing of her blog about sexism in the medical world.

Into the story steps Brookmyre’s most-used lead character, rumpled investigative reporter Jack Parlabane, and much of the book switches between his perspective and Jager’s.

Brookmyre has an ex-journalist’s facility for picking away at the heart of a story and focusing on seemingly disparate clues and character traits which compellingly create a bigger picture. As ever, he’s created a solid, briskly paced thriller with a sense of confident contemporary relevance.

(David Pollock) Out now.

HITLIST

RALLY & BROAD: THE AMPERSAND SESSIONS Stereo, Glasgow, Sun 21 Feb, stereocafebar. com Multi-arts night, with Emma Pollock (and accompaniment), plus Malachy Tallack & Chrissy Barnacle, Jenny Lindsay & Heir Of The Cursed, Katie Ailes & Catherine Wilson (of Loud Poets) and more.

PHOTO © INNES MORRISON

Highlights | BOOKS

STANZA: SCOTLAND’S POETRY FESTIVAL Various venues, St Andrews, Wed 2–Sun 6 Mar, stanzapoetry.org StAnza is a literary festival

that focuses on verse.

Joining the locals for readings, performances, slams, open mics, jazz, workshops and poetryrelated art exhibitions, are a host of local and international wordsmiths.

See preview, page 51.

20 Mar, ayewrite.com Centred on the city’s magnificent Mitchell Library, the festival offers a plethora of book-related events and top literary names from Scotland and beyond. See covereage at list.co.uk/books

AYE WRITE! Mitchell Library, Glasgow, Thu 10–Sun

RALLY & BROAD: FIRST EDITIONS The Bongo Club,

Edinburgh, Fri 18 Mar, thebongoclub.co.uk Literary-flavoured cabaret night featuring songwriter Amy Duncan and band, short-story writer Hannah McGill, Words First poet Ellen Renton, awardwinning poet and theatremaker Ross Sutherland, and songs from Gav Prentice’s new band ULTRAS.

BOOKS HIGHLIGHTS Events are listed by city, then date.

Submit listings for your event at list.co.uk/add

Glasgow Women’s Library

GLASGOW STORY CAFE Glasgow Women’s Library, weekly (Thursdays), womenslibrary.org.uk Lunch and some stories – a winning combination. Upcoming guests include Helen MacKinven (25 Feb) and Ajay Close (24 Mar). Also at Edinburgh Central Library, Wed 10 Feb, Wed 24 Feb & Wed 30 Mar. THE BIG GLASGOW COMIC & CRAFT FAIR Trades Hall of Glasgow, Sat 13 Feb, tradeshallglasgow.co.uk A a day of assorted geekery complete with over 40 vendors selling back issues, graphic novels, original art, fan art, toys, t-shirts, jewellery, crafts, cupcakes and loads more.

SWORN VIRGIN: AN EVENING WITH TRANSLATOR CLARISSA BOTSFORD Glasgow Women’s Library, Thu 25 Feb, womenslibrary.org.uk Discussion on Sworn Virgins – women who take a vow of chastity and wear male clothing in order to live as men in the patriarchal northern Albanian society – with Clarissa Botsford, who translated Elvira Dones’s novel about the subject into English.

WEE WRITE! Mitchell Library, Mon 29 Feb–Sat 5 Mar, ayewrite.com/weewrite A week-long programme offering over 100 author events, activities and readings for children, families and school pupils of all ages.

WRITING IN THE STARS Glasgow Science Centre, Thu 3 Mar, glasgowsciencecentre.org Dr Pippa Goldschmidt, astronomer and author, talks about the different aspects of astronomy that have been explored in literature and discusses

how they are represented.

EDINBURGH NOVEL WRITING: PAGES 1 TO 384 The White Horse, Tue 2 Feb & Tue 1 Mar, 0131 556 3403 Class for writers exploring key aspects of novel writing. A pre-recorded version of each class goes online the following day.

POETS AGAINST HUMANITY The Banshee Labyrinth, Wed 24

Feb, thebansheelabyrinth.com Poetry session inspired by the game ‘Cards Against Humanity’, featuring Catherine Wilson, Colin McGuire and Iona Lee. NEU! REEKIE! SCOTLAND AND JAMAICA Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Fri 26 Feb, nationalgalleries.org Using poetry, music, performance and film, Neu! Reekie! will be riffing on a Jamaican theme with strident Scottish undertones.

ARTISTS’ BOOK MARKET Fruitmarket Gallery, Sat 27–Sun 28 Feb, fruitmarket.co.uk Fruitmarket hosts a two-day book fair, with artist talks and workshops, featuring over 40 exhibitors.

EDINBURGH COMIC CON EICC, Sat 2 Apr, eicc.co.uk Comics, cosplay and a whole host of talent and traders at this event, which is now in its second year. Guests include Ryan Browne, Tanya Roberts, Dan McDaid and Iain Laurie.

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 53

COMEDY

ZOE LYONS Brighton-based comic offers a pick and mix of stories and gags Almost a decade since a debut solo show earned her an Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination for Best Newcomer, Zoe Lyons is now very much at ease behind the mic.

‘I’m enjoying myself on stage more these days,’ explains the Brighton-based comic. ‘I think I was very affected by nerves for many years. Most comics get some nerves and that can be a good thing; you need that sort of energy to get up on stage. I think I was somewhat hindered by additional anxieties that didn’t really help me. I’ve largely shed those anxieties as I’ve got older, and taken them off like a jumper that has been really scratchy and irritating. I’m much happier as a result.’

Having not performed at the Glasgow Comedy Festival for some time, Lyons is performing a show featuring ‘an oldfashioned pick and mix of things I've been

54 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

playing around with on the circuit. Some proper tried and tested material sprinkled with ideas that haven’t quite hit puberty yet.’

She sees the GCF as ‘very much a comedy SAS mission. You come to Glasgow, do the job and leave, whereas Edinburgh is like being on a month-long stakeout. In that respect GCF is far more fun.’

She vehemently refutes the suggestion that a psychology degree helps her deal with difficult crowds. ‘Given the chance again I wouldn’t bother with university; I would have done a plumbing or carpentry apprenticeship, something actually useful.

Neither of those skills would help with awkward audiences but at least I’d be secure in the knowledge that none of my taps drip at home. And if I wanted to I could put up a shelf.’ (Murray Robertson) Q The Stand, Glasgow, Fri 18 Mar.

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ISY SUTTIE

list.co.uk/comedy

THE DATE SHIFT PHOTO © IDIL SUKAN

Popular musical comedian and Channel 4 star Isy Suttie talks to Brian Donaldson about the perils of having mum handle her online dating profile

'I

do talk about sex. I mean it’s not Jordan’s autobiography or anything, but if I thought it would be good for the reader to know something then I’d put it in. And the best bit, of course, is you can’t see people’s faces when they’re reading it.’

When it comes to getting down and dirty, Isy Suttie, aka Matlock’s finest musical comedian, has always come across as more Victoria Wood than Victoria’s Secret. But in her just-published memoir, The Actual One, there are sordid tales of an Australian fuck-buddy, running naked into a freezing sea at New Year and various fumblings around the internet dating game. That avenue for seeking love and lust is perhaps not helped by the fact that Isy’s mum insisted on compiling and updating her daughter’s profile.

‘She started choosing guys and logging in as me,’ states Suttie with a barely disguised mix of horror and humour. ‘It culminated in a bet where if I didn’t end up with a boyfriend in a month I’d go on a date with someone she’d chosen. She really got into it. I talk a lot in the book about the nature of relationships according to my experience and the fact that I know more unhappy people who are in relationships than aren’t. This isn’t a book that’s the equivalent of a romcom where I’m all Bridget Jonesy and eventually find someone to live happily ever after with. And nor is it me going about leaving my knickers on rugby posts.

It’s quite an honest account of me bumbling through life trying to make the best of things.’

When she came to deciding the structure of The Actual One (whose working title was Glass Half Full), Suttie took a degree of inspiration from Lena Dunham, creator of US hit comedy-drama Girls and author of Not that Kind of Girl. ‘Her book is written in essay form where

there’s no narrative per se or even a thread running through it; it’s just chapters about different periods of her life and that works brilliantly.

I’d toyed with doing my book that way but it felt that the right thing was to write about a concentrated period of time.’

While The Actual One tour is more akin to a series of book events with stand-up bits included, Suttie isn’t leaving the live comedy world behind. And that’s good news for anyone who enjoyed her Edinburgh Fringe shows such as Love Lost in the British Retail Industry, Pearl and Dave and the seemingly de rigueur pun-on-your-own-name show title, The Suttie Show. ‘When I was growing up, I always wanted to be an actress and musician,’ she says. ‘I never thought I’d go into comedy though I was always larking about and playing the fool at school. I used to write these serious songs and, around 18, really thought I could be a folk singer and an actress. I just knew that I’d want to tell stories in my songs.’

TV has also come calling for Suttie with appearances opposite Alan Davies in BBC’s kitchen drama Whites, as a regular character in Shameless’ 11th season and, arguably her biggest coup, with a recurring role across several seasons as Dobby in Peep Show. With that series ending last year, it was the right moment for Suttie to reflect on being part of one of Britain’s most critically adored sitcoms in recent times. ‘When I got on Peep Show I didn’t fully realise how big it was. I remember being nervous for the whole of that first series I was in because it felt like a big jump for me.’ Thankfully, Isy Suttie has landed expertly on her feet.

Isy Suttie: The Actual One, The Stand, Glasgow, Tue 15 Mar. See book review, page 52.

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 55

COMEDY | Previews STAND-UP

DYLAN MORAN King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Sun 13 Mar; Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Tue 12 & Wed 13 Apr Having written and performed his own stand-up across the globe for more than 20 years (he recently became the first professional English-speaking comedian to perform live comedy in Russia), Dylan Moran has a wealth of material under his belt. But for the Edinburgh-based Irishman, there’s no greater buzz than going on stage and trying out brand new routines.

‘When you walk out and you’ve never said it before, that’s where the comedy exists. Maybe that’s why live comedy has survived, because it has the danger element. For every comic out there, there’s no other way of trying this out except in front of an audience.

You might do this for 50 years and think you’ve worked out what’s funny, but at the same time you can always be surprised by a room full of people. So, when I first try stuff out, I’ll tape it and think, “where is this going, what can I do with it, am I coming at it the right way?”

Often you can fall short of what you want.’

Given the acclaim he has received for previous touring shows such as Monster, What It Is and Yeah, Yeah, it was never likely that Off the Hook would fall short in any conceivable way. And the glowing reviews (some among the best in a career which includes being the 1996 Perrier Award winner) are testament to a man at the very height of his powers. ‘In essence, there’s no shortage of shit to talk about, that’s for sure; it’s a question of picking and choosing. The thing is, people are so busy and you just have to give them the verbal equivalent of finger food because there’s no time to wade through miles of pasta.’

(Brian Donaldson)

STAND-UP

PAUL SINHA The Stand, Glasgow, Sat 19 Mar Paul Sinha is better known these days for wrestling that white suit onto the set of The Chase and being rude to people for half an hour. But out on the comedy circuit, he's always been the stand-up who guarantees an intelligent, incisive and, of course, witty performance.

The roundly praised Postcards from the Z List from last year’s Fringe was his first solo show in four years. ‘I can’t deny that I was nervous,’ admits Sinha. ‘But I had put the usual painstaking hard work in, and I really enjoyed the results.’

Previous shows have focused on being a gay football fan (Liverpool FC, in case you were wondering), his rampant love for trivia and a seemingly never ending search for love, but Postcards explored how Sinha’s life has changed in the last few years. ‘I was looking at the sometimes brutal reality of minor celebrity, the degree to which being in the public eye can be a double-edged sword, as well as an inside peek into my struggles to juggle family and my first proper relationship.’

Has appearing on The Chase sated his appetite for quizzes? Apparently not. ‘I quiz all year. The Chase is just a medium sized part of my quiz life. This year I will be going on a quiz holiday to Rhodes and taking part in a quiz Olympiad in Athens. I am nothing if not dedicated.’ So remember, when you get his autograph, be sure to slip him a few pub quiz questions too. (Marissa Burgess) SKETCH SHOW

UNCLES

King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Wed 16 Mar Those Burnistoun boys have clearly contracted a serious case of the live comedy bug. Iain Connell and Rab Florence must have been so smitten with treading the Glasgow stages last year that they have come back for more, albeit with a different set of characters. The sold-out signs went up outside the King’s Theatre with such speed when it was announced that they would be performing at the 2015 Glasgow International Comedy Festival that their thoughts immediately turned to putting on extra shows for their seemingly plentiful admirers. So, when the rest of the world was looking upon the antics in Edinburgh during August, Connell and Florence were mopping up the comedy adoration at the Theatre Royal across a string of nights.

For their next trick, they’re bringing on the Uncles. There’s not a huge amount known yet about the show (aside from one curse-filled audio sketch about Viagra, it’s all being kept firmly under wraps), but this quasi-chilling publicity message perhaps gives a sense of the horror / hilarity to come: ‘Life can be confusing. Life can be hard. Sometimes you need guidance from men of real experience, men who know ALL the answers. Maybe it's time you sat down and listened to your uncles.’ If you want to do a bit of homework on Connell and Florence, you can always clock on to your Netflix account and work your way through series one of Burnistoun: ‘eleven’, ‘nae rolls’, ‘quality polis’ and so forth. (Brian Donaldson) 56 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

Highlights | COMEDY

HITLIST

TOMMY TIERNAN: ALIVE Macrobert Arts Centre, Thu 10 Mar, macrobert. org The edgy Irish standup proffers whimsical and occasionally dark thoughts and observations.

DYLAN MORAN: OFF THE HOOK King’s Theatre, Sun 13 Mar, atgtickets.

com/venues/kingstheatre Moran plays up to the stereotype of the bumbling, drunken Irishman, but his comedy is much more intelligent than mere clichémongering: on stage he is uniquely charismatic, a foul-mouthed mixture of lovable and misanthropic, and always very funny. See preview, page 56.

BRIDGET CHRISTIE: A BOOK FOR HER Citizen’s Theatre, Mon 14 Mar, citz.co.uk Bridget Christie presents her current book whose

title is based on the show about that infamous Bic marketing campaign.

JENA FRIEDMAN: AMERICAN CUNT Saint Luke’s, Sat 19 Mar, stlukesglasgow. com Dark, acerbic standup from edgy old Jena Friedman, her off of the US telly.

FERN BRADY: PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS Blackfriars Basement, Thu 24 Mar, blackfriarsglasgow. com/basement Rising Scottish star Fern Brady is here to let you all know that most people aren’t that smart, so you better lower your expectations.

But we knew that already, right? Surely?

PHOTO © IDIL SUKAN / DRAW HQ

COMEDY HIGHLIGHTS Events are listed by city, then date.

Submit listings for your event at list.co.uk/add

GLASGOW DAVID O’DOHERTY: WE ARE ALL IN THE GUTTER BUT SOME OF US ARE LOOKING AT DAVID O’DOHERTY Òran Mór, Thu 4 Feb, oran-mor.co.uk Armed with a teeny keyboard and an incredible wit, David presents his latest solo show of comedy and songs, the ledge.

RUSSELL KANE: RIGHT MAN WRONG AGE Garage, Thu 10 & Fri 11 Mar, garageglasgow.co.uk Russell Kane discusses why it›s perfectly okay to be 20 but feel 40 (or vice versa) and explains why nobody really feels their age.

DAVID KAY The Stand, Sun 13 Mar, thestand.co.uk Ramblings from the star of Radio 4’s Mordrin McDonald: 21st Century Wizard whose last few shows have also alluded to scones, but not this one, which is disappointing.

RICHARD GADD: WAITING FOR GADDOT The Stand, Sun 13 Mar, thestand.co.uk A wild ride from the troubled comedian who truly stormed Edinburgh last August.

ROMESH RANGANATHAN: IRRATIONAL Garage, Sun 13 & Mon 14 Mar, garageglasgow.co.uk In this brand new show, Romesh Ranganathan explores the rationality of his worldview and explains why it’s everyone else who is wrong. See feature, page 27.

Richard Gadd: Waiting for Gaddot

ANDREW MAXWELL: YO CONTRAIRE! Garage, Tue 15 Mar, garageglasgow.co.uk Social commentary and political observations from the cheery Dubliner.

ISY SUTTIE: THE ACTUAL ONE The Stand, Tue 15 Mar, thestand.co.uk This is a book tour slash show about that late-20s realisation that everyone’s growing up without you and what you should do about it from the award-winning actress and comedian. See feature, page 55.

Jenny Éclair: How to be a Middle Aged Woman Without Going Insane

JENNY ÉCLAIR: HOW TO BE A MIDDLE AGED WOMAN WITHOUT GOING INSANE Citizens Theatre, Fri 18 Mar, citz.co.uk Jenny Eclair is actually younger than Madonna, but you won’t catch her falling down any stairs at the Brit Awards, no siree.

Her new show is about being middle aged and whether you’re better off accepting it or fighting to the death.

Also Sat 19 Mar, Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh.

JERRY SADOWITZ: IT’S ALL BOLLOCKS King’s Theatre, Fri 18 Mar, atgtickets.com/venues/kingstheatre Angry brilliance from the hurricane that is Sadowitz.

LARRY DEAN: OUT NOW Yesbar, Fri 18 Mar, yesbar.scot Sharp wit and storytelling from the excellent Glaswegian stand-up.

OMID DJALILI: LIVE 2016 King’s Theatre, Sat 19 Mar, atgtickets.com/venues/kingstheatre The British-Iranian comedian and star of stage and screen brings his new show to an adoring public.

See First & Last, page 96.

DANIEL SLOSS: DARK Garage, Sat 19 Mar, garageglasgow.co.uk The Fife comic takes a darker turn.

FRANKIE BOYLE: HURT LIKE YOU’VE NEVER BEEN LOVED SECC, Mon 21–Wed 23 Mar, secc.co.uk We thought he’d gone into retirement, but he just can’t stay away. More dark, dangerous and damn funny stuff from Mr Boyle.

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 57

COMEDY | Highlights

COMEDY HIGHLIGHTS Richard Herring: Happy Now?

CHIEF COMMISSIONER CAMERON MIEKELSON: TOMMOROW’S FORCE TODAY King’s Theatre, Tue 22 Mar, atgtickets.com/venues/kingstheatre Jack Docherty performs a show in the guise of his character, Chief Commissioner Cameron Miekelson.

REGINALD D HUNTER King’s Theatre, Thu 24 Mar, atgtickets.com/venues/kingstheatre The controversial and great stand-up (with two Perrier nominations under his belt) will be straight on the offensive here.

SHAPPI KHORSANDI: LIVE! Citizens Theatre, Fri 25 Mar, citz.co.uk The popular UK-Iranian stand-up and new boss of the British Humanist Association brings us a spanking fresh show coming on the back of her super Because I’m Shappi affair. You do see what she did there, right? If not, go and ask some cool kids. See feature, page 28.

EDINBURGH DANIEL KITSON The Stand, Wed 17 Feb, thestand.co.uk Mr Kitson, the bearded one in need of no introduction or hype, presents some new ponderings. Also Wed 2 Mar, The Stand, Glasgow.

RICHARD HERRING: HAPPY NOW? The Stand, Wed 16 Mar, thestand.co.uk Richard might have cracked it, what with a wife and a baby but is that what it takes to be content? Also Thu 17 Mar, Citizens Theatre, Glasgow.

FALKIRK MARK THOMAS: TRESPASS Falkirk Town Hall, Tue 1 Mar, falkirkcommunitytrust.org A mix of theatre, stand-up, journalism, activism and mayhem as Mark tries to create playgrounds in modern cities. Also Wed 2 Mar, Tolbooth, Stirling.

THE WEEKEND SHOWS Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Our most exciting shows are on the weekend – you’ll get five top acts on every bill in a two hour showcase.

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RED RAW Edinburgh Monday & Glasgow Tuesday

SCOTLAND’S FAVOURITE COMEDY CLUB 5 York Place | Edinburgh | 0131 558 7272 333 Woodlands Road | Glasgow | 0141 212 3389 www.thestand.co.uk

58 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

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FILM

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HIPPFEST Silent cinema festival returns to Bo’ness Now in its sixth year, HippFest – the Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema – is in its element. Taking place at the beautiful Hippodrome (Scotland’s oldest purpose-built cinema) in Bo’ness, this year’s programme is announced on Tue 9 Feb. But director Alison Strauss has already revealed 2016’s opening event: a screening of Alexander Dovzhenko’s Earth, with a new live accompaniment from musicians Hazel Morrison and Jane Gardner.

First released in 1930, Earth is a classic of silent cinema and was commissioned by Stalin as a propaganda film for collectivisation. ‘The photography and direction is stunning, even to watch in 2016,’ says Gardner. ‘It’s an epic piece of philosophical and visual art, which happens to have been made in the Soviet era. It can be appreciated on many levels though, and you

don’t need to be a historian or cinephile to enjoy it.’

Along with HippFest fans Mark Kermode and Neil Brand, Gardner and Morrison are festival regulars and 2016 marks their fourth time performing together at the festival. ‘Though the process of putting a long film accompaniment together can be quite hard work, Hazel always makes it fun,’ Gardner says. ‘We have kind of a telepathic way of communicating in music, which is special.’

HippFest’s location is particularly special too, as the glitz and glamour of the silent era takes over Bo’ness for a long weekend. ‘The whole town gets involved,’ adds Morrison. ‘This really puts Bo’ness on the map.’ (Yasmin Sulaiman) Q HippFest, Bo’ness, Wed 16–Sun 20 Mar, hippfest.co.uk

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 59

FILM | Reviews

PERIOD HORROR

BIOPIC

COMEDY DRAMA

(15) 108min OOOOO

(12A) 123min OOOOO

(15) 124min OOOOO

Jane Austen’s classic gets the big screen treatment once more – this time with added horror. Adapting Seth Grahame-Smith’s parody novel, writer-director Burr Steers retells the story of Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters in Regency era England, which just so happens to be afflicted by a plague of the undead.

If that sounds bizarre it’s more faithful than you might imagine. Elizabeth (Lily James) is the same fiercely independent heroine Austen crafted, only with added fighting skills (learned from her time in China, apparently), while Mr Darcy (Sam Riley) is just as aloof as ever, even if he’s now preoccupied with rooting out zombies – or the ‘manky dreadfuls’, as they’re called here.

It’s a curious mix, truth be told. The Bennet sisters (including Bella Heathcote and Suki Waterhouse) are fun to watch. Sally Phillips is a hoot as their mother, Matt Smith has a ball as the effete Parson Collins and Riley makes Darcy his own. But it all rather jars with the presence of the zombies, which are reasonably crafted but neither particularly scary nor especially comic, getting in the way of what is a halfdecent take on the original story. For the most part, it feels like the Sleepwalking Dead. (James Mottram) Q General release from Thu 11 Feb.

Awards season is traditionally the time for filmmakers to get their teeth into the meaty issues they hope will draw the admiring gaze of audiences and voting committees alike. Concussion follows the established playbook to such a degree that it turns an incendiary story into something of a damp squib.

The film’s failings have nothing to do with star Will Smith. He is excellent as Nigerian-born pathologist Dr Bennet Omalu, whose attention to detail uncovers that professional American footballers are suffering lasting brain damage categorically denied by the NFL. Unfortunately when the focus moves from Dr Omalu’s work to his personal life and the scrambling machinations of the NFL, the flat, plodding nature of the narrative reveals itself. It is so ruthlessly earnest that it lacks the vital, passionate punch of similarly themed contemporaries like Spotlight and Truth. This is compounded by writerdirector Peter Landesman also attempting to use this as a celebration of the enduring dominance of the American dream. While it doesn’t detract from Dr Omalu’s towering achievements, it does lend his story an uneasy, jingoistic tone at odds with his own liberal outlook. (Nikki Baughan) Q General release from Fri 12 Feb.

Jacques Deray’s hot and heavy La Piscine (1969) is merely the jumping-off point for this tale of sex and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, which nicks its name from the Hockney painting. Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love) is an expressive force at the helm of a film which reunites him with muse Tilda Swinton and features unforgettable dance moves from the newly game Ralph Fiennes. Swinton plays a rock star recovering from an operation on an Italian island, with her adoring hunk o’man (Matthias Schoenaerts) by her side. Their retreat is both lusty and peaceful, an idyll shattered when her flamboyant ex (Fiennes) bounds into view with his daughter (Dakota Johnson) in tow.

Although Fiennes is an irrepressible scene-stealer, Guadagnino and writer David Kajganich act as modernisers as the story becomes all about the women, who are imbued with far more personality and potency than their passive counterparts in the original. Tonally it’s lighter and more eccentric than Deray’s film, while his enigmatic approach is taken to task. The cast sizzle and, in the spirit of hedonism and equality, all get their kit off. Shot with sun-kissed aplomb, A Bigger Splash is every bit as exuberant and refreshing as it sounds. (Emma Simmonds) Q General release from Fri 12 Feb.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES

CONCUSSION

A BIGGER SPLASH

ANIMATION

ANOMALISA (15) 90min OOOOO Charlie Kaufman’s latest idiosyncratic experiment gives the mundane an infusion of emotional grandeur as it meticulously blends the surreal and the sombre. Written and directed by the man himself, and co-helmed with animator Duke Johnson, Anomalisa captures a man’s painful, pervasive despondency, as well as the first flushes of what could be love.

What began life in 2005 as a play (part of composer Carter Burwell’s Theatre of the New Ear project) has been transformed into a spectacularly sensitive animation. It follows flailing customer service expert Michael Stone (David Thewlis) – author of self-help book How May I Help You Help Them? – who’s speaking at a conference on the subject and whose crippling disinterest leads him to haplessly pursue an ex and flirt with a pair of conference groupies, one of whom Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh) has a voice that marks her out from the crowd.

There’s an overriding sense of the uncanny and some wonderful absurdist interludes but Anomalisa gets to the heart of existential angst and personal weakness as it conveys the monotone drudgery of daily life (Tom Noonan voices all the supporting characters, both male and female, in the same soft, flat key), how depression can lead to destructive folly, and the terror of baring your soul. The eerily lifelike stop-motion style really is something to behold, with its flaws and quirks enhancing the humanity on display; the characters’ sad, strange 3D-printed faces seem to shimmer with fluctuating emotion, with prominent join lines that expose their vulnerability. Achingly melancholic and philosophically ambitious, Anomalisa moulds reality into something magical. (Emma Simmonds) Q Glasgow Film Theatre, part of Glasgow Film Festival, Sun 28 Feb. General release from Fri 11 Mar. See feature, page 22.

60 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

Reviews | FILM

list.co.uk/film

KIDS’ HORROR

GOOSEBUMPS (PG) 103min OOOOO

BIOPIC

TRUMBO (15) 124min OOOOO Celebrated screenwriter Dalton Trumbo was one of the most high-profile victims of the anti-Communist hysteria that swept through post-war America. Trumbo made no secret of his perfectly legal membership of the US Communist Party. When he refused to play ball with the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947, he joined the swelling ranks of ‘dangerous radicals’ blacklisted by the major studios over the next decade.

Trumbo, from director Jay Roach (Austin Powers, Meet the Parents), transforms one of Hollywood’s darkest periods into a lightweight dramedy that cuts deeper when it addresses the politics and individual tragedies of the era. Less a biopic than a portrait of crushing injustice, it features a compelling, Oscar-nominated performance from Bryan Cranston – capturing a real flavour of the dapper, gentlemanly scribe, who remains an eternally reasonable, decent fellow even as his life is thrown off-course by his principled stance.

In an inspirational final speech, Trumbo suggests that we shouldn’t look for heroes and villains in what happened, only victims. The film is similarly balanced, finding sympathy for actor Edward G Robinson (Michael Stuhlbarg), who sacrificed his friends to save his career. There are heroes though, including Kirk Douglas (Dean O’Gorman), who employed and credited Trumbo as the screenwriter of Spartacus; and villains too, especially merciless gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, played with acid-tipped relish by Helen Mirren.

John McNamara’s breezy screenplay condenses complex events into a trim, accessible feature. If you know little of what happened in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s, Trumbo will inform and entertain, shedding light on some grim times. (Allan Hunter) Q General release from Fri 5 Feb.

Based on RL Stine’s popular YA novellas, Goosebumps stars Dylan Minnette as fresh-faced teen Zach who develops a crush on his home-schooled neighbour Hannah (Odeya Rush), whose mysterious father (Jack Black) keeps her locked up. While attempting to free her, Zach and new friend Champ (Ryan Lee) discover that her father is actually the aforementioned Stine when they stumble upon a collection of sealed Goosebumps manuscripts. Accidentally breaking one open they release the Abominable Snowman into Hannah’s living room and in the ensuing chaos, evil ventriloquist’s dummy Slappy breaks out of his book and frees all of the monstrous creations.

Rather than adapting any of the individual stories, the filmmakers opt for a greatest hits approach in a plot that recalls 1995’s Jumanji. Fortunately, the creature effects are nicely handled and director Rob Letterman (Shark Tale) orchestrates some exciting set-pieces. Black is on fine comic form and the trio of teens are likeable, while the script includes plenty of jokes for adults and some genre-savvy ideas. This pacy, enjoyable kids’ horror romp stays faithful to the spirit of Stine’s books and delivers a pleasing amount of thrills and laughs.

(Matthew Turner) Q General release from Fri 5 Feb.

BIOPIC

FREEHELD (12A) 101min OOOOO

WESTERN HORROR

BONE TOMAHAWK (18) 132min OOOOO A darkly funny opener sets the disquieting tone for S Craig Zahler’s blood-soaked western horror hybrid.

When a stranger enters the cosy community of Bright Hope an air of discontent blows through town bringing with it a tribe of flesh-eating troglodytes.

A stellar cast make up the group tasked with confronting these cave-dwellers, with Zahler taking his time to introduce his cool characters and their idiosyncratic ways. Sheriff Hunt (Kurt Russell) is a fair man who keeps his deputy Chicory (Richard Jenkins) close-by, despite his nervous disposition, and the pair engage in amusing discussions and question the violence laid down in the name of greed and vengeance. Comparisons to The Searchers have been made and, though this doesn’t hold a candle to Ford’s masterpiece visually, the suave Brooder (Matthew Fox) – a proud, remorseless killer of Native Americans – has a similar racist attitude to John Wayne’s Ethan Edwards.

Zahler’s impressive directorial debut delivers razor-sharp tension that recalls the work of Jack Ketchum; he crucially keeps you invested in the characters, so that when people start getting brutally dismembered it delivers much more than just waves of disgust. (Katherine McLaughlin) Q Selected release from Fri 19 Feb.

Based on a moving true story, Freeheld should be a film that forces you to fight back the tears. Julianne Moore plays Laurel Hester, a dedicated, long-serving New Jersey cop who, unbeknownst to her colleagues, is gay. When she hooks up with mechanic Stacie (Ellen Page), it looks like she’s found the perfect life – until she is diagnosed with terminal cancer.

All she wants to do is bequeath her police pension to Stacie, but the request is denied by a panel of county legislators. So begins a courtroom battle that gradually becomes headline news. Helping them is gay rights activist Steven (Steve Carell) and Laurel’s cop partner Dane (Michael Shannon).

Sadly, director Peter Sollett never manages to tone down the broader elements of the script or performances. Carell’s flamboyant turn upends the story, while depicting Stacie as a butch grease-monkey who can change a tyre faster than any man feels one-note. Fresh from her Oscar-win, Moore is typically studious in the lead but as Laurel’s health deteriorates, the movie slips towards disease-of-the-week terrain. In true biopic fashion, Sollett finishes with photos of the real-life protagonists – yet another cliché in a film riddled with them. (James Mottram) Q Selected release from Fri 19 Feb. 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 61

FILM | Reviews

DRAMA

BIOPIC

DRAMA

(15) 93min OOOOO

(15) 125min OOOOO

(15) 102min OOOOO

Chronic is the kind of inscrutable drama that requires a great deal of patience from the committed viewer.

It may have won writer-director Michel ‘After Lucia’ Franco Best Screenplay at Cannes but his mannered, poker-faced approach ultimately makes for a film as exasperating as it is intriguing. Tim Roth gives a meticulous performance as David, a residential nurse who tends to the terminally ill. His involvement with those he cares for goes beyond the call of duty as he extends the role of nurse to that of confidant and trusted friend. There is something of Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley about him as he absorbs aspects of his patients’ personalities, or repackages elements of their lives and presents them as his own.

David is a compelling-enough character and you are invited to speculate as to whether this angel of mercy might be a more sinister figure; Franco provides hints and clues but much is left to the imagination. Sadly, the film’s monotonous pace, decision to forego the use of music and coolly detached manner becomes tiresome, even at a relatively trim runtime. What’s more, the abrupt, unexpected ending poses yet more questions and provides precious little in the way of answers.

(Allan Hunter) Q Selected release from Fri 19 Feb.

The truth, so the old adage goes, will set you free.

Not so for CBS 60 Minutes producer Mary Mapes (played here by Cate Blanchett) who found herself in the middle of an ethical and political maelstrom when she aired a 2004 story questioning George W Bush’s Air National Guard service record. The rousing screenplay by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) – making his assured directorial debut – is based on Mapes’ book and it spins the story of a paper trail into an exhilarating, emotional quest for justice.

The dialogue sometimes feels exposition-heavy, but the performances ensure the film never becomes sluggish. Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace are great as members of Mapes’ research team and Robert Redford is perfect as stoical traditional newsman Dan Rather. This is, however, Blanchett’s film and she delivers a nuanced performance. Truth calls into question the viability of non-partisan journalism in an age in which to challenge the status quo is to be scrutinised and vilified. So, while it may be awards season filmmaking at its most conventional, as a eulogy for independent news-gathering it has undeniable power. (Nikki Baughan) Q Thu 25 Feb, Glasgow Film Theatre, part of Glasgow Film Festival. General release from Fri 4 Mar.

Swedish director Magnus von Horn’s slow-burning first feature poses provocative moral questions concerning the punishment and aftermath of a horrific act committed by a teenage boy. We meet John (singer Ulrik Munther – turning in a notable performance as a young man on the edge) on his release from a secure facility, but are not given details of his crime until the midway point.

The Here After (Efterskalv) asks us to sympathise with John, who is bullied, beaten and given the side-eye by everyone in his small community except another teen, Malin (Loa Ek), who is new to the neighbourhood. She shrugs her shoulders at his past actions while she fixes his moped for him and is even attracted to his dark side.

The film conjures up a strong sense of unease in the most mundane of situations, including an oppressively quiet family dinner that speaks volumes in its silence. There’s danger in the air that threatens to detonate at any point and when it finally does it’s a highly charged and bellowing explosion of emotion. This is a promising debut that suffers a little from its withholding of passion until the final throes, and thus feels a tad too premeditated and unnatural by design. (Katherine McLaughlin) Q Selected release from Fri 11 Mar.

CHRONIC

TRUTH

THE HERE AFTER

CRIME THRILLER

TRIPLE 9

(15) 116min OOOOO Triple 9 may look nothing out of the ordinary. Bank jobs, dirty cops, Russian mobsters, Latino gangs – it feels like just another game of Grand Theft Auto. But, characterised by its urgency, John Hillcoat’s thriller is a visceral ride, compellingly told with a first-rate ensemble from both sides of the pond. Set in a seedy Atlanta, it begins as it means to go on as masked men raid a local bank, making their escape by the skin of their teeth, all guns blazing.

Turns out these crooks are – or in some cases were – lawenforcers. The crux, however, comes when it’s revealed that the leader, Terrell (Chiwetel Ejiofor), is beholden to a RussianJewish mafia outfit run by the terrifying, power-suited Irina (Kate Winslet). When she forces the gang to rob a Homeland Security outpost, the only way to succeed is to trigger the all-units ‘999’ cop code used when an officer is down. Primed for the fall is Casey Affleck’s rookie Chris – the new partner of one of the gang members, Anthony Mackie’s cop, and nephew to the harddrinking veteran detective (Woody Harrelson) trying to solve the opening robbery.

Matt Cook’s interlaced script spins on a cold-blooded premise that fits right into Hillcoat’s wheelhouse after his western The Proposition and Prohibition-era tale Lawless. Fine support comes from Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus and Clifton Collins Jr as the other shifty, sweaty gang members. But it’s Winslet who is the revelation as the menacing mafia madam, her lines dipped in pure poison. Edited with verve and cut to a nervy score by a collective led by Atticus Ross, the result reinvigorates the heist sub-genre with a huge shot of adrenaline. It’ll leave you buzzing. (James Mottram) Q General release from Fri 19 Feb. 62 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

Reviews | FILM

list.co.uk/film

DRAMA

IONA

(15) 85min OOOOO

SATIRE

HIGH-RISE (TBC) 112min OOOOO If there’s a scene that sums up the spirit of High-Rise, Ben Wheatley’s bravura take on JG Ballard’s novel, it’s when Tom Hiddleston’s unflappable Dr Laing slips the face off a dismembered head like he’s rolling down a stocking, as a group of startled medical students look on. It’s one of many moments of transgressive cheek in a film aptly concerned with the peeling back of facades, which finds grotesques in every stratum of society.

As we enter the 70s tower block – a jagged, hive-like structure, isolated on the edge of town – things have already descended into an every-man-for-himself situation. Our hero Laing is in his element as he takes down a domestic dog, before the story skips back to reveal how on earth things came to this. We meet Laing’s flirty neighbour (Sienna Miller), the building’s architect overlord (Jeremy Irons), his spoilt missus (Keeley Hawes), an Oliver Reed-alike TV producer (Luke Evans) and his pregnant wife (Elisabeth Moss), with every member of the vast ensemble attacking the material with zeal.

While Wheatley (Sightseers, Kill List) helms, his wife / frequent collaborator Amy Jump pens the witty screenplay and the pair share editing duties. The bare bones of the book are intact, its thin, allegorical structure ripe fodder for a fleshing-out as the film takes on tech dependency and class war, sees the concept of social climbing literalised, and shows how we’re all just a little push from regressing right back to animals. It sports an in-your-face visual style both frenzied and precise, combining idiosyncrasy with influences that include Nicolas Roeg and Peter Greenaway. High-Rise is a feast of human depravity, flecked with blood, guts and filmmaking genius. (Emma Simmonds) Q Thu 18 & Fri 19 Feb, Glasgow Film Theatre, part of Glasgow Film Festival. General release from Fri 18 Mar.

Scott Graham has said that he wants his films to feel like listening to Bon Iver and his second feature certainly captures something of that band’s lyrical beauty. After a sudden and brutal crime, Iona (Ruth Negga) and her son Bull (Ben Gallagher) flee Glasgow and seek shelter on the island of her birth, that’s also her namesake. She reunites with Daniel (Douglas Henshall) and his daughter Elizabeth (Michelle Duncan), who she lived with as a teen; but the tension between the trio suggests a past, unspoken scandal.

As in Graham’s debut Shell, Iona features little dialogue and no soundtrack. The two bursts of music we do hear act as sensory shocks amongst the quiet, unsettled atmosphere the film cultivates so vividly. Negga is captivating in the lead and is wonderfully complemented by an excellent supporting cast. But they’re let down by a story that begins weakly and culminates in melodrama, though what comes in-between occasionally sparkles. Still, it’s stunning to watch and confirms its director as a Scottish filmmaker to continue to look out for.

This isn’t the Iona of tourist brochures; it’s an island where people live, love, pray and grieve – and the characters here shine brightly. (Yasmin Sulaiman) Q Selected release from Fri 25 Mar.

FANTASY HORROR

THE WITCH

THE BRAND NEW TESTAMENT (TBC) 113min OOOOO

(TBC) 90min OOOOO Pain and paranoia form the twisted basis of a strange and chilling tale about a 17th century New England family, who are banished from their community after their strongly held religious beliefs come under scrutiny. When their baby son is stolen whilst in the care of eldest daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), and taken to the oppressive woodland surrounding their isolated farm, mistrust slithers through the household, morphing into hysteria and consuming their tight bond of trust. Robert Eggers’ first feature is a knockout in terms of visual flair and dread-filled potency. Kate Dickie is superb as a mother on the edge, Ralph Ineson conveys the confused emotions of a stern but vulnerable patriarch trying to do the right thing, and Taylor-Joy is a revelation. Despite its supernatural charge and the fairytale imagery, the family’s plight is gilded with realism. With a troubled harvest and money non-existent, their desperation becomes a pounding agony, as Mark Korven’s haunting score cranks up the tension. This is nerve-shredding, exquisitely crafted cinema captured by the assured hand of cinematographer Jarin Blaschke, who renders all that unfolds oppressively grey and gloomy. (Katherine McLaughlin) Q Fri 12 Feb, Glasgow Film Theatre, part of Glasgow Youth Film Festival. General release from Fri 11 Mar.

‘God exists. He lives in Brussels. He’s a bastard,’ we discover at the outset of Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael’s proudly blasphemous but well-intentioned latest. It’s a bouncing ball of lunacy and mischief that tackles religious tradition, mankind’s unremitting misery, and more. Narrated by God’s adorable daughter Ea (Pili Groyne), she defies her monstrous father (an enjoyably awful Benoît Poelvoorde) by shutting down the computer that allows him to gleefully heap hardship on his creations and writing the titular volume with the help of six apostles. But her decision to release the preordained death dates has the most impact, as every person in the world receives a countdown to the moment they will expire.

The Brand New Testament runs short on ideas before its own time is up. While the first act overflows with wit and ingenuity, the third settles into a gently repetitive rhythm. No matter because this is fun, visually interesting, two-fingers-inthe-air filmmaking which, in its compassion for those lonely souls on society’s fringes, reminds us that even the most scathing of satire needn’t be heartless. (Emma Simmonds) Q Mon 22 & Tue 23 Feb, Glasgow Film Theatre, part of Glasgow Film Festival.Selected release from Fri 25 Mar. 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 63

FILM | Highlights

HITLIST

GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL Various venues, Glasgow, Wed 17–Sun 28 Feb, glasgowfilm. org One of the country’s finest film festivals returns with an exciting and diverse lineup of premieres and special events. See feature, page 17.

HAIL, CAESAR!

Glasgow Film Theatre, Wed 17 & Thu 18 Feb. General release from Fri 4 Mar Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is a studio executive at MGM in the 1950s. Nicknamed ‘The Fixer’, he has a reputation for keeping the stars in line See feature, page 18.

THE LIST READERS’ CHOICE AT IMAX

Glasgow IMAX, Sat 27 Feb. Scream, Trainspotting or From Dusk Till Dawn? See feature, page 64 and vote at list.co.uk/gff16

(David Thewlis) meets Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh) at a hotel, his life seems to be about to take a turn for the better. See feature, page 22.

ANOMALISA Glasgow Film Theatre, Sun 28 Feb. Selected release from Fri 11 Mar When depressed self-help author Michael

HIPPFEST The Hippodrome, Bo’ness, Wed 16–Sun 20 Mar. See preview, page 59.

FILM HIGHLIGHTS Events are listed by city, then date.

Submit listings for your event at list.co.uk/add

High-Rise

DEADPOOL General release from Wed 10 Feb The former Special Forces operative Wade Wilson discovers his alter ego Deadpool, after participating in an experiment which gives him special healing powers. His new found abilities, and his wicked sense of humour, leave him in search of the man who nearly destroyed his life.

A BIGGER SPLASH General release from Fri 12 Feb This exuberant remake of 1969’s La Piscine has far more interesting female characters than the original, and although the cast has ample chemistry, Ralph Fiennes is the true scene-stealer. See review, page 60.

THE WITCH Glasgow Film Theatre, Fri 12 Feb. General release from Fri 11 Mar A Puritan family in 17th-century New England is threatened by dark forces when their baby son is stolen from their isolated farm. Gripping, dread-filled debut feature from Robert Eggers; Kate Dickie is superb as a mother on the edge, Anya Taylor-Joy gives a pitch-perfect and dedicated Deadpool

performance as the eldest daughter and it’s nerve-shredding, exquisitely crafted cinema. See review, page 63.

ZOOLANDER 2 General release from Fri 12 Feb Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) and Hansel (Owen Wilson) return to the catwalk.

HIGH-RISE Glasgow Film Theatre, Thu 18 & Fri 19 Feb. General release from Fri 18 Mar Adaptation of JG Ballard’s dystopian novel about a high-rise apartment block descending into chaos, with Tom Hiddleston as bereaved doctor Robert Laing and Sienna Miller as his neighbour. Witty, scathing and uniquely cinematic, flecked with blood, guts and filmmaking genius. See review, page 63.

DHEEPAN Glasgow Film Theatre, Fri 19 & Sat 20 Feb. Selected release from Fri 8 Apr Dheepan is a former Tamil Tiger who starts a new life in a Paris with two strangers posing as his wife and daughter. Then his past starts to catch up. Touching, beautifully crafted drama which loses some focus and conviction as it becomes more violent.

TRIPLE 9 General release from Fri 19 Feb In an attempt to pull off an impossible heist, a group of corrupt police officers murder one of their own to draw all

64 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

forces in the area away from the heist.

See review, page 62.

ZOOTROPOLIS Glasgow Film Theatre, Sat 20 Feb. General release from Fri 25 Mar In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a fugitive con artist fox and a rookie bunny cop must work together to uncover a conspiracy.

SECRET IN THEIR EYES General release from Fri 26 Feb A tight-knit team of rising investigators, along with their supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own teenage daughters has been brutally murdered. US remake of the 2009 Argentinian film.

GLASGOW SHORT FILM FESTIVAL Glasgow Film Theatre, Wed 16– Sun 20 Mar Screenings, talks and workshops celebrating a diverse range of local, international and upcoming talent. This year’s GSFF opens with Lost Treasure. See preview, page 25.

4F Feb–7 eb 7 Apr eb eb– Apr pr 20 2 201 2016 01 0 16 6 THE TH TH HE E LIST LIS L IIS ST 65 65

KIDS

Fo the latestr n listings a ews, reviews, g nd o list.co.uk to /kids

GOODNIGHT MISTER TOM

PHOTO © DAN TSANTILIS

Michelle Magorian’s tale of World War Two evacuees hits the stage A young boy damaged by an abusive mother, and an elderly man who never came to terms with the death of his wife and baby – an unlikely friendship, maybe, but one which forms the core of a heartwarming stage adaptation.

Written in 1981, Michelle Magorian’s awardwinning novel, Goodnight Mister Tom, follows the story of eight-year-old William, who is evacuated to the English countryside at the start of World War II. There, he is placed in the care of Tom, a man in his late 60s, who has spent most of his life avoiding people in order to prevent further heartache.

‘He’s been grieving for 40 years and not entered into society,’ says Dave Troughton who plays Tom. ‘So he’s not very pleased about having to look after this young boy – but then his paternal

66 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

instincts take over. Secretly he likes William, but he tries not to feel anything for him, in case something bad happens to the boy.’

Following in the footsteps of the novel, David Wood’s stage adaptation has also attracted plaudits, including a prestigious Olivier Award.

The subject matters of abuse, neglect and grief may not be laugh a minute, but William’s life in the country – and his return to London – has had audiences of all ages moved, gripped and uplifted.

‘Michelle doesn’t pull any punches,’ says Troughton, ‘which is refreshing because we can protect children a bit too much. The appeal for adults is they see the struggle in the relationship, and children are fascinated by what happens to this young boy.’ (Kelly Apter) Q Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Tue 8–Sat 12 Mar.

Previews | KIDS

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MUSIC

BBC SCOTTISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS TEN PIECES LIVE City Halls, Glasgow, Sun 7 Feb As all fans of Blue Peter know, if there’s one thing Barney Harwood isn’t short of, it’s enthusiasm. So it’s no surprise to find the CBBC presenter is equally animated about his upcoming role with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Aimed at families with children aged eight and over, the Ten Pieces concert will feature Harwood introducing excerpts from some of the most famous pieces of music ever written.

‘It’s an exhilarating journey into the world of classical music,’ says Harwood, ‘and a great opportunity to see and hear a live orchestra. I hope we can instil a love of classical music in a whole new generation.’

With Holst’s The Planets (Mars), Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King, Bizet’s Carmen Suite and Bernstein’s Mambo from West Side Story on the menu, along with six other classical crackers, Ten Pieces is out to prove just how exciting, and loud, classical music can be.

‘Nothing compares to hearing a live orchestra for the first time,’ says BBC SSO producer Douglas Templeton, ‘and this concert is the perfect introduction to classical music. It’s a chance to hear a professional orchestra up close and experience it with your whole family.’ (Kelly Apter)

THEATRE

LOST AT SEA Summerhall, Edinburgh, Tue 5–Thu 7 Apr They were destined for toddlers’ bathtubs in the USA, but instead 28,000 toys accidentally dropped into the Pacific Ocean during a stormy voyage.

That was just the start of their adventure, with plastic ducks washing up on beaches around the world for many years after – providing scientists with fascinating information about ocean currents.

Their tale was captured in the 2011 book Moby-Duck, and has now been made into a new play for ages 8–12 by Catherine Wheels theatre company.

Presented as part of this year’s Edinburgh International Science Festival, the show follows two children from different parts of the world, who happen upon the ducks on their local beach and are instantly curious about where they’ve come from. Which is exactly how director Gill Robertson hopes audiences will feel.

‘Kids don’t know a lot about oceanography, and adults don’t either – so everyone’s learning,’ she says. ‘But the science has to exist within a really good story and be told in an interesting way. The Science Festival has been incredibly supportive and told us the show doesn’t have to have loads of science in it, we just need to raise people’s interest – and if they’re curious about it, they’ll go and find things out for themselves.’ (Kelly Apter)

EXHIBITION

BUILD IT! ADVENTURES WITH LEGO BRICKS National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, until Sun 17 Apr There can be few more satisfying job titles than ‘LEGO brick artist’ which is why it’s not possible to interview Warren Elsmore without feeling just a little envious. He and his team have created the Build It! exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland, a new show which demonstrates the toy’s potential for building impressively large versions of real-life artefacts.

There will be 40 pre-built models on display, including a red London phone box and a mini version of one of the properties on Edinburgh’s Broughton Street. On Wednesdays and Fridays, families can watch a large-scale model of the museum itself being built.

‘LEGO is much more than just a toy,’ says Elsmore. ‘It can inspire architects, designers, sculptors and storytellers, and is a fun and fascinating way to create things. I think we all love the large-scale models we make because they show the incredible potential of something as small and versatile as this toy we used to play with as children.’

The show is part of Scotland’s Festival of Architecture 2016 and a part of the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design celebrations, emphasising just how much it’s aimed at older visitors as well as families.

There will also be interactive elements, like a search for museum-inspired models hidden around the galleries and a ‘play and display’ section where people can create their own models.

‘Each model is different for us,’ says Elsmore of his and his team’s own creative process. ‘Sometimes we simply start with a big collection of bricks and use trial and error to see what works, but with the larger models we create plans using specialist LEGO Computer-Aided Design software. The model of the Empire State Building that’s part of the exhibition was designed this way, because it uses over 10,000 small pieces alone.’

So it’s not just all play and no work, then?

(David Pollock) 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 67

KIDS | Highlights

HITLIST

BUILD IT! ADVENTURES WITH LEGO BRICKS National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Thu 4 Feb–Thu 7 Apr, nms.ac.uk LEGO® brick artist Warren Elsmore and his team display some of their intricate minibuildings and models, plus hands-on activities. See preview, page 67.

BBC SCOTTISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: TEN PIECES City Halls, Glasgow, Sun 7 Feb, glasgowconcerthalls. com Blue Peter’s Barney Harwood presents ten specially-chosen works, ideal for engaging a young audience in classical music.

See preview, page 67.

ANNIE King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Mon 8–Sat 20 Feb, atgtickets.com/ venues/kings-theatre Elaine C Smith stars as the cold-hearted orphan boss, Miss Hannigan in this new production of the awardwinning musical.

GOODNIGHT MISTER TOM

Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Tue 8–Sat 12 Mar, atgtickets. com/venues/theatreroyal-Glasgow Stage adaptation of Michelle Magorian’s powerful war-time novel about the unlikely friendship between a young evacuee and his reluctant carer. See preview, page 66.

KIDS HIGHLIGHTS Events are listed by city, then date.

Submit listings for your event at list.co.uk/add

GLASGOW WEE WRITE Mitchell Library, Mon 29 Feb–Sat 5 Mar, ayewrite.com A week-long programme offering over 100 author events, activities and readings for children, families and school pupils of all ages.

JANGO STARR: ONE MAN SHOE Scottish Mask and Puppet Centre, Sat 27 Feb, also touring, scottishmaskandpuppetcentre. co.uk Family show about bumbling theatre caretaker Jango, who is thrust into the limelight after his impromptu silent comedy performance transforms him into a star.

YDANCE ROUTES: DESTINATIONS Tramway, Sat 5 Mar, tramway. org Youth dance companies from across Scotland present a varied

evening of street, hip-hop, ballet and contemporary dance. See preview, page 88.

Jango Starr: One Man Shoe

PUPPET ANIMATION FESTIVAL Various venues, Scotland, Sat 19 Mar–Sat 9 Apr, puppetanimationfestival.org The UK’s largest and longest established annual performing arts event for children and families pulls some strings to present a feast of puppetbased entertainment.

EDINBURGH SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: THE CROCODIAMOND Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, Sat 13 Feb, boxoffice.thequeenshall. net Anthony Horowitz’s tale of fiendish jewel thieves, a plucky young girl and a diamond that used to be in a crocodile’s stomach is turned into a fun concert for children aged 4–10.

Also City Halls, Glasgow, Sun 14 Feb, glasgowconcerthalls.com BIG FISH LITTLE FISH: FAMILY RAVE La Belle Angèle, Sat 12 Feb, labelleangele.com An afternoon of DJs, fun craft and play activities for children, featuring a multi-sensory dancefloor experience with bubble machines and giant balloons.

BABY LOVES DISCO Electric Circus, Sat 28 Feb, theelectriccircus.biz A chance for babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers and their parents to enjoy some dayclubbing with DJs spinning retro and pop tunes, with a chill-out room, themed crafts and face painting.

POP LOCK-IN Electric Circus, Sat 28 Feb, theelectriccircus.biz An afternoon lock-in for 4–11 year olds. Resident DJs spin the very latest chart tunes and there’s a streetdance instructor and karaoke, plus a relaxing parents room and licensed bar.

68 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FESTIVAL Various venues, Edinburgh, Sat 26 Mar–Sun 10 Apr, sciencefestival.co.uk Hands-on family science fun, including Dino Day, plus Catherine Wheels’ new play Lost at Sea. See feature, page 33, and preview, page 67.

WEE TREASURES Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Sat 13 Feb, nationalgalleries.org Storytelling session inspired by a portrait in the gallery. There are rhymes, songs, puppet characters and lots of opportunities to join in.

OUTSIDE THE CITIES THE LOST THINGS The Brunton, Musselburgh, Wed 24 Feb, then touring, tortoiseinanutshell.com When a young boy falls into a fantastical new world he discovers all the things people have lost. Presented by award winning theatre company, Tortoise in a Nutshell. Ages 9+.

SCOTTISH DANCE THEATRE: INNOCENCE The Brunton, Musselburgh, Sat 2 Apr, then touring, scottishdancetheatre.com Scottish Dance Theatre is joined by musician Paul Bradley for this adventurous and interactive dance show that takes the audience into the world of William Blake’s imagination.

Ages 3–7.

MUSIC

Fo the latestr n listings a ews, reviews, g nd o list.co.uk to /music

WHITE The Glasgow disco-punk band settle in for a big year 2016 is looking alright for WHITE. The noisy, fast-paced racket makers from Glasgow came together in 2014, and after two years of playing their disco-punk tunes live in a ridiculously energetic way, the quintet has been mentioned on so many ‘one to watch’ lists for the coming year, it’s impossible to keep your eyes off them.

But for this band, it’s not about earning a place on a flattering listicle. ‘It’s better to be on these things than not,’ says singer Leo Condie, but for him, it’s all about the live gigs. ‘We played in Amsterdam last year, and we were on at 2am, which was actually a great time. It was incredible; everybody was bouncing. The atmosphere was just so good, and I thought, “this is why I do this”.’

Other notable gigs include a wee set at BBC Maida Vale Studios for Jo Whiley and Radio 2, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party and The List’s very own Hot 100 party last year. ‘With the

Hogmanay gig, it was freezing, and I said, “for this next track, we want everybody to bounce”, and they did! I didn’t know I had such power!’

WHITE are wielding that power in their latest track, ‘Living Fiction’. Their punky, arthouse style is encapsulated by the single’s artwork: an image of the Barbican from Martin D Barker (with added pink from Condie). ‘I’ve done a lot of the artwork myself,’ he says, as he talks about his tip-top Photoshop skills. ‘My parents are artists, maybe that’s where I get it, but I’m definitely not trained.’

Art aside, it’s Condie and co’s performative onstage style that has earned WHITE a following.

As they head out on tour with three singles under their belt, one thing is for sure: there’s plenty more bouncing to come from these guys.

(Rebecca Monks) Q Electric Circus, Edinburgh, Fri 19 Feb; QMU, Glasgow, Sat 20 Feb.

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 69

HINDS

N O S A E DEER S e Madrid band's th on tin ar M de A t is to Hinds bass Rebecca Monks talks ess and their new album, Leave Me Alone international succ

70 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

HINDS

list.co.uk/music

I

n case your veterinary knowledge isn't up to snuff, here's a crucial fact for your records: ‘Hinds’ is the word for ‘female deer’. And just in case your knowledge of garage rock from Madrid is also a little patchy, the group Hinds were originally called Deers, though they had to change it last year after the threat of legal action from a similarly-named band. Confused? Don't be, it's all sorted now. ‘It was a horrible thing that happened,’ says bassist Ade MartĂ­n, ‘but now we are really happy with Hinds. We love the way it looks and sounds, but at the time it was tough.’ The strong feminine undertone to the name feels fitting, since the band is made up of four talented women (Carlotta, Ana, Amber and Ade herself), but let's get one thing straight: they are not a girl band, they are a band.

Period. ‘It's become a "thing" that we are girls,’ says Ade. ‘People have to make it even more clear just in case nobody noticed. It's like they discovered America. ‘It gets pretty annoying sometimes, because we just wanna be a band, and people keep saying [girl group] as though we were a genre. They put us in the same bag as other girl bands that we have nothing to do with musically . . . It's like, "OK, can you please say something else about me?

Am I not a musician? You like my music, do you not? Do I sound like any other musician that isn't a girl?"’ Their sound is indie psych pop / rock with a Californian edge, something that resonates throughout the acts on their label, Burger Records. ‘Every band on [the label] is in some way like that sound, of the Californian, American wave. That sound is what we're trying to get close to in a way,’ Ade explains.

Though the band is originally from Madrid, Hinds' songs are not written in Spanish, something Ade believes was an obvious choice for the band. ‘It made more sense in our heads to sing in English,’ she says. ‘There’s no way you can get to where we’re getting now if you’re not singing in English. We could have done it in Spanish, but nobody would understand. People just aren't used to that. It’s very difficult to communicate in another language that's not English in the music world.’ And for Hinds, the music world is universal indeed. They’re just fresh from a world tour, which saw them support the Libertines, the Vaccines and Black Lips, and play in countries as far afield as Australia, Thailand and America.

Speaking about their international success, Ade says: ‘It's a dream for every musician in Spain. No one listens to Spanish music if it's not flamenco – you don't expect a rock band to come out of there.’ But come out of there they did, and with a killer new album – Leave Me Alone – to take on tour.

It feels especially significant for the band since all four of them wrote it together.

Originally, the band consisted of only two members: Carlotta and Ana, both of whom played guitar and sang. After recording their first tracks ‘Bamboo’ and ‘Trippy Gum’, which were released on Bandcamp as ‘Demo’, they started to gather steam, and so they recruited the other two members to play drums and bass.

But Ade and Amber are not just backing musicians, they are integral parts of the new band, and as the group has evolved, so has its songwriting process. ‘Sometimes Ana and Carlotta will still write a song together and bring it to rehearsal and we’ll all learn it,’ Ade explains, ‘but a lot of the time the songs come from all of us jamming. ‘There are four different minds now, so that means more new ideas. They don't have to be good or bad, just new.’ These new ideas all have a clear theme, and there is a definite commonality between all the songs on the album. ‘It's all love songs,’ Ade explains. ‘It's mostly the 12 phases of love that [the band] know.’ ‘It was written over a whole year – a whole year touring and having so many experiences. I think that year is there. You can feel it.’ And with another full year of touring to come, let's hope that means there's plenty more material for a follow-up.

'IT'S BECOME A "THING" THAT WE ARE GIRLS. PEOPLE HAVE TO MAKE IT EVEN MORE CLEAR JUST IN CASE NOBODY NOTICED'

Hinds play Stereo, Glasgow, Sun 21 Feb.

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regularmusicuk 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 71

SCOTTISH ALBUMS

SOUND AND VISION David Pollock pricks up his ears and takes in some must-buy new Scottish albums

H

aving kept a reasonably close roster in terms of friends’n’family following the dissolution of Fence Records as was, Johnny Lynch’s Lost Map Records has expanded once more with the ‘Closing’ EP from new signing Victoria Hume. Over seven tracks, she reveals a heavily understated delicacy to her vocal and playing style, with the soft piano undulations of ‘Sell Everything’ and the reserved, dramatic fusion of ‘Lanterns’ among the highlights. Hume’s vocal echoes of Beth Gibbons and the unforced protest sensibility of ‘Ungoverned’ suggest a significant talent has arrived.

Indie-rockers De Rosa return with a long-awaited third LP, Weem. Having shifted over to Mogwai’s Rock Action label from Chemikal Underground, they’ve created an impressive collection of emotional textures which finds its grounding in what might broadly be termed the post-rock scene, but which breathes with almost folk-inspired textures. The group took themselves off to the Highlands to record the album, and the music speaks eloquently of an expansive and open landscape. There’s the measured acoustic sensibility of ‘Falling Water’ or ‘Prelude to Entropic Doom’ offset by the surging electronic exploration of ‘Devils’ and the ghostly Germanic clangs of ‘Lanes (Reprise)’.

It’s been six years since Emma Pollock’s most recent LP, but the sometime Delgado and co-founder of Chemikal Underground has maintained a presence as a live performer. In Search of Harperfield is named after her childhood home, giving the impression of being as deeply personal as that connection suggests. It’s not often an easy listen, but it’s regularly a pleasing one. ‘Can’t Keep a Secret’ is built on a lapping wash of indie symphonics and a haunting backing of slow whoops. The confident strut of ‘Don’t Make Me Wait’ is atypical, a suggestion of desperate-to-escape teenage bravado amid a record which takes the perspective of a reflective, adult writer.

‘Alabaster’ moves on gently lurching keyboard lines, with Pollock reflecting on frosty resentment upon an unnamed other who “used to be on my side” while the downbeat, folksy piano and strings track ‘Clemency’ hints sharply at suicide or murder, and ‘Intermission’ surges on heavy, baroque strings. And then there’s a shift into gritty garage rock on ‘Parks and Recreation’ and the discordant ‘Vacant Stare’.

It’s an album filled with delicately rhythmic and heavily loaded lyricism, seemingly poised between the possibility of youth and regret of adulthood.

The wonderful Tuff Love’s sort-of debut album Resort (also Lost Map) is largely a known quantity. Following the Beta Band’s ‘3 EPs’ route, it features the Glasgowbased shoegazers’ first trio of mini-albums. Across these records – ‘Junk’, ‘Dross’ and ‘Dregs’, clearly a themed triptych – Julie Eisenstein and Suse Bear have gathered a strong group of songs which could have been beamed in from the early 1990s.

Over the lead tracks of each record, ‘Sweet Discontent’ and ‘Slammer’ demonstrate a fierce, angular kind of fuzz-toned indie-rock, while ‘Duke’ (charmingly, the chorus is just the word ‘awkward!’) is dreamier and with a lighter touch. It’s a canny collection, though, not just in how they’ve maximised the potential of this group of songs, but how they’ve kept up such a commendable standard throughout, from the dreamy surfpop charm of ‘That’s Right’ to the sun-kissed garage clatter of ‘Flamingo’. In years to come, it’ll surely be remembered as a much-loved debut.

72 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

Previews | MUSIC

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PHOTO © RYAN WARBURTON, AUTOPICTOGRAPHY.COM

EXPERIMENTAL NIGHT

DREAM-POP

Joe McPhee and Chris Corsano / Still House Plants, Poetry Club, Glasgow, Tue 16 Feb; Linda Sharrock and (In) The Abbysity of the Grounds / Death Shanties play Poetry Club, Glasgow, Mon 22 Feb

O2 ABC, Glasgow, Sun March 13

WILDLIFE

‘Our aim is to ally some of the more forward thinking people on the Glasgow music scene, of which there are many, with the international avant-garde,’ says Trembling Bells' Alex Neilson of WildLife, the new club night he and promoters Idea Mexico are running at Glasgow's Poetry Club.

The first WildLife pairs the uncategorisable Glasgow quartet Still House Plants with the free jazz duo of Joe McPhee and Chris Corsano. Corsano's drumming has an amazing effect on audiences, says Neilson. ‘He's like a magician explaining some universal message. He's one of the best musicians I've ever seen, Coltrane quality.’ The veteran multi-instrumentalist McPhee, says Neilson, is ‘a link to the golden age of fire music’, and continues to push the boundaries.

WildLife returns a week later with a special show from the great Linda Sharrock and her group (In) The Absyssity of the Grounds. Vocalist Sharrock, who is best known for her ‘orgasmic, deeply spiritual’ albums with late guitarist husband Sonny, has recently re-emerged following a stroke.

By no means restricted to free jazz, WildLife is, says Neilson, ‘a platform for experimental practice across genres and a magnet for the new wave of artistic people emerging in Glasgow.’ (Stewart Smith)

GRIMES

Kamikaze art-pop auteur Grimes, aka Vancouver's Claire Boucher, released her debut cassette-only album, Geidi Primes, in 2010. The jury's out on whether said title inspired a portmanteau for Boucher's alter-ego, or whether her moniker harks from elsewhere – she's variously claimed it's a nod to UFO-fixated outsider artist Ken Grimes, and the musical genre of the same name – but what's certain is that her calling card was inspired by Frank Herbert's sci-fi epic Dune, which hosted a ravaged planet called Giedi Prime.

Since then, Boucher's (dark) star has ascended, via Polaris nominations, Juno Awards, gigs with Lykke Li and collaborations with Blood Diamonds and Majical Cloudz – not to mention a deal with indie / dream-pop powerhouse 4AD, and a management contract with Jay Z's Roc Nation.

Her latest (fourth) album, Art Angels, was released to widespread acclaim last year, and furthered Boucher's knack for upturning expectations, overthrowing musical paradigms, and creating a dystopian realm of jarring electro-pop euphoria that thrives on neon-horror showdowns (‘SCREAM’, ‘Flesh Without Blood’, ‘Kill V Maim’) and rapturous airborne dread (‘Venus Fly’, ‘Butterfly’). ‘I'll never be your dream girl’, she sings on the latter. Her amyl nightmares are the stuff of wonder. (Nicola Meighan)

TRANCECORE

ENTER SHIKARI O2 Academy, Glasgow, Thu 18 Feb; Corn Exchange, Edinburgh, Fri 19 Feb Enter Shikari were last seen in Scotland terrorising the Radio 1 stage at T in the Park, mashing together punk, metal, drum & bass and pounding trance for a vicious amalgam of hardcore and jungle beats.

The band met at primary school in Hertfordshire, and originally started as an alternative rock act.

‘We were trying to be Muse,’ laughs frontman Rou Reynolds. ‘But over time we drew in a wider range of influences. I grew up on Northern Soul and Motown, then discovered my local hardcore punk scene.

I went into London and heard all kinds of dance music and watched dubstep grow from its very early days. We always felt a bit downhearted by how people would define their whole lives around one specific niche genre when there's such a wide range of music out there.’

Beyond music, Enter Shikari are renowned for their socially conscious lyrics calling for unity and environmental change. Reynolds is an eloquent interviewee who is happy quoting Naomi Klein and discussing political ideology. ‘I didn't just want to be making loud angry music that was just loud and angry; you had to be angry for a reason.’

Their 2016 tour should be even more of an onslaught than usual. ‘We're doing quadraphonic sound,’ explains Reynolds. ‘It'll be this disorientating effect where there will be sounds coming from all directions, so we're having to rewrite all the electronics for four outputs rather than just stereo.

There's a lot of work to be done.’ (Henry Northmore) 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 73

MUSIC | Records INDIE ROCK INDIE ROCK

FIELD MUSIC Commontime (Memphis Industries) OOOOO You might be forgiven for asking, if you were the sort of person who asks these sorts of questions: whatever happened to ALBUM Field Music? We get an E H OF T answer from songwriter ISSUE Peter Brewis on the opening track of new album Commontime. Yeah, he says, with a sardonic lilt. Yeah, we’re still here, and still making records worth listening to.

Commontime turns out to be a surprising record for a couple of reasons. Firstly, given Field Music’s status among those bands that graduated from the guitar indie heyday of the mid noughties as a shy, nerdy lot who preferred trainspotting to the girl three doors down, it’s a pleasant surprise to hear them producing something so relevant in 2016. Secondly, given their membership of that long-lost cohort, the new record is initially free of guitars. There’s barely a twang until fourth track ‘I'm Glad’, a math-rock number that seems placed to remind us that this is actually a Field Music record. Before that, and indeed after, Commontime sees Brewis and co. return to the influences fished out of 1970s and 1980s back catalogues that first turned up on 2012’s Plumb.

‘Trouble at the Lights’ contains a proper guitar breakdown reminiscent of Wings-era McCartney, ‘But Not For You’ sounds like post-glam Bowie and album opener ‘The Noisy Days Are Over’ has all the funk and irony you'd expect from Talking Heads. Plundering the hits of the past while avoiding mere pastiche takes guts (as does recording a 14-track record). And though that confidence is masked by Field Music’s trademark harmonies and melodic complexities, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Commontime properly, unashamedly rocks. (Sam Bradley) Out Fri 5 Feb.

PLASTIC ANIMALS Pictures from the Blackout (Song, by Toad) OOOOO Translation is a slow and tortuous process. Given a raw text, it takes painstaking concentration to go through line by line, word by word, and decipher the patterns and systems holding it altogether. There's often no single point at which a gloss suddenly becomes a translation, no visible click of puzzle pieces fitting together to reveal a whole; rather a sense of increasing understanding about the invisible logic beyond the marks and curves on the paper in front of you.

Listening to Plastic Animals' debut Pictures from the Blackout reminds me of that feeling. Two years in the making, it's had about as long in gestation as any record should have. At times it remains impenetrable, as if these songs were transcribed from an alien original, rather than written down, and the band have spent their time deciphering raw matter into musical notes and lyrics.

Drawing parallels to Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Teenage Fanclub, and with elements of shoegaze and krautrock colouring their sound, Plastic Animals' particular dialect of atmospheric indie rock suits the considerable length of some of the tracks on Pictures. Mario Cruzado's vocals fade in and out in concert with waves of distortion and feedback, while guitarist Ben Slade's melodies often seem present only to provide navigation points in the layered soundscapes that underpin each song. It's in some of the longest and most impenetrable tracks that you'll find this album's stand-out tracks, though, and on ‘Colophone’ and ‘Demmin’, clocking in at almost seven and six minutes long respectively, they really begin to delve deep between the lines.

It's not all hard work, with album opener ‘Ghosts’ acting as an accessible rubric, while lead single ‘Burial Party’ even has a danceable (well, the sort of dancing people do at shoegaze gigs) guitar riff bolted on. Good things come to those who wait, though, and Pictures from the Blackout is certainly a record that will reward the patient listener.

(Sam Bradley) Out Mon 8 Feb.

FOLK

POST-ROCK

Summer Isles (Buie Records) OOOOO

Atomic (Rock Action) OOOOO

Like the island life it soundtracks and circumscribes, Mairearad Green's new long-player is windswept, escapist and picturesque. Green grew up on Scotland's Coigach Peninsula, and Summer Isles sees the singer-songwriter and composer explore her native topography – the land, the sea, the fluctuating in-between – with gorgeous accompaniment from King Creosote, Mike Vass and Annie Grace (among others) along the way.

Opening salutation, 'Island Folk', alludes to the record's sense of geography, community and (song)craft, and its music follows suit: a glorious burl across deep-rooted melodies and skirling beats that feels at once familiar and fresh.

It's followed up by the celestial drive-pop of 'Star of Hope', delivered in King Creosote's unmistakable tones. And if lines like 'floating on the diamond silver sea' evoke his own coastal love-letter, Diamond Mine, then that record's minimalist aesthetic makes its presence felt elsewhere on Summer Isles – not least on exquisite centrepiece 'Tanera Talisman', whose haunting, sparse arrangements echo the once-inhabited tiny island's monuments and memories.

The songs on Summer Isles resonate with each other, and weave an understated ecosystem of nature, music and myth: the 'Red Throated Divers', who first soar into view in an elemental piano psalm later touch down on 'Tanera Talisman'.

The barren, melancholy tracks – 'Stone and Struggle' is another such highlight – are especially lovely, and if Green's voice is largely absent from the Sufjan Stevens-invoking swansong (performed by Hector McInnes), then perhaps that's fitting for an album that considers identity on the outside of things (the mainland) and in the middle of them (the water). Its final words are warm and apt: 'Home to me is this island'. There's no place like it. (Nicola Meighan) Out Fri 26 Feb.

Despite the fact that there are still as many as 15,695 nuclear warheads in existence, popular ideas about nuclear weapons and the science of building them has been reduced from a mortal concern to a morbid curiosity. Once, we prepared for four-minute warnings; now, you can buy tours of the ruins of abandoned Pripyat (Chernobyl's service city) from black-market guides. On the back of their new album Atomic, a record which seems obsessed with the isotopes and compounds of mass destruction, we can safely say that the members of Mogwai are the sorts of chaps who might be up for one of those excursions.

It's hard to find fault with a record of such obvious overall quality, aside from the fact that most of it sounds a bit downbeat. But that's Mogwai’s thing, isn't it?

This is high quality, high precision music that makes you feel like an extra in a sci-fi horror movie, and depressing dirges with too much hi-hat come with the territory.

With that in mind, the most interesting tracks turn out to be those on which Mogwai move away from typical post-rock instrumentation and tinker with electronic and digital sounds. ‘U-235’ and ‘Weak Force’ both lack much in the way of guitars and are better for it, exhibiting the kind of precision the subject matter requires. ‘Are You a Dancer’ proves to be an unexpected treat, blending an austere guitar dissertation with a moving violin solo. But as well as the doom of nuclear warnings, the album also outlines the beauty of the atomic world, heaping praise on medical progression and how human life has improved.

I suppose if you were to pick a band to soundtrack your postapocalyptic wasteland, you'd get Mogwai in for the job. Maybe you could pay them in rusted bike parts, or ingots of whatever rare earth materials are left in the irradiated desert wastes that were once called Scotland.

Clearly Atomic shows they've done their homework, even if the finished product is a little predictable. (Sam Bradley) Out Fri 1 Apr.

MAIREARAD GREEN

74 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

MOGWAI

Records | MUSIC

list.co.uk/music EXPERIMENTAL POP

INDIE ROCK

Painting With (Domino) OOOOO

Meet the Humans (Domino) OOOOO

After 15 years and ten full-length albums together, you would be forgiven for thinking that Animal Collective had reached an impasse in terms of musical growth. But the band is somewhat of an exception to the rule as they return with album number 11, once again illustrating their consistent artistry and reminding everyone that they still have a plethora of ideas and soundscapes left to share.

Working as a trio this time, Avey Tare, Panda Bear and Geologist have taken Painting With in a direction that differs from recent releases, switching up the overall energy in favour of a gloriously catchy pop record that veers more towards 2007’s Strawberry Jam. In many instances, their trademark haziness has been replaced by a sense of brevity and clarity such as on lead single ‘FloriDada’, which features an instantly memorable hook and some playful vocal layering.

Avey Tare himself stated this in a Rolling Stone interview: ‘Everything seems drenched in reverb these days, and is so distant.’ But tracks like ‘Golden Gal’ and the brilliantly structured ‘The Burglars’ seem to counteract this distance through the combination of staccato melodies and densely packed instrumentation.

‘Summing the Wretch’ and ‘Lying in the Grass’ both make use of bouncy polyrhythms and droney synthesisers which fit together harmoniously rather than the expected battleground of dissonance. Meanwhile, in highlight ‘Bagels in Kiev’, the band utilise interesting experimentations with pitch, taking the album into the more anticipated realm of psychedelia.

There are many contrasting elements at play in Painting With, but Animal Collective ultimately succeed in their attempts to make all these elements mesh into something less ambiguous than previous records and more direct, condensed and dynamic. It may have been 15 years, but the band continue to demonstrate their creativity and thirst for adventure with every release.

(Arusa Qureshi) Out Fri 19 Feb.

Albums in 2013 didn’t get much more political than Monkey Minds in the Devil's Time. Steve Mason's second solo effort, the critically acclaimed, SAY-nominated record dealt with everything from the London riots to the death of David Kelly, and even featured Mason's first ever protest song, ‘Fight Them Back’.

Third album Meet the Humans is a different beast. As Mason revealed earlier this year, it has no overarching concept and, he says, each song is its own entity.

While it doesn't have the sock-it-to-’em sentiment of its predecessor, it's just as lyrically strong and musically impressive. Produced by Elbow's Craig Potter, and Mason's first release since his move to Brighton, it's a much less tightly wound offering than Monkey Minds. First track ‘Water Bored’ is a bridge between the two records – not only in the political play-on-words of its title but in its opening piano riff, which resembles that last album's most accessible track, ‘Oh My Lord’.

Yet Meet the Humans evolves into something that's both gentler and more experimental, while at the same time being very recognisably Mason. He's written powerfully about his struggles with depression in the past, and that experience resurfaces here: on ‘Another Day’, for instance, he pleads ‘Don't send me back to the black / because this time I might never come back’.

But it's a much happier album too. ‘Alive’, ‘To a Door’ and first single ‘Planet Sizes’ are softly summery, the sun of the south coast creeping its way into Mason's songwriting perhaps.

Potter's influence is clear too: ‘Alright’ and the heartache-filled ‘Hardly Go Through’ have the orchestral expansiveness of a trademark Elbow song, but without overshadowing Mason's distinctive voice or resonant lyrics.

And though the trip-hoppy final track ‘Words in My Head’ ends with a typically Mason note of selfdoubt – ‘Please don't ever listen to the things that I say’ – Meet the Humans is a confident record, and an infectiously good listen.

(Yasmin Sulaiman) Out Fri 26 Feb.

SHOEGAZE

INDIE/CHAMBER-POP

Grandfeathered (Club AC30) OOOOO

The Waiting Room (City Slang) OOOOO

Beholden as they tend to be to all of two albums released less than a year apart – Ride’s Nowhere (1990) and especially My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless (1991) – self-designating shoegaze bands tend to be about the most myopic ever to wobble guitar tremolo arms and stomp on effects pedals. Which is what makes Pinkshinyultrablast such a breath – make that a blast – of fresh air.

Hailing from St Petersburg, Russia – an entire country, much less a city, from which most people would struggle to name another single guitar band of any great note – they’ve developed their sound in splendid isolation. Prior to the release of their impressive debut album Everything Else Matters last year, they’d never even played a gig outside of Russia. It’s easy to imagine them being enthusiastically received in most any corner of the world now as they follow up in brisk and more expansive style with album two Grandfeathered.

It’s tempting to apply the word ‘dreamy’ to singer Lyubov Soloveva’s Liz Fraseresque ethereal vocals, which are sung in English yet dipped so low in the mix as to rarely be intelligible. But to associate music of such power and fierceness even tangentially with sleep would be wholly misleading. Drift off into a haze to the kaleidoscopic electronica of opener ‘Initial’ and you’ll promptly be violently kicked awake by the cascading fuzz-max riffs and feedback wails of ‘Glow Vastly’.

There are basic resemblances with reverb-heavy second-wave shoegazers such as Lush, fellow Eastern Europeans The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa and obscure Americans Astrobrite (from one of whose songs Pinkshinyultrablast take their name). But the prettily punishing likes of ‘Kiddy Pool Dreams’ and ‘The Cherry Pit’ add to a sense of Grandfeathered moreover representing an uncommon and heady brew of post-hardcore and blissful psychedelia, and with it the sense of these Russians being a band beholden only to themselves.

(Malcolm Jack) Out Fri 26 Feb.

Like so many other things Tindersticks – from Italian actress Isabella Rossellini singing on one of their timeless early singles ‘A Marriage Made in Heaven’ to five soundtracks for pictures by French filmmaker Claire Denis – there’s a cinematic aspect to the Nottingham-formed chamber-pop band’s 11th album. The Waiting Room is a collaborative project which sees each track accompanied by a short film made by different directors from Christoph Girardet to Rosie Pedlow, Gabriel Sanna, Gregorio Graziosi and who else but Claire Denis.

It’s far from a groundbreaking conceit (everyone from Super Furry Animals to Beyoncé and Justin Bieber have tried something similar over the years) but a tasteful and quite functional adornment nonetheless to this very settled, spacious and enveloping set of songs. Stuart Staples’ baritone voice – so warm and inviting you want to lie down in it – is one of the most instantly identifiable in British pop. And yet such is his way of slurring as if his mouth is perpetually pumped full of dental anaesthetic, his words alone don’t always conjure the strongest of imagery.

The sashaying glockenspiel and steelpan-decorated ‘Hey Lucinda’, a duet with the late American folk singer Lhasa De Sela, is paired with a simple but sympathetic video directed by Joe King and Rosie Pedlow, and presents a particularly successful marriage of music and moving image. Elsewhere ‘Were We Once Lovers?’ recalls the Blue Nile with its clipped funk bassline, while the repetitively grooving ‘Help Yourself’ is adorned by 60s cop show-theme horns. ‘We Are Dreamers’ features backing vocals from Savages’ Jehnny Beth, and finds her revealing a more mellow side than she shows with her own fierce band, while still baring her teeth in flashes. “Don’t let me suffer” sings Staples over a lonely orphaned organ on the title track, his pain at odds with an album which is always a pleasure.

(Malcolm Jack) Out now.

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE

PINKSHINYULTRABLAST

STEVE MASON

TINDERSTICKS

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 75

MUSIC | Records

JAZZ & WORLD WORLD

EXPOSURE

CHIMURENGA RENAISSANCE Girlz with Gunz EP (Glitterbeat) OOOOO Chimurenga Resistance are Tendai Maraire of experimental hip-hop crew Shabazz Palaces and guitarist Hussein Kalonji. Exploring their respective Zimbabwean and Congolese heritages, Maraire and Kalonji blend spaced-out electronics and leftfield R&B with elements of rumba, soukouss, Chimurenga and mbira. Heady, soulful and politicised, Girlz with Gunz opens up new frontiers in hip-hop's Afrodelic space programme.

JAZZ

DAVID S WARE Apogee – Birth of a Being [Expanded] (Aum Fidelity) OOOOO

David S Ware, who died in 2012, was arguably the greatest American tenor saxophonist of his generation.

Formed in the early 1970s, Apogee was his trio with pianist Cooper-Moore and drummer Marc Edwards.

For the 1977 sessions collected here, the group brought its collective approach to improvisation to themes composed by Ware.

The results are extraordinary, from the rousing gospel of 'Prayer' to the wilder shores of the two-part 'A Primary Piece'. Ware's thick tone packs an emotional punch, while his lines range from gorgeous lyricism to head-spinning abstraction.

The previously unreleased material on disc two is equally great.

JAZZ

FIRE! She Sleeps, She Sleeps (Rune Grammofon) OOOOO Following the orchestral prog-jazz of 2014's Enter, Fire! has reverted to the core trio of Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling and Andreas Werliin, with guest spots from Australian underground hero Oren Ambarchi and Swedish multi-instrumentalist Leo Svensson Sander.

Fire! has always been more of a psych-rock group than a jazz outfit, with Gustafsson's saxophones a conduit for the sludgiest sonics this side of stoner rock legends Sleep. Fire! are at their best in this minimalist mode, working with texture and space to create a hypnotic set.

WORLD

VARIOUS Soul Sok Séga: Séga Sounds from Mauritius 1973–79 (Strut) OOOOO Strut continues its excavation of Africa's psychedelic 70s with Soul Sok Séga, an intriguing compilation of funkified séga from Mauritius. A product of the island’s multicultural history, modern séga blends diverse African influences with Western jazz and pop.

Highlights of this hugely enjoyable set include the cheeky creole pop of Claudio's 'Bhaï Aboo', the writhing synths and tightly coiled Meters funk of Ti L'Afrique's 'Soul Sock Séga' and the traditional hand drum rhythms of Marie Josée and Roger Clency's 'La Vie En Badinage'.

WORLD

LUKA PRODUCTIONS Mali Kadi (Sahel Sounds) OOOOO With its autotune vocals, trap beats and bombastic synths, Mali Kadi, by Bamako producer and rapper Luka, might seem like the antithesis of rootsy world music. In truth, it's infused in West African tradition, with distorted baliphone samples dancing around intricate décalé rhythms. Ranging from melodic pop tunes to hyperspeed club bangers, Mali Kadi is a fantastically exciting introduction to the Bamako hip-hop scene.

WORLD

TISDASS Yamedan (Sahel Sounds) OOOOO TisDass' Yamedan is a highlight of the Sahel Sounds winter releases. A vehicle for the songwriting of former Group Bombino bassist Kildjate Moussa Albadé, TisDass might not radically reinvent the Tuareg rock sound, but they bring a driving, supple groove to the hook-laden likes of 'Emshin' and 'Ayatma', and some dazzling, almost psychedelic guitar work on the mesmeric 'Itwitassan'. Max Braun's unfussy production captures the band's kinetic energy, while leaving space for the dreamier textures. (All reviews by Stewart Smith) 76 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

HOLY ESQUE The Glasgow four-piece, brandish their muscular post-rock like a battering ram, but underneath they’re sensitive types; their debut album features songs about escape, yearning and grief. We caught up with them to talk about growing up in East Kilbride, how the internet helped them break out and the love/ hate legacy of lead singer Pat’s gravel-toned vocals On recording their debut album The pure and rewarding experience of creating the songs; taking ideas, sounds, rhythms then applying them freely until something new is created is truly exciting to be involved in. Like playing live, it’s a very liberating thing. Sometimes energy just comes over you and you have to harness it and write something new. The least enjoyable aspect would be the financial turmoil and sheer difficulty of enjoying an economically stable band. We live in a society where money is a severe problem and that struggle is without doubt reverberated into the music industry.

On lead singer Pat’s voice When I began singing I wasn't aware of what went on, it took me years to learn how to even sing and following the beginning of the band, I was made aware over time. I suppose I am lucky, in a sense, as it is different, although the love/hate perspective is positive for me overall because opinions create conversation and, if everyone agreed, then things would be a little boring.

On small town environments I think it's quite clear that coming from a northern British town there really is a great sense of yearning and a burning desire to escape. All of these places have an eternal grey tint that covers everything; a lack of opportunities and roads that only lead back to the start.

Growing up in these towns drives creativity. It's the small town mentality that really eats at you.

On the internet We got our first experience of hype when we released our first demo online, years ago now. Without that platform we simply wouldn't be where we are now, in this moment, on the eve of our debut album. It really can be the catalyst and the spark required to push a band over the line or initially make the waves that they have to make. However, today we are spoiled and lucky. We have the whole world's music at our finger tips. We live in a society so accelerated and distracted that music can be easily discarded for newer music or totally different things. The modern artist and music industry's obsession with social media is slowly eating away at the whole thing.

Q Holy Esque’s debut album At Hope’s Ravine is released on Fri 26 Feb via Beyond the Frequency.

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MUSIC | Highlights

HITLIST

TUFF LOVE Stereo, Glasgow, Fri 5 Feb, stereocafebar. com Album launch from the female fronted power guitar trio.

See feature, page 72.

Also Summerhall, Edinburgh, Mon 22 Feb, summerhall.co.uk SUEDE Glasgow Royal

Concert Hall, Glasgow, Mon 8 Feb, glasgowconcerthalls. com The archetypal art school fops make a bold return to show the young ones how to get their swagger on.

WHITE Electric Circus, Edinburgh, Fri 19 Feb, theelectriccircus.

biz; QMU, Glasgow, Sat 20 Feb, qmunion. org.uk Echoes of LCD Soundsystem and Franz Ferdinand making a noisy racket (but in a good way).

See preview, page 69.

HINDS Stereo, Glasgow, Sun 21 Feb, stereocafebar. com Spanish girl indie psych pop collective ask

to Leave Me Alone. See feature, page 70.

HECTOR BIZERK Summerhall, Edinburgh, Thu 25 Feb, summerhall.co.uk Scot-hop sounds from Hector Bizerk, a strippedback drum and rap duo.

Also Tolbooth, Stirling, Sat 27 Feb, tolbooth. stirling.gov.uk

MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS

Events are listed by city, then date.

Submit listings for your event at list.co.uk/add

GLASGOW ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER Broadcast, Sun 7 Feb, broadcastglasgow.com Former frontwoman of The Fiery Furnaces, and subject of Franz Ferdinand’s ‘Eleanor Put Your Boots On’, with an idiosyncratic approach to her music.

HURTS O2 Academy Glasgow, Thu 11 Feb, academymusicgroup.com/ o2academyglasgow Sharp-suited electro pop duo from Manchester who have their own opera singer mascot.

FOALS The SSE Hydro, Fri 12 Feb, thessehydro.com Much admired stripped-down angular and funky indie sounds from the earnest Foals.

Everything Everything play the support slot.

Foals

THE GAME O2 ABC, Fri 12 Feb, academymusicgroup.com/ o2abcglasgow 50 Cent’s sparring partner/sworn enemy, depending on how many records the status of their relationship can sell. Play nice, boys. !!!

CCA, Sun 14 Feb, cca-glasgow. com Awkwardly-named New York punk funk collective.

KULA SHAKER O2 ABC, Mon 15 Feb, academymusicgroup.com/ o2abcglasgow Crispian Mills’ psychedelic Britpop troupe return with more patchouli oil-scented retro tunesmithery.

LITTLE SIMZ The Garage, Mon 15 Feb, garageglasgow.co.uk Londonbased rapper and hip hop artist.

CAGE THE ELEPHANT Queen Margaret Union, Tue 16 Feb, qmunion.org.uk Yelpy UK/US punk-funk and angular rock’n’roll.

Enter Shikari

ENTER SHIKARI O2 Academy Glasgow, Thu 18 Feb, academymusicgroup.com/ o2academyglasgow Trancecore favourites from Hertfordshire mixing hardcore punk, metal and electronica.

Support comes from The Wonder Years and a reformed King Blues.

See preview, page 73. Also Corn Exchange, Edinburgh, Fri 19 Feb, edinburghcornexchange.com JULIA HOLTER SWG3, Fri 19 Feb, swg3. tv Experimental art pop singersongwriter from Los Angeles. Also Summerhall, Edinburgh, Sat 20 Feb, summerhall.co.uk MYSTERY JETS Glasgow School of Art, Sat 20 Feb, theartschool.co.uk London band who are the missing link between Can, Dexy’s and the Zutons now with an added 80s electro edge.

RUDIMENTAL O2 Academy Glasgow, 1Fri 26 Feb, academymusicgroup.com/ o2academyglasgow South London collective who mix quaking dubstep

78 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

soundtracks with soul vocals.

FUN LOVIN’ CRIMINALS Barrowland, Sat 27 Feb, glasgowbarrowland.com Fun Lovin’ Criminals may be past their creative peak but always find an eager crowd, keen to bellow along to the hits.

BARNS COURTNEY The Hug & Pint, Sun 28 Feb, thehugandpint.com Singersongwriter with a beautiful voice and great lyrics. Also The Mash House, Edinburgh, Sat 27 Feb, themashhouse.co.uk BARONESS The Garage, Sun 28 Feb, garageglasgow.co.uk Proggy Florida sludge rock/hardcore band.

FUFANU Nice’n’Sleazy, Sun 28 Feb, nicensleazy.com An eclectic fusion of post-punk and rock’n’roll.

JOANNA NEWSOM Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Wed 2 Mar, glasgowconcerthalls.com Charming pop from the San Francisco-

A BIT OF A DARK HORSE PREMIUM SCOTTISH LAG E R 4.7% ABV

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4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 79

MUSIC | Highlights

MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS CHVRCHES The SSE Hydro, Sat 2 Apr, thessehydro.com Glasgow-based electro pop trio touring in support of their second album Every Open Eye. NEWTON FAULKNER O2 ABC, Sun 3 Apr, academymusicgroup.com/ o2abcglasgow Dreadlocked, laidback surfer dude troubadour doing tricksy stuff with acoustic guitars.

PVRIS O2 ABC, Mon 4 Apr, academymusicgroup.com/ o2abcglasgow American rock band from Lowell, Massachusetts.

EDINBURGH

Wolf Alice

based singer/harpist in support of her fourth album Divers. See Big Picture, page 15.

BILL RYDER-JONES Stereo, Tue 8 Mar, stereocafebar.com The alt.rock singer-songwriter from Warrington.

FOXES O2 ABC, Thu 10 Mar, academymusicgroup.com/ o2abcglasgow Musical moniker of London-based artist Louisa Rose Allen, in the La Roux/Ellie Goulding mould.

OH WONDER Òran Mór, Thu 10 Mar, oran-mor. co.uk Song-writing duo – Anthony and Josephine – releasing one song per month for the next year.

FIELD MUSIC CCA, Sun 13 Mar, cca-glasgow. com Innovative Sunderland group return with more effortlessly complex indie pop. See review, page 75.

GRIMES O2 ABC, Sun 13 Mar, academymusicgroup.com/ o2abcglasgow Montreal-based alt.electro pop performer aka Claire Boucher. See preview, page 73.

WOLF ALICE Barrowland, Wed 16 Mar, glasgow-barrowland.com Offkilter indie rock from this London four-piece.

80 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

THE 1975 O2 Academy Glasgow, Fri 18 Mar, academymusicgroup.com/ o2academyglasgow Sweeping indie rock from the Manchester four-piece.

THE WONDER STUFF O2 ABC, Thu 24 Mar, academymusicgroup.com/ o2abcglasgow Fraggle rockers from the late 80s and early 90s, scattering their perky, subtly clever indie pop around once more. Support comes from the Wedding Present.

ADELE The SSE Hydro, Fri 25 & Sat 26 Errors

Mar, thessehydro.com Smoky soul pop from Adele, touring her latest smash hit album 25.

YEARS & YEARS O2 Academy Glasgow, Tue 29 Mar, academymusicgroup.com/ o2academyglasgow Energetic electro poppers.

PRIMAL SCREAM O2 ABC, Wed 30 Mar, academymusicgroup.com/ o2abcglasgow Bobby Gillespie and his band of tea-drinking rock’n’rollers on a mini tour promoting latest album More Light.

BOB MOULD BAND The Liquid Room, Mon 8 Feb, liquidroom.com American singer/ songwriter/guitar hero and giant of US alternative rock, founder member of seminal bands Hüsker Dü and Sugar.

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING The Queen’s Hall, Mon 8 Feb, thequeenshall.net The London duo, who layer spoken word from vintage propaganda films over soaring beats and electronic melodies to thrilling effect, are out and about performing tracks from their second album The Race For Space. Please note rescheduled date.

RICHIE RAMONE Bannerman’s, Thu 11 Feb, bannermanslive.co.uk American punk and rock drummer and former member of the Ramones.

FATHERSON The Liquid Room, Fri 12 Feb, liquidroom.com Indie power pop trio from Kilmarnock. Also The Reading Rooms, Dundee, Thu 11 Feb, readingroomsdundee.com WEE DUB FESTIVAL Various venues, Fri 4–Sun 6 Mar, weedubfestival.co.uk Scotland’s only festival dedicated to dub and reggae music in all its forms. Taking place across various venues in Edinburgh’s Old Town on one weekend, it offers a diverse and enjoyable weekend of gigs, clubs, workshops, food and more.

The line-up for 2016 includes Aba Shanti-I, Dubkasm, Mungo’s Hi-Fi, Dreadsquad,Chopstick Dubplate, Brother Culture, Solo Banton and Dubdadda.

Highlights | MUSIC

MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS ERRORS La Belle Angèle, Sat 5 Mar, la-belleangele.com Glaswegian synth-indie trio with a penchant for sonic adventurism.

THIS IS THE KIT Electric Circus, Tue 29 Mar, theelectriccircus.biz Kate Stables and her band perform folk-rock originals.

AKUA NARU La Belle Angèle, Mon 4 Apr, la-belleangele.com The hip hop songstress performs tracks from her debut album The Journey Aflame.

STIRLING RANDOLPH’S LEAP Tolbooth, Sat 26 Mar, tolbooth.stirling.gov.uk Indie folk collective from Glasgow that manages to squeeze eight members on stage each night.

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4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 81

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82 THE LIST 4 Febâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;7 Apr 2016

Classical | MUSIC

list.co.uk/music

L A C I ASS

CL

OPERA

SCOTTISH OPERA: RUSALKA Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Tue 5, Thu 7, Sat 9 Apr; Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Thu 14 & Sat 16 Apr

JAMES GLOSSOP

There’s an abundance of excitement in the air for Scottish Opera just now. The Devil Inside, the company’s new opera written by Stuart MacRae and Louise Welsh and first seen in January, is receiving serious critical acclaim, while coming up is the first opera to be conducted by new music director, Stuart Stratford. The fact that it’s Dvo ák’s Rusalka merely adds to the excitement.

Czech repertoire is very dear to Stratford’s heart and this particular opera is one on which he’s especially keen. ‘It’s a fantastic piece, close to Hans Christian Andersen’s tale, The Little Mermaid,’ he explains. While definitely preDisneyfication, it does, however, explore what it is to be human. ‘It is the character of the mermaid, Rusalka, who appears to have the most human characteristics,’ says Stratford. ‘In terms of psychology, the subtext is about jealousy and deceit, stealing someone else’s woman. Or you can look at it as stealing someone else’s fish. The themes are universal and just as relevant today as when it was first composed.’

Stratford is also thrilled with his cast. The French soprano Anne Sophie Duprels is someone with whom he has previously collaborated on Czech opera and he’ll be working with her again just as soon as Rusalka is finished. ‘She is one of the most touching, tender actresses,’ he says, ‘with an amazing, heart-breaking ability to reach out to people.’

Welsh soprano Natalya Romaniw as the Princess is a name to watch out for, with much-loved Sir Willard White in the merman role of Rusalka’s father. The music is typically Dvo ák, with colourful folk tunes and Czech melodies, the most well-known being Rusalka’s ‘Song to the Moon’. It’s early days to announce Stratford’s future plans for Scottish Opera, but he even sounds excited while keeping quiet about them. (Carol Main)

CLASSICAL HIGHLIGHTS HITLIST SCOTTISH OPERA: ARIODANTE Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Tue 16, Thu 18, Sat 20 Feb, atgtickets.com Director and designer team Harry Fehr and Yannis Thavoris return to Handel after the spectacular success of their Orlando in 2011. Conductor Nicholas Kraemer is somewhat unbelievably making his Scottish opera debut. Also Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Wed 24 & Sat 27 Feb, edtheatres.com RSNO: OUNDJIAN CONDUCTS THE SEA Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Fri 19 Feb, usherhall.co.uk A source of inspiration to writers and composers, the sea in its many aspects is heard in Vaughan Williams’ visionary choral symphony, one of the first British symphonies where a choir is used. Also Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Sat 20 Feb, glasgowconcerthalls.com

GLASGOW BBC TEN PIECES LIVE WITH THE BBC SSO City Halls, Sun 7 Feb, glasgowconcerthalls.com The BBC’s Ten Pieces project is designed to get children and young people on board with classical orchestral music.

See preview, page 67.

BBC SSO: RUNNICLES CONDUCTS THE ‘PASTORAL’ SYMPHONY City Halls, Glasgow, Thu 3 Mar, glasgowconcerthalls.com Programme featuring the shimmering impressionism of Debussy and his Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, and continuing the nature theme in Beethoven’s much loved ‘Pastoral’ Symphony. Much less well known is Sir James MacMillan’s Violin Concerto, dedicated to the memory of his mother and receiving its Scottish premiere with the great violinist it was written for, Vadim Repin.

EDINBURGH SUSAN TOMES & ERICH HÖBARTH The Queen's Hall, Mon 15 Feb, thequeenshall.net Edinburgh,

pianist Susan Tomes appears with her Austrian chamber music partner, Erich Höbarth (leader of Quatuor Mosaiques), playing an all Schubert programme, including the rarely performed, virtuosic Fantasie.

JACK LIEBECK AND KATYA APEKISHEVA The Queen's Hall, Mon 29 Feb, thequeenshall.net Always a joy to hear Classical Brit winner Jack Liebeck’s violin playing, especially in such a fascinating programme with chunky Brahms, lyrical Debussy and the less familiar music of New York born composer, John Corigliano.

And Liebeck returns to Scotland to play the Bruch Violin Concerto with Edinburgh Youth Orchestra on 2 (RCS, Glasgow) and 3 (Usher Hall, Edinburgh) April, so no excuses for not catching him while he’s here.

SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: BRAHMS SYMPHONY NO 4 Usher Hall, Thu 10 Mar, usherhall. co.uk The SCO’s spotlight on Brahms continues, and with Robin Ticciati leading its direction, it is a revelatory exposition. But it won’t be the only highlight in this concert programme, with stunning Russian

born violinist Alina Ibragimova bringing new perspective to Schumann’s Violin Concerto, a piece which history has tended to deny due recognition. Also City Halls, Glasgow, Fri 11 Mar, glasgowconcerthalls.com LUDOVICO EINAUDI Usher Hall, Sun 20 Mar, usherhall. co.uk He’s not everybody’s cup of tea, or even glass of prosecco, but the Italian pianist is undoubtedly popular. His digital following means that he is the most streamed classical artist in the UK. Einaudi hits the road for a March tour of the UK to promote his latest album, Elements.

METROPOLITAN OPERA: MADAMA BUTTERFLY Cameo Cinema, Sat 2 Apr, picturehouses.com There is nothing like opera at the Met, but the next best thing is opera from the Met. See it on the big screen closer to home and appreciate the closeups of the singers, their costumes, their expressions, their voices. First seen in 2006, Anthony Minghella’s breathtaking production stars Kristine Opolais in the title role, with Roberto Alagna as the US naval officer who breaks her heart.

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 83

THEATRE NORTHERN BALLET’S 1984

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Choreographer Jonathan Watkins on adapting George Orwell’s seminal For many, Big Brother is simply a TV show filled with fame-hungry people desperate to raise their profile. But for those who have read George Orwell’s classic novel 1984, the term refers to a far more sinister form of surveillance.

Written in 1948, the novel depicts a world where freedom of choice is a thing of the past, and loving anyone other than Big Brother and the ‘Party’ is strictly forbidden. In the midst of this hellish conformity, a love affair blossoms between protagonists Winston and Julia.

It was this stark contrast, between the lovers’ clandestine meetings and the rest of their heavily scrutinised lives, that appealed to choreographer Jonathan Watkins.

‘I always imagined creating two different worlds,’ he says. ‘With the physicality of Winston and Julia working against the uniformity of the

Party. A lot of people wondered how you could turn 1984 into a ballet, but when you see the production, you realise how it lends itself to that medium.’

Despite being written almost 70 years ago, Orwell’s novel has a perpetual resonance, meaning that no matter when you read or see it, it appears current.

‘I did a Q&A session with young people and they felt it was talking about social media now,’ says Watkins. ‘But then I spoke to older people who read the book years ago, and they felt it was about the time they were living in back then. Because whether you read it when it was first written, or in the 1960s, 1990s or now, there’s always stuff happening in the world that you can link it to.’ (Kelly Apter) Q Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Thu 31 Mar–Sat 2 Apr.

PHOTO © EMMA KAULDHAR

84 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

Previews | THEATRE

list.co.uk/theatre

SATIRE

COCK Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Tue 9–Sat 20 Feb; Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Thu 25–Sat 27 Feb Before his arrival at the Tron, Andy Arnold had guided The Arches from its beginnings in the aftermath of Glasgow’s 1990 City of Culture to a celebrated venue for both clubbing and alternative theatre. As artistic director of the Tron, he has developed a clear understanding of his approach to performance. ‘I have always said in any mission statement for the Tron that the core of our work is the spoken word.’ His production of Mike Bartlett’s controversial play Cock follows this logic. Having demonstrated a mastery of absurdism in the recent take on Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days, he turns to a more recent script.

‘I’m delighted that Mike Bartlett has now given Tron Theatre the goahead,’ he explains. ‘I finally wore him down.’ And despite the challenging title, Cock is less a brutalist sexual drama than an updating of the satirical comedy of manners, focusing on a bisexual man’s inability to decide between his male and female lovers. ‘It’s a brilliant play about relationships, sexual identity and confusion,’ Arnold continues. ‘And it has an eyecatching title, which always helps. The dialogue is so sharp and witty and the narrative is very clever.’

With a cast that includes Johnny McKnight – a playwright with his own track record for sardonic and witty dialogue – Arnold is excited by the process. ‘Given the fact that the play contains action – cooking, eating, having sex – it will present challenges. But they’re ones we’ll enjoy resolving in the rehearsal room!’ But ultimately for Arnold, it’s not just about the time spent in the theatre. ‘The best plays are ones where you leave wondering what might happen next,’ he concludes. ‘Cock is that play.’

(Gareth K Vile)

HOW YOU GONNA LIVE YOUR DASH Macrobert, Stirling, Wed 10 Feb; Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Thu 11– Sat 13 Feb

MIHAELA BODLOVIC

EPIC THEATRE

Jenna Watt enjoyed much success with her solo show, Flâneurs, which took the experimental approach of Live Art and married it to a serious contemplation on the threat of apparently random violence. She now returns with a twohander which considers the way that people have made decisions to change their lives. Having been inspired by a quotation from the Werner Herzog documentary Into the Abyss, Watt realised she could express the scale and beauty of these decisions through literal pyrotechnics.

‘I would say the aesthetic of the smoke effects has determined more of the performance format than anything else, because I knew before I’d finished writing the show what it would look like visually. So much of the performance format has been influenced by how to frame the pyro effects.’

But far from being a flashy spectacle, the effects, Watt explains, offer opportunities for the audience to contemplate. Having used real-life testimonies, How You Gonna Live Your Dash is a serious and thoughtful reflection on subjects ranging from drug addiction to moving countries. And while Watt never abandons a restless energy that comes from her interest in the more experimental edges of performance, her charismatic presence and willingness to address the audience lends her work a comfortable and engaging power. (Gareth K Vile) 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 85

THEATRE | Previews & Reviews PREVIEW HISTORICAL TRILOGY

THE JAMES PLAYS

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 13 Feb; King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 8–Sun 10 Apr

DAVID EUSTACE

Theatre is a dishonest art form. Through the propaganda of Shakespeare, Richard III is remembered as a hunchbacked tyrant and Macbeth a murderous usurper. In Dunsinane, David Greig attempted to rehabilitate Lady Macbeth’s reputation, and The National Theatre of Scotland follows this theme with the return of Rona Munro’s The James Plays.

Premiered at the 2014 Edinburgh International Festival, the trilogy (which examines the reigns of the first three Stewart kings) is a bold example of NTS artistic director Laurie Sansom’s vision for Scottish performance engaging with modern ideas. Munro’s script, glancing back at Shakespeare’s ability to shape popular interpretation of history, echoes the contemporary fascination with Scottish national identity.

Yet far from being a cheerful picture of a contented and independent nation, the plays expose the machinations behind a dynastic establishment. While Shakespeare is easily accused of simplifying the conflicts in The Wars of the Roses into a parable about the triumph of good monarchy, Munro and Sansom paint a more complicated picture of aristocratic skulduggery and the corruption of power.

The return of The James Plays offers opportunities to critique the manner in which art can manipulate history, and theatre can present a vision of the past that deals with modern concerns. Despite the association with a rich heritage of British historical dramas, The James Plays are a reflection on how the past can be used to shape the future. (Gareth K Vile)

PREVIEW LIVE ART

PREVIEW MUSICAL

REVIEW CONTEMPORARY TRAGEDY

Platform, Glasgow, Fri 12 & Sat 13 Feb; Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Wed 2–Sat 5 Mar; Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh, Thu 10 Mar

Edinburgh Playhouse, Mon 22–Sat 27 Feb

Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 2–Fri 4 Mar

30:60:80

First presented as part of Arches LIVE, Amy Conway describes her 30:60:80 as ‘a gentle show’. In detailing the lives of three women as they approach important birthdays, she says, ‘it will be striking in its intimacy and authenticity. The show is autobiographical but there are many universal themes. We had mothers and daughters come up to us afterwards and say, “that’s us!”.’

With a tour leading up to International Women’s Day, Conway identifies her preoccupations. ‘I want to make work that gives a voice to the underrepresented,’ she notes. In 30:60:80, she reflects on three generations of women, and how their expectations and achievements have been defined by their eras. But it also has an imaginative technical approach. ‘The show’s USP is recorded delivery.

I listen to an edited recording of my mum, my grandma and my own words through headphones and speak it back to an audience.’ Rather than ‘acting’ her family, Conway channels them through the audio. ‘The testimony is unadulterated and uttered in all its imperfect glory, with “ah's” and “ums” and nervous laughter. It’s more human that way.’ (Gareth K Vile) 86 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

HAIRSPRAY

The successful juggernaut that is Hairspray rolls on.

A wickedly funny look at acceptance (particularly with regards to body fascism), the spaces occupied by women, and race relations in 60s Baltimore, it’s been a worldwide phenomenon since John Waters’ original film appeared in 1988. Heading the cast is Tony Maudsley, star of ITV’s Benidorm, as the put-upon but loveable Edna Turnblad, the show’s matriarch, who comes to terms with her daughter Tracy becoming a TV star.

‘I’d seen the original Broadway version about 14 years earlier and had really enjoyed it,’ says Maudsley. ‘I’ve reignited some of my old skills and learned some new ones from the massively talented cast and highly experienced team.’

The show has presented many challenges for him, not least dressing in drag. The change in physicality yielded unexpected results. ‘Although I’m a big guy of six feet four and about 20 stone, to get to the underlying themes of the show, Edna needs to be bigger, exaggerated and larger-than-life. We achieved this with a body suit. The results are very effective. My own gait was transformed. I instantly felt very maternal and protective toward Tracy.’

And that is the essence of the show: a big warm embrace. (Lorna Irvine)

IPHIGENIA IN SPLOTT OOOOO

Powered by righteous social anger and tangentially touching on the themes of Euripides’ play about a daughter’s sacrifice by a warmongering leader, Gary Owen’s strident Iphigenia in Splott is a brilliant onewoman monologue and a deceitful commentary on the British government. Sophie Melville is ferocious as Effie, a young woman seduced and abandoned by both her lover and, tragically, the NHS. Owen passionately condemns cutbacks that have undermined health provision, while Melville lends depth and compassion to a marginalised victim.

Yet the political message is drowned in passion: the logic that links Effie to Iphigenia is faulty.

Brilliantly written, using the details of Welsh workingclass language and geography to poignant effect, its politics are inarticulate and revel in shock and disgust.

Iphigenia gives the impression of being a revolutionary play, but its emotionalism prevents it from being more than an expression of frustration.

Melville’s performance, Rachel O’Riordan’s direction and Owen’s facility with language make this a remarkable and gripping performance, although it ultimately lets off more steam than it stokes political fire. (Gareth K Vile)

Photograph: Laurence Winram

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4 Febâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 87

DANCE | Previews

E C N DA

CONTEMPORARY DANCE

PHOENIX DANCE THEATRE Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Sat 5 Mar

MIHAELA BODLOVIC

BRIAN SLATER

You don’t become the UK’s longest standing contemporary dance company outside London for nothing. During its 35 year history, Phoenix Dance Theatre has undergone many changes, but its ability to attract exciting choreographers has remained consistent – and their 2016 tour is no exception.

Better known for her work in musical theatre, and Les Miserables in particular, Kate Flatt can entertain an audience. Her new work for Phoenix, Undivided Loves, is inspired by six Shakespeare sonnets, set to a percussive score by Brazilian composer Adriano Adewale.

‘Kate has wanted to set some of the sonnets to dance for a long time,’ explains Phoenix’s associate artistic director, Tracy Tinker, ‘and we thought the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death was the perfect time. So what she’s tried to do is keep the traditional and historical context of them, but bring them into the modern age.’

Also creating a brand new work for Phoenix, is Caroline Finn, winner of Matthew Bourne’s 2014 New Adventures Choreographer Award. Finn’s prize was a commission from Phoenix, the result of which is Bloom. ‘Caroline has been well known in Europe for a while,’ explains Tinker, ‘and she’s just been made artistic director of the National Dance Company of Wales. She has such a unique choreographic voice, and Bloom is a wonderful, quirky and eccentric piece.’

Completing the triple-bill, is Itzik Galili, who has re-worked his 1997 piece, Until.With / Out.Enough. Renowned for creating emotionally intense works, the Israeli choreographer used the piece to explore the closed spaces within our minds. ‘Itzik made this piece fairly early on in his career, so he’s given it a bit of a facelift with new costumes, lighting design and slight choreographic tweaks,’ says Tinker. ‘The dancers look amazing because it’s so athletic and powerful, full of tension, sensitive duets and high energy group sections – it’s a real marathon for them.’ (Kelly Apter)

CONTEMPORARY DOUBLE BILL

YOUTH DANCE

DANCE-THEATRE

Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 17 & Thu 18 Feb

Tramway, Glasgow, Sat 5 Mar

Tramway, Glasgow, Thu 25–Sat 27 Feb

It flashes past on stage, but behind every short piece of dance lies months of creation and preparation.

Not only on the work itself, but the dancers honing their craft, and bodies, ready to present it.

So when YDance holds its annual youth dance showcase, Destinations, it’s not only a chance for young people to share their hard work and skill, but for those funding it to see how well their money is spent. ‘It’s a platform where young people from across Scotland can showcase their talents,’ says YDance artistic director, Anna Kenrick, ‘and demonstrate to the dance community that if you have the right infrastructure in place, and groups are supported over a long period of time, they can achieve amazing pieces of art.’

One such group is the National Youth Dance Company of Scotland, which is being supported

by Kenrick herself. The company’s new work, Maelstrom, premieres at Destinations and is inspired by our increasing reliance on technology.

‘We now see more data in a day than we used to in a lifetime,’ says Kenrick, ‘and that got me thinking – how does that relate to the chaotic world we find ourselves living in? So we explore the positives of having all this technology, but also what we are losing at the same time.’ (Kelly Apter)

Robert Softley Gale, co-artistic director of Birds of Paradise, is one of Scotland’s most irreverent and provocative theatre-makers. Wendy Hoose, a previous BoP production, was a riotous romp and his solo shows challenge lazy ideas about ‘disability theatre’ through humour and physical theatre.

‘I realised that I had more to say about my impairment,’ he says. ‘I wanted to include other perspectives on cerebral palsy. Some disabled artists have shied away from making work about specific impairments in the past; I felt it was the right time for me to ask why this was the case.’

Purposeless Movements is described as ‘dancetheatre’, but goes beyond medical analysis to explore the lives of five men. Throwing in thoughts on gender identity, Softley Gale brings his trademark sense of adventure to a subject that is rarely told.

Acknowledging the influence of experimental European theatre, Purposeless Movements includes live music and video projection. ‘It lets the audience see things in microscopic detail,’ he concludes. ‘All of the performers are hugely captivating. The show is going to be funny, deeply moving and thoughtprovoking. Hopefully, the audience will want to come back to see the show again with an altered perspective!’ (Gareth K Vile)

SCOTTISH DANCE THEATRE

Process Day and Dreamers follow Scottish Dance Theatre’s reputation for accessible, thrilling contemporary choreography. It’s a double bill that artistic director Fleur Darkin says comes from ‘choreographers who bring something fresh, a unique style and not necessarily the high leg kicks.’

Process Day is a new piece from Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar which is inspired by club culture, while choreographer Anton Lachky uses improvisation to unleash the dancers’ dynamism for Dreamers. With a distinct vision that recognises the power of dance as a unique expression of experience, SDT always seeks new audiences. ‘Process Day will appeal to the cool cats,’ laughs Darkin. ‘The musical is incredible with a nocturnal feel.’ Recognising that dance captures the physical experience of daily life, Fleur adds, ‘this piece expresses feeling – unconscious and felt – but not talked about.’

As part of the company’s 30th anniversary, this double bill presents the possibilities for contemporary choreography. Exploring the experience of being alone in a crowd, Process Day shows how dance can reach beyond words. ‘Dance is powerful,’ she concludes. ‘There is nothing like it.’

(Gareth K Vile) 88 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

DESTINATIONS

PURPOSELESS MOVEMENTS

Highlights | THEATRE

HITLIST

COCK Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Tue 9–Sat 20 Feb, tron.

co.uk A bisexual man is confused about what he wants when he falls for both a man and a woman.

See preview, page 85.

HAIRSPRAY Edinburgh Playhouse, Mon 22-Sat 27 Feb, atgtickets.com/venues/ edinburgh-playhouse Tony and Olivier Awardwinning musical tale of

Baltimore in the 1960s, based on John Waters 1988 movie. See preview, page 86.

PURPOSELESS MOVEMENTS Tramway, Glasgow, Wed 25–Fri 27 Feb, tramway.org New work from Birds of Paradise theatre company about what it’s like to live with

cerebral palsy. See preview, page 88.

Itzik Galili and Caroline Finn. See preview, page 88.

PHOENIX DANCE THEATRE Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Sat 5 Mar, edtheatres.com/festival Celebrating its 35th anniversary, the Leedsbased company presents an exciting triple-bill by choreographers Kate Flatt,

NORTHERN BALLET: 1984 Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Thu 31 Mar & Fri 1 Apr, edtheatres. com/festival Choreographer Jonathan Watkins adapts George Orwell’s dystopian novel.

See preview, page 84.

THEATRE HIGHLIGHTS Events are listed by city, then date.

Submit listings for your event at list.co.uk/add

GLASGOW HOW YOU GONNA LIVE YOUR DASH Platform, Thu 28 & Fri 29 Jan, platform-online.co.uk Drama from Jenna Watt about life-changing decisions, based on real-life testimonies. See preview, page 85.

STRICTLY COME DANCING The SSE Hydro, Fri 5–Sun 7 Feb, thessehydro.com See stars from the hit BBC TV show live in action, including judges Craig Revel Horwood, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli.

30:60:80 Platform, Fri & Sat 13 Feb, platform-online.co.uk Autobiographical piece where Amy Conway tries to adjust to the big 3-0 and explores what both her mother and her grandmother had endured and achieved by the same age. See preview, page 86. manipulate

BALLET WEST: THE NUTCRACKER SECC, Sat 13 Feb, secc.co.uk A cast of over 60 young student dancers, plus professional guests, present the popular narrative ballet.

See preview at list.co.uk Also EICC, Edinburgh, Sat 20 Feb, eicc.co.uk BLACKBIRD Citizens Theatre, Thu 25 Feb–Sat 5 Mar, citz.co.uk It’s been 15 years since it ended. Ray’s moved on with his life but Una has found him, and she needs answers.

GO DANCE 16 Theatre Royal, Tue 1–Sat 5 Mar, atgtickets.com/venues/theatreroyal-glasgow Five days of feel-good dance at this annual festival, featuring performers from Scotland’s dance schools, colleges and community groups.

YDANCE ROUTES: DESTINATIONS Tramway, Sat 5 Mar, tramway.org A showcase of work by youth dance companies from across Scotland, including the premiere of National Youth Dance Company of Scotland’s

new piece. See preview, page 88.

GET CARTER Citizens Theatre, Tue 8–Sat 12 Mar, citz.co.uk A dark and stylish new adaptation of the classic Newcastle-noir thriller.

PIANO + DANCE Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Sun 13 Mar, rcs.ac.uk Talented students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Modern Ballet course perform works accompanied by classical piano.

EDINBURGH MANIPULATE VISUAL THEATRE FESTIVAL Traverse Theatre, until Sat 6 Feb, manipulatefestival.org Puppet Animation Scotland collates a collection of world class animation, puppetry and masterclasses THE JAMES PLAYS Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Wed 3– Sat 13 Feb, edtheatres.com/festival Cycle of three plays by Rona Munro, based on James I, II and III: James I: The Key will Keep the Lock, James II:

Day of the Innocents and James III: The True Mirror. See preview, page 86.

CIRQUE BERSERK Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Thu 10–Sat 12 Mar, edtheatres. com/festival A large-scale family circus show with jugglers, acrobats, aerialists, dancers, musicians and stuntmen. Highlights include Hercules the strongman, awardwinning clown Tweedy and a hair-raising motorcycle routine from Globe of Death.

I AM THOMAS - A BRUTAL COMEDY WITH SONGS Royal Lyceum Theatre, Wed 23 Mar–Sat 9 Apr, lyceum.org.uk Coproduction with Told by an Idiot and National Theatre of Scotland. Directed

by Paul Hunter.

CANNED LAUGHTER King’s Theatre, Tue 29 Mar–Sat 2 Apr, edtheatres.com/kings Everyone’s favourite trio – Allan Stewart, Andy Gray and Grant Stott – play three men who were Scotland’s top comedy act in their time, now brought back together to perform again. Will old jealousies rear their ugly heads again?

MUSSELBURGH PLAN B - AND NOW The Brunton, Sat 5 Mar, thebrunton.co.uk Back with a new line-up of dancers, Plan B presents this new work inspired by the political events in Scotland in 2014.

DUNDEE SCOTTISH DANCE THEATRE DREAMERS & PROCESS DAY Dundee Rep, Fri 12 & Sat 13 Feb, dundeerep.co.uk Double bill featuring Anton Lachky’s superb Dreamers, and new work Process Day by Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar.

Ages 14+. See preview, page 88. Also Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 17 & Thu 19 Feb, traverse.co.uk 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 89

VISUAL ART

JOSEPH MCKENZIE: WOMEN OF DUNDEE & PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE MARGARET MORRIS COLLECTION Celebrating pioneers of documentary photography At first glance, two old women gossiping on a half-demolished street may not have much to do with the group of nymph-like waifs in swimsuits draping themselves across the branches of a tree in synchronised unison.

Seen alongside each other, however, the documentary photographs of Joseph McKenzie and images by Fred Daniels taken from the collection of choreographer Margaret Morris fuse social history and artistic archive in fascinating counterpoint.

Where McKenzie was regarded as the father of Scottish photography up until his death in 2015, the shapes thrown in Morris’ 1920s world were the epitome of abstraction applied to everyday life. Both, in their own ways, were radical pioneers. ‘The Margaret Morris collection is a really early example of an artist recognising the importance of documentation,’ Stills director Ben Harman says. ‘And Joseph McKenzie’s photographs are early examples of a form that shows how

90 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

important documentary photography has become.’

McKenzie’s images of Dundee women are drawn from a much larger collection: Dundee – City in Transition, exhibited in 1966 and now held by the city’s McManus Gallery and Museum. Daniels’ images of Morris and co are taken from the Fergusson Gallery’s collection at Perth Gallery and Museum. As vital as the work of both McKenzie and Morris remains, this second of Stills’ ongoing series of twinned historical shows aims to bring it into the open in a way that both saves them from neglect and illustrates their influence on those working in similar fields today.

‘I wonder whether part of Margaret Morris’ legacy is the whole cultural spirit of Glasgow,’ posits Harman. ‘She was such a part of that.

Documentary photography is such a major strand of contemporary practice now, but McKenzie really set the bar.’ (Neil Cooper) Q Stills, Edinburgh, Sat 6 Feb–Sat 9 Apr.

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Previews & Reviews | VISUAL ART

list.co.uk/visualart

REVIEW PAINTING

MERLIN JAMES: LONG GAME CCA Glasgow, until Sat 13 Mar OOOOO

ROBERT STEEDMAN

COURTESY OF MERLIN JAMES

Glasgow-based Merlin James is unusual in contemporary art circles in his unflinching commitment to the medium of paint, and unusual among painters in the way he is embraced by the contemporary art fraternity. His first major show in Scotland for more than a decade is a rare chance to see the broad range of his oeuvre, including a selection of works on paper and the small sculptures he calls ‘by-products’.

Though the paintings here span 30 years, the word ‘retrospective’ is unhelpful: James’ work is more cyclical than linear, returning, years later, to themes, motifs and often individual works. What is clear is that he is engaged with the ‘long game’ of painting, acknowledging its traditions and styles, while making his own way among them. There are landscapes, nudes, abstracts, here, even a wry nod, in ‘Painter (red)’, to the figure of the landscape painter, en plein air, palette in hand.

His eye picks out seemingly unremarkable things – a JCB, a luggage carousel, an oddly shaped house – and he uses colour or an unexpected angle to make the familiar seem unfamiliar.

There are echoes of Peter Doig in his evocations of places never quite identified, moments left unexplained. He deconstructs the medium, cutting into the canvas, building out from it, or dispensing with it altogether and working on gauze stretched across the frame. Yet his commitment to the business of painting remains undiminished.

(Susan Mansfield)

REVIEW MIXED MEDIA

WHITNEY MCVEIGH: LANGUAGE OF MEMORY Summerhall, Edinburgh, until Wed 9 Mar OOOOO Language of Memory will affect you long after seeing it.Simple and stripped back, it comprises an extraordinary 11-minute short film ‘Birth’, a sound work and several sculptural compositions.

The film, shot in a London hospice, features a diverse group of women who each reflect on birth, life and existence. The interviews occasionally cut to a clip of a grand old tree swaying gently in the wind, its frayed branches at once beautifully elegant and fragile. It is humbling to hear the women speak with humility about their lives in the face of death: each does so with wisdom, and it is life-affirming to hear their accounts of bringing new life into the world as well as facing the prospect of leaving it themselves.

The other works in the exhibition are elevated by first experiencing ‘Birth’. McVeigh’s ‘markers of time’ are ready-mades that she has accumulated throughout her life. Objects that were once significant to someone – children’s shoes, photographs, books – are stripped of their sentimental value and we are urged instead to contemplate them philosophically. When viewed in conjunction with ‘Birth’, Language of Memory amounts to a powerful and unpretentious deliberation of the meaning of life. (Laura Campbell)

PREVIEW CONTEMPORARY CERAMICS

REVIEW ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN

Tramway, Glasgow, Sat 6 Feb–Sun 20 Mar

Dundee Contemporary Arts, Sat 27 Feb–Sun 1 May OOOOO

RICHARD SLEE: WORK AND PLAY The work of renowned ceramicist-cumcontemporary artist Richard Slee will grace a Glasgow gallery for the first time since 2009 with Work and Play. The artist, whose wry sculptural works draw obvious comparisons with Jeff Koons and Grayson Perry, has selected pieces from the last decade that examine key themes in his practice.

The most recent pieces are those rendered partially in blown glass, such as ‘Stadium’ and ‘Net’, both of which were created in 2013.

‘The two main themes that emerged were work and play,’ explains Slee. ‘“Work” is represented in the show by pieces such as “Hammers” [a collection of over 100 different hammers with brightly glazed ceramic heads and wooden handles placed in an industrial bin as if just manufactured] and “Play” by works such as “Trophies” [nine ceramic emblematic shapes based on old carpet beaters mounted on black bakelite bases arranged to form themselves into a visual game and pun]. Most of the “Work”associated objects are rendered futile.’

Though the works fall roughly into these two distinct conceptual categories, the show will not be arranged by subject or date; something the artist hopes will blur the boundaries between work and play. (Laura Campbell)

GREY GARDENS

‘With Grey Gardens I wanted to see if it was possible to showcase concrete in a way that casts it in a much more positive light,’ says Graham Domke, curator at Dundee Contemporary Arts. ‘The exhibition addresses concrete art and architecture since the 1950s to the present day and focuses on several sites across Scotland alongside more exotic locations in Mexico and Italy.’ The show is part of this year’s nationwide Festival of Architecture, created with access to the archives at RIAS and Historic Environment Scotland.

The exhibition features modernist houses by the influential Morris and Steedman practice, as well as Peter Womersley’s Bernat Klein Studio in Galashiels among others. It also considers publicly sited town art in Glenrothes and Cumbernauld. ‘New Towns are much-maligned but I liked the utopian ideal that was pursued, if not always delivered upon,’ says Domke.

Elsewhere you’ll see what he calls ‘the wilfully surreal concrete garden’ by the Scottish-born Edward James and Plutarco Gastelum sited in the Mexican jungle, photographed by Amanda Holmes, as well as work by Turner Prize-winner Martin Boyce, whose 2009 Venice Biennale show was influenced by the Italian architect Carlo Scarpa. (David Pollock) 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 91

VISUAL ART | Previews & Reviews REVIEW MIXED MEDIA

HELLO, MY NAME IS PAUL SMITH Lighthouse, Glasgow, until Sun 20 Mar OOOOO

PRIVATE VIEW RACHEL LOWTHER Rachel Lowther studied at London's Chelsea School of Art and in Frankfurt and New York. She spent 14 years in New York as an artist and curator, where she assisted Jeff Koons and Matthew Barney. She’s now based in Glasgow where her new exhibition, Nothing compares to the first time getting shot at, has opened at GSA What led to you making work in response to GSA’s World War I archives?

They approached me after seeing some work I made about war for Glasgow International in 2014. I think I’ve been skirting around the theme for years. I took a hiatus from art after having my children, and coming back to it I was very aware of what was happening in the world such as the beginning of the current crisis in Syria. I kept asking myself: what is the role of an artist when there is such unspeakable horror in the world?

What did you discover in the archives?

Lots and lots of letters. Soldiers wrote back from the Front asking if the School knew what had happened to their classmates. Parents wrote about their sons who’d been killed. I found a letter from [GSA director] Fra Newbery to the Board, asking if he could institute propaganda among the students, to try to get as many as possible to enlist. My hand was trembling as I read it, thinking about the pressure these young men were under.

How did you turn your research into artwork?

I made a series of clay sculptures of civilian figures and then attacked them with a pick axe handle. The film of this is in the show, as are the figures. In a way, they are the epitome of non-violent resistance; they just stand there and take it. I also made embroideries using phrases from the letters.

Why are you dressed as a chicken in the poster for the show?

My mother’s uncle Carl was sent a white feather in 1914, like lots of young men were.

He lied about his age, went to war and died just before he turned 18. It just struck me that this tender little object caused so much pain and death. (Susan Mansfield) Q Reid Gallery, GSA, until Sun 20 Mar. 92 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

In an exhibition like this, which summarises both the work of an iconic creative personality and someone whose output is available to purchase off the peg, the line between celebration and marketing tool tends to become blurred. Yet, presented in touring form by the Design Museum London, it’s wonderfully curated, and the join between creativity and commerce is fortunately obscured. In its presentation, the show strives to actually be Paul Smith – all of the text is written in the first person, and there’s a mirrored antechamber which is described as being the inside of his head, in which television screens projecting abstract patterns hang from the ceiling and Smith’s words linger in the air.

The effect of this is wonderfully personable, and it gives us a real sense of Smith as a human rather than a brand. There are physical mockups of spaces which represent milestones in his life: a three-metre square white cube to the same dimensions as his first shop, opened in Nottingham in 1970 and ‘managed’ by an Afghan hound called Homer; the Paris bedroom where he presented and sold his first items of clothing; his trinket-swamped office in Covent Garden; and his design studio, busy with visual inspiration and Althea & Donna’s ‘Uptown Top Ranking’ on the retro radio. It all feels very London.

Elsewhere there are images of each of his bespoke stores and many promotional campaigns, as well as examples of Smith’s clothing which emphasise his

personal taste in knitwear colours, lining patterns and sharply cut suits. Most intriguing of all, however, is the room of ‘stamped objects’ – everyday items covered in postage stamps and sent to his office – which have been arriving anonymously since 1998. His wife Pauline is gratefully recognised in the show’s text, and Smith himself appears in video interviews; his designs are striking and desirable, but it’s in focusing on the personal that the exhibition succeeds. (David Pollock)

PREVIEW SCULTPTURE / PAINTING

SARA BARKER: CHANGE-THE-SETTING Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, Sat 12 Mar–Sun 5 Jun Sara Barker has become a name to watch in Scottish contemporary art, with a solo exhibition at GoMA last year as part of GENERATION, and now one at the Fruitmarket Gallery, next to Waverley Station. ‘It’s such an important institution in Scotland,’ she says. ‘It’s interesting to take sculpture outside and deal with light and a different sense of scale, but I feel more at home in a gallery, there is more freedom.’

Barker trained in the painting department at Glasgow School of Art, and her process begins with painting on thin sheets of aluminium: ‘I think of them as a sculptural material; when I make them I know I’m not going to leave them as flat objects. I might be listening, reading, scribbling on the metal, everything feeds into the work. It’s a really free process.’

While her multi-layered works are often ambitious in scale, they tend to be described as delicate, poignant and associative, exploring and defining space; both physical and imaginative. Barker draws inspiration from writers and poets, and the monograph for the Fruitmarket exhibition will include a new text by novelist Ali Smith. Barker says that this work will explore the edges of the gallery space itself: ‘Some of the works are cutting into the back wall, creating a sense of liminal space in the gallery, so you feel like they’re hanging over the train station. I’m pushing on the boundaries of a space more than I’ve ever done before.’ (Susan Mansfield)

HITLIST

RACHEL LOWTHER: NOTHING COMPARES TO THE FIRST TIME GETTING SHOT AT Reid Building, Glasgow School of Art, until Sun 20 Mar, gsa.ac.uk The artist researched the GSA’s WWI holdings, investigating staff and students who went into military service. The work includes sculptures and

PHOTO © RACHEL MACLEAN

Highlights | VISUAL ART

films. See Private View, page 92.

HELLO, MY NAME IS PAUL SMITH The Lighthouse,

Glasgow, until Sun 20 Mar, thelighthouse. co.uk Celebration of the British fashion designer.

See review, page 92.

BRITISH ART SHOW 8 Inverleith House, Edinburgh, Sat 13 Feb–Sun 8 May, nationalgalleries.org Works by 42 artists in this nationally touring show.

Also at Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art One and Talbot Rice Gallery.

See feature, page 38.

WHITNEY MCVEIGH: LANGUAGE OF MEMORY Summerhall, Edinburgh, until Wed 9 Mar, summerhall.co.uk Work by American artist ruminating on memory

and childhood.See review, page 91.

SARA BARKER: CHANGE-THE-SETTING Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, Sat 12 Mar– Sun 5 Jun, fruitmarket. co.uk New sculptures made with the gallery space specifically in mind.

See preview, page 92.

VISUAL ART HIGHLIGHTS Events are listed by city, then date.

Submit listings for your event at list.co.uk/add

RACHEL DUCKHOUSE: RHYTHM IN RESEARCH Edinburgh Printmakers, until Sat 26 Mar, edinburghprintmakers. co.uk Glasgow artist interested in systems and patterns in nature, human behaviour and the built environment.

Bad Entertainment: The Untitled

GLASGOW RICHARD SLEE: WORK AND PLAY Tramway, Sat 6 Feb–Sun 20 Mar, tramway.org Work by one of Britain’s foremost ceramic artists, demonstrating the fluid boundaries of 21st century ceramic practice. See preview, page 91.

MODERN SCOTTISH WOMEN: PAINTERS AND SCULPTORS 1885–1965 Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Two, until Sun 26 Jun, nationalgalleries.org A large-scale exhibition of over 70 works by Scottish women artists, from Catherine Read (1723–1778) to Joan Eardley and Anne Redpath in the mid-20th century.

MERLIN JAMES: LONG GAME CCA, until Sun 13 Mar, ccaglasgow.com New work from the Glasgow-based artist, sometimes incorporating small model buildings.

See review, page 91.

EMMIE MCLUSKEY AND MARY WINTOUR: I THOUGHT YOU KNEW CCA Intermedia Gallery, Sat 13 Feb–Sat 5 Mar, cca-glasgow. com Site-specific installation inspired by both objects and their material potential, and also film.

ULLA SCHILDT: A RARE VISITOR Street Level Photoworks, until Sun 27 Mar, streetlevelphotoworks.org Images of natural history museums and zoos in different European cities.

JAMIE CREWE: BUT WHAT WAS MOST AWFUL WAS A GIRL WHO WAS SINGING Transmission Gallery, Sat 20 Feb– Fri 25 Mar, transmissiongallery.org An installation partly inspired by director James Bidgood’s attempt to make a pornographic film of Jean Genet’s play The Balcony.

JACK MCCONVILLE The Modern Institute, until Sat 26 Mar, themoderninstitute.com New paintings from the Edinburgh-born, Glasgow-based and Vienna-schooled artist whose work responds to our digital age while keeping a strong eye on art history.

THE TRANSPARENT TORTOISESHELL AND THE UNRIPE UMBRELLA Glasgow Sculpture Studios, until Sat 5 Mar, glasgowsculpturestudios.org A group exhibition using everyday objects to make abstract assemblages, curated

by Louise Briggs and featuring work

by Eva Berendes, Stephanie Mann, Rallou Panagiotou, Vanessa Safavi and Samara Scott.

EDINBURGH ANDREW CRANSTON: PAINTINGS FROM A ROOM Ingleby Gallery, Sat 6 Feb–Sat 26 Mar, inglebygallery.com Paintings by Glasgow-based artist who specialises in claustrophobic narratives.

JOSEPH MCKENZIE: WOMEN OF DUNDEE & PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE MARGARET MORRIS COLLECTION Stills, Sat 6 Feb–Sat 9 Apr, stills.org A two-part exhibition featuring work by the late photographer alongside images from the collection of the influential dancer, teacher and choreographer Margaret Morris. See preview, page 90.

IN PARTING GLASS Summerhall, until Wed 9 Mar, summerhall.co.uk Installation by choreographer Riccardo Buscarini and artist Richard Taylor.

OBJECTS FROM THE TEMPERATE PALM HOUSE Bargain Spot Project Place, until Sat 27 Feb, info@bargainspot-project-space.com Work by international artists placed alongside artefacts from the archives of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

BAD ENTERTAINMENT: THE UNTITLED Scottish National Portrait Gallery, until Sun 8 May, nationalgalleries. org Art created by young people across Scotland, as part of an outreach initiative made in response to the GENERATION exhibition programme from 2014.

MASTERS OF THE EVERYDAY The Queen’s Gallery, until Wed 27 Jul, royalcollection.org.uk The Royal Collection includes works by some of the finest Dutch painters of the 17th and 18th centuries, including Aelbert Cuyp, Jan Steen and Gerard van Honthorst.

EDINBURGH STUDENT ARTS FESTIVAL Various venues, Edinburgh, Fri 12–Fri 19 Feb, edinburghstudentartsfestival.com Year two of this student-run visual art extravaganza, the only one of its kind in the country.

ALL SYSTEMS . . . GO Cooper Gallery, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, until Sat 27 Feb, dundee. ac.uk/djcad/exhibitions A movingimage exhibition by Liam Gillick & Anton Vidokle, Miranda Pennell and recent GSA graduate Dominic Watson.

ARTISTS’ BOOK MARKET Fruitmarket Gallery, Sat 27 & Sun 28 Feb, fruitmarket. co.uk Fruitmarket Gallery hosts a two-day book fair, with artist talks and workshops, featuring over 40 exhibitors.

GREY GARDENS Dundee Contemporary Arts, Sat 27 Feb–Sun 1 May, dca.org.uk Art and architecture inspired by modernity and nature. Featured artists include Guido Guidi, Martin Boyce and Neville Rae. See review, page 91.

DUNDEE

4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 93

TV

Fo the latestr n listings a ews, reviews, g nd o list.co.uk to /tv

THE NIGHT MANAGER Lavish adaptation of John le Carré espionage thriller It’s been almost 20 years since the last TV adaptation of a John le Carré novel (A Perfect Spy on the BBC).

The author actually worked for MI5 and MI6 in the 50s and 60s before he started writing, which lends those dense, intelligent thrillers an air of authenticity.

Books such as The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Russia House set a new benchmark in the espionage genre.

The Night Manager was first published in 1993 and in this six-part series, we follow ex-soldier Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) as he’s recruited by intelligence officer Burr (Olivia Colman) to go undercover and infiltrate the operations of arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie).

94 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

‘The Night Manager is a relentlessly exhilarating thriller with profound emotional depths,’ explains Susanne Bier who directs all six episodes of this BBC / AMC co-production. ‘David Farr’s elegant script perfectly orchestrates the central cat-and-mouse game between two irresistibly flawed characters.

That Hugh Laurie and Tom Hiddleston will be playing Roper and Pine, respectively, is so thrilling to me. Their shared soulfulness, precision and sharp humour will seduce us all, both through Roper’s charming yet insidious manipulations and Pine’s unsettlingly enigmatic struggle to do the right thing. I could not be more excited.’ (Henry Northmore) Q BBC One, Feb, date tbc.

Previews | TV

list.co.uk/tv

HIGHLIGHTS X-FILES Channel 5, Mon 8 Feb, 9pm New miniseries as Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigate more supernatural and alien conspiracies.

HAPPY VALLEY: SEASON 2 BBC One, Tue 9 Feb, 9pm BAFTA-winning police drama starring Sarah Lancashire.

Season two starts with a suspected serial killer stalking West Yorkshire.

WALKING DEAD: SEASON 6 (PART 2) FOX, Mon 15 Feb, 9pm As the walls of Alexandria crumble, expect an explosive start to the second half of season six.

VINYL

'IF ANYTHING, I'VE TRIED TO DUMB UP' As Steve Coogan's finest creation returns to North Norfolk Digital, Henry Northmore pores over some of Alan Partridge's best (worst?) quotes from Mid Morning Matters

S

teve Coogan's Alan Partridge is one of the greatest comic characters of all time. The sports presenter turned TV chat show host now finds himself surfing the non-analogue airwaves at North Norfolk Digital accompanied by the equally accident-prone Sidekick Simon (Tim Key). In celebration of Partridge's return for a second series of Mid Morning Matters, we collate our favourite quotes from his almighty reign as the digi-radio king. Read, enjoy and cringe . . .

‘You're listening to AP on treble M ie Alan Partridge on Mid Morning Matters.’

‘This is North Norfolk Digital, sustaining and maintaining our core listenership, in an increasingly fragmented marketplace . . . Just realised I read that from an internal memo. That wasn't meant for you to hear. Sorry.’

‘Middle of the day? You bet. Middle aged? Maybe. Middle of the road? No way!’

‘Anthea Turner probably rides one of those big Dutch bikes with a basket and a bell. She'd cycle along in a flimsy cotton dress with the sun and the breeze in her hair. She'd discard her bike by the side of the road, find a nice spot in the field and lay down on a tartan blanket, with a copy of Grazia, a thermos flask and a big jam sandwich. And maybe a beef paste cob.’

‘Are you from Northern Ireland? I like the murals on the ends of the houses of men in balaclavas with Tommy guns. It must be like living amongst lots of Banksys, but Banksys who want to kill people that live near them.’

Sky Atlantic, Mon 15 Feb, 2am If you just can't wait for Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger's new series, set in the record industry circa 1970, stay up late for this US simulcast (also repeated at a more practical time the next day).

MID MORNING MATTERS: SEASON 2 Sky Atlantic, Tue 16 Feb More inappropriate musings from Alan Partridge (aka Steve Coogan) as he hits the airwaves on North Norfolk Digital. See left.

STREET FIGHTER V PC / PS4, Capcom, Tue 16 Feb The ultimate brawler goes next gen with the fifth instalment of the world’s greatest fighting game.

SPECTRE DVD / Blu-ray, Mon 22 Feb The latest entry in the James Bond mega-franchise sees Daniel Craig facing Christoph Waltz in this classy action-packed spy feature.

‘Let's listen to the dulcet tones of Simon Le Bon, which is actually French for Simon The Good.’

‘I like her face. She has a very round cherubic face, rather like a Victorian doll that's somehow been reanimated. Say what you like about Billie Piper but she is the most popular prostitute on ITV.’ ‘Depending on your point of view, Bernard Matthews is either responsible for the biggest ornithological genocide of recent times or he's the greatest farmyard-to-table strategist of the last 100 years.’

‘If you could make one species of animals extinct, which would it be and how would you do it? We have a text from Ted in Fakenham that simply says, “Cats. Hammers”.’

‘My greatest achievement is my consistent resistance to dumbing down. I think if anything, I’ve tried to dumb up.’

‘Today we're talking about things you don't see much of any more. Already we have capes, tinned meat, Horlicks, sparrows, Hula Hoops (the crisps not the toy), hula hoops (the toy not the crisps), swimming pools with deep ends and asbestos.’

HOUSE OF CARDS: SEASON 4 Netflix, Fri 4 Mar Where next for shady politician Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) after Claire Underwood’s (Robin Wright) dramatic bombshell at the end of season three?

BOSCH: SEASON 2 Amazon Prime Instant Video, Fri 11 Mar Titus Welliver takes the lead in this noirish LA detective thriller based on Michael Connelly’s novels.

DAREDEVIL: SEASON 2 Netflix, Fri 18 Mar Marvel and Netflix ramp up their collaboration as season two finds DD facing ruthless gun-toting vigilante The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and ninja assassin Elektra (Élodie Yung).

Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge, Sky Atlantic, Tue 16 Feb. 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016 THE LIST 95

BACK PAGE

FIRST LAST OMID DJALILI

The stand-up legend who currently plays Mr Venus in the Beeb’s Dickensian, and whose film credits include Gladiator, The Infidel and Sex and the City 2, takes on our tricky q&a Last thing you recommended to someone

First film you saw that really moved you

A safety video on an airplane. The animated figures are always so slim.

They never show a fat bloke at the back wedged between two seats, wearing a fully inflated life jacket, sweating profusely and asking if they’ll still be serving breakfast.

Last time you were starstruck

When I met Idris Elba. It was only after we’d spent the day together that I realised it was actually Moira Stuart.

First thing you’d do if you ran the country

WED 6 APR

Collapse from exhaustion . . . it’s a hell of a long way.

Last lie you told

I have always admired and respected the work of the renowned critic Brian Donaldson.

Last meal on earth

I don’t really mind but nothing too fattening as I’m lowering my carb intake.

A few years ago I recommended a young actress to give up the profession as she just ‘didn’t have what it takes’. It was Cate Blanchett.

First movie you ever went on a date to

First record you ever bought

Last time you cried

I went to a karaoke bar in Japan and sang ‘Big In Japan’. The lead singer from Alphaville, who recorded ‘Big In Japan’, was there. He was tiny.

Sergey Bubka’a first pole vaulting record of six metres achieved in Paris, July 1985.

When Scotland voted NO. Meant I couldn’t declare my gigs there as foreign-income.

Last time you exploited your position to get something

Last extravagant purchase you made

First thing you do when you’ve got time off work

Sergey Bubka’s pole vaulting record in Paris, July 1985. When I had it valued recently, it turned out to be Michael Bublé’s Xmas records from 2005. And therefore worthless.

Dress up in a mouse costume and hide with a baseball bat waiting for the cat.

The Pee-wee Herman remake of 2 Girls One Cup.

First song you’ll sing at karaoke

On a celebrity parachute jump I used my celebrity not to jump.

First time you realised you were famous

When I met Joey Essex for the third time and he’d still never heard of me.

Last great meal you cooked

Once I fed 5000 ppeople p with two fishes and five loaves of bbread when I worked for Kanye W West.

First crush F

Last time someone criticised your work

First word you spoke First three words your friends would use to describe you

Quick, everyone, hide.

Last book La you yo read

First concert you ever attended

Firs great First piec piece of adv advice you wer given were

‘If a white man says he comes in pe peace, you’re prob probably going die to die.’

SUMMER FESTIVALS It might seem unthinkable given the winds, the chills and the rains of recent times, but summer is just around the corner (or maybe the corner after that). And with that comes a whole heap of superb festivals in Scotland. We gather them all up in the magazine. Also on the way soon is our annual Eating & Drinking Guide: check out the next issue for a taster.

A review from Brian Donaldson in The List.

Brian B C Cant, the P Away Play p presenter.

H 82 He’s no but still now co considered an attractive w woman in Ira Iran.

Wh I Look What Lik in a Like Bik by Bikini Bri Cant.

Brian

96 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016

NEXT ISSUE

Dada. My parents were very into early 20th century avant-garde art.

Last song at your funeral

Last time you made an impulse buy and regretted it

Thanks to this new ‘contactless’ thing, I made a purchase once and didn’t even know about it. I was just leaning against the till in Sainsbury’s and I bought shopping for a family of eight.

Liberace singing the hits of Niggaz Wit Attitudes.

Last time you bought someone flowers

It’s a toss-up between ‘Un bel di vedremo’ from Puccini’s Madame Butterfly or Joe Dolce’s ‘Shaddap You Face’.

First person you’d thank in an award acceptance speech

David Baddiel. I really would be the first.

Last thing you think of before you go to sleep

I wish I could be bothered to get up and put the cat out.

Cate Blanchett.

First thing you think of when you wake up in the morning

First object you’d save from your burning home

Why is the cat asleep on my face?

My extensive collection of fire extinguishers.

Omid Djalili, King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Sat 19 Mar; Djalili’s autobiography, Hopeful, is out now in paperback published by Headline; Dickensian, BBC One, Thu & Fri.

Last funny thing you saw online

The Muppets re-make of Black Hawk Down.

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TIME TO START THE PARTY! MON 28 MAR - SAT 2 APR 0844 871 3014* atgtickets.com/edinburgh* *Booking fees apply. Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge