The List November 2026 by List Publishing Ltd

NOVEMBER 2026 ISSUE 806 LIST.CO.UK FREE

SAY Award Angine De Poitrine Luke Wright Kilimanjaro Parker Posey Creative Edinburgh Kevin Bridges Turandot Dominic Chianese Braga Underworld Katie Gregson-MacLeod

NO APOLOGIES Was Kurt Cobain a trans hero?

2 THE LIST November 2026

Mouthpiece Launching a wrecking ball into cultural spaces

Wholesome Pic Of The Month Like or it not, grinches, Christmas is coming

FEATURES Glasgow Library Of Synthesized Sound Push all the right buttons at a community workshop

Winter gigs and albums

contents

FRONT

6 7

Get this lovely lot into your cold ears

EAT & DRINK Ottolenghi

Yotam’s long-awaited venture reaches the capital

Ask EADith

Our humble expert channels her Francophile side

TRAVEL & SHOP On Your Doorstep

(Safely) set your month alight

Shop Talk

Tis the season to get creative

GOING OUT Streetlife

Resurrecting an Edinburgh Sunday tradition

Fjord

Poking a stick at progressive values

Aimée Parrott

Mixed-media magnificence

STAYING IN 12 12 12

Heist drama has got our number

Sheherazaad

Tapping into a rich musical heritage

BACK Hot Shots Tilda at the Trav

” 22 I always wanted to get back on the drum kit DJ/PRODUCER KILIMANJARO ON HIS PERCUSSION ROOTS

COVER PICTURE: MATT CROCKETT

November 2026 THE LIST 3

welcome

There’s so much going on behind the scenes of the Scottish cultural scene at the moment (major arts institutions once more coming under threat, publications being shut down before very quickly opening back up again) that you could be forgiven for taking your eye off the ball of what’s actually happening inside our arts spaces. As winter approaches, there appears to be almost too much choice (rather that than the scenario of November 2020 though, eh?). No one publication can ever be expected to cover it all, but hey, we’re doing what we can. The music landscape in this country is in particularly rude health and we’re now running our second music special of the year: for that we will make no apology (though I do regret that rather unsmooth segue into this issue’s cover story. Sorry). On the following pages, we have interviews with Emma Frankland, Underworld, Kilimanjaro and Katie Gregson-MacLeod while we go big on this year’s SAY Award and analyse 2026’s biggest breakthrough band, Angine De Poitrine. The big names keep on coming as we mark the opening of Yotam Ottolenghi’s debut Scottish establishment, review Clydebank comedy royalty Kevin Bridges (he’d probably hate that description. Again, sorry), chat to Parker Posey, experience the lavish joys of Scottish Opera’s Turandot and check in on a new podcast from Dominic Chianese (for those somehow uninitiated, that’s Uncle Junior of The Sopranos) alongside his son called, um, Dominic Chianese. In this column, I generally try not to look too far ahead, but it’s worth mentioning that the next magazine, a December/January double header, features our Hot 100 countdown of Scotland’s top cultural figures. A few weeks back it was sitting as a Hot 151, so for those who were hoping to have made the final cut this year and reckon they were on that longlist, I can only pass on my apologies.

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Published by List Publishing Ltd 2 Roxburgh Place, Edinburgh EH8 9SU Tel: 0131 623 3040 list.co.uk editor@list.co.uk ISSN: 0959 - 1915 © 2026 List Publishing 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. The List provides this content in good faith but no guarantee or representation is given that the content is accurate, complete or up-to-date. Use of magazine content is at your own risk. Printed by Acorn Web Offset Ltd, W.Yorkshire.

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For his final piece of the year, our resident columnist Kevin Fullerton has selflessly donated his page to Barry Bateman, Edinburgh’s leading building contractor, to discuss his vision for the Festival City

PICTURE: REBECCA JONES

front

mouthpiece

‘T

hey paved paradise, put up a parking lot,’ sang Joni Mitchell in ‘Big Yellow Taxi’, my favourite song in support of the building industry. It’s a quote I parrot all the time as chief architect of the world-leading arts building demolition experts, F*ck*ng M*n*y-Gr*bb*ng C*lt*ral V*nd*ls Incorporated. The question I like to ask of investors is, ‘do you really want a leading arts institution in your city? Doesn’t that seem a bit la-di-da? A bit high and mighty? A wee bit of a bother?’ When every man in the boardroom nods (I’ll only speak to men on the matter), I show them a deck of budget student accommodation, towering hotels, vast car parks, ‘convening spaces’ that are ideal for parking cars, and ‘relaxation squares’ where cars can be parked. Once I’m done, these men treat me to a standing ovation, particularly after they’ve seen the profit margins. ‘Barry Bateman, you moral vacuum,’ they say, tumescent and smiling, ‘we love it!’ It was with this ethos that F*ck*ng M*n*y-Gr*bb*ng C*lt*ral V*nd*ls Incorporated approached Edinburgh. Our initial presentation, which has bowled over many businessmen in the city, was entitled ‘Festival City Or Economically Virile Mass Of Sad Grey Sludge?’ and depicts American tourists cooing over car parks where the Meadows once lay (‘just like the ones back home!’ they exclaim). The fusty Edinburgh Castle is demolished and converted into a giant student complex that can compete with Airbnb in undercutting hotels during Fringe season. Every arts venue from Cowgate to Newington is flooded with wall-to-wall concrete, lest some of that financially unsound thinky nonsense creeps in.

In all honesty, I’ve never really liked art. Why bother? Why don’t these wastrels put on a suit, get a bloody haircut and appreciate the allure of a good spreadsheet? Have they not heard of money? Or concrete? Perhaps what they get from art, I get from the loving grey slurry of sand, water and aggregates that slushes around a mixer in hypnotic rhythms, its patient paste laid and dried before thousands of cars settle their tyres on its smooth, inarguably sexual, texture. Sometimes I, one of Edinburgh’s leading luxury building developers, love nothing more than to undress and lie facefirst on concrete, rubbing myself fervently while imagining all the cash this inordinately cheap mixture brings rolling in, free from the bothersome complications of other people. I’m devastated by the plight of artists I’ll be evicting for my next demolition project, where I will plant bombs in 15 arts studios across Edinburgh, converting the rubble into ‘luxury creation nodes’ for the fintech community who want a space to conduct affairs while pretending they’re cultivating a hobby in pottery. Maybe the artists I’ve slung onto the streets will one day be able to afford my new studios. I hope so. Perhaps I’ll even shed a tear as I watch them pack their supplies, the very materials that I’m told make this city a ‘vibrant hub of creativity’ (whatever that means) and move elsewhere. But my company will find them no matter where they land, making sure they play by our rules and our spreadsheets. After all, F*ck*ng M*n*y-Gr*bb*ng C*lt*ral V*nd*ls Incorporated is all about helping people.

National Galleries Scotland

6 THE LIST November 2026

. . . a month packed with cultural delights beginning with that letter. While we always like to encourage people to get out and about when they can, staying at home is also very appealing when you’re able to watch world-class stage drama. Tuck into National Theatre At Home with a just-launched seven-day free trial featuring the likes of Kinky Boots, The Fifth Step, The Playboy Of The Western World (pictured, starring Nicola Coughlan) and Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Available to witness on an actual stage in a live setting is No Woman Is An Island, Róisín Stack’s part stand-up, part lecture, part confessional, while Stephen Graham channels Hannibal Lecter as an imprisoned serial killer causing mayhem in Apple telly’s noir-tinged Nocturne. Recently announced

PICTURE: MARC BRENNER

is for...

PICTURE: MURDO MACLEOD

National Theatre Live

was the 2027 National Galleries Scotland programme, full of great stuff such as Your Art World as curated by young folk, a huge homage to surrealism, and We Are Family (featuring the pictured tennis Murrays). On the albums front this month are new releases by Naked Raygun and Natalie Bergman while coming soon is a 30-year retrospective from Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. Also looming is Arp Pussy, a slice of acidtinged electronica from Norken & Mijaga (aka Lee Norris and, ideal name this, Mick Chillage) and Irish singer-songwriter Niamh Bury’s sophomore collection. If you fancy a post-Halloween scare with humour attached, Daisy May and Charlie Cooper’s BBC series Nighwatch has the pair staying in haunted locations across the UK. Nice.

FRONT

Pla yLi st Darker evenings may be setting in but fear not as this issue is bursting at the seams with content to fill your pumpkin spice-flavoured cup. So cosy up on the sofa and stick on our latest issue playlist, featuring songs by Underworld, Angine De Poitrine, Katie Gregson-MacLeod, The Embers, Kohla, Stevie Wonder, Curiosity Shop and others Scan and listen as you read:

wholesome pic of the mont h

Don’t let anyone tell you that it’s too early to start incubating the spirit of Christmas, so here’s a little reminder that the festive season is either already in full flow (whether you’ve noticed it or not) or set to be alive and kicking very soon. Jupiter Artland is a magical setting at any time of the year, but chuck on a bit of snow and let some adorable kids sample the vibes and just watch the magic-ometer roar way past 11. Across two weekends in the 12th month, Christmas At Jupiter cranks up the yuletide fun with wreath-making workshops, the Claus couple’s Grotto, a choir, film screenings and local artisans displaying their wares. Ho, ho and, once again, ho.

In this series of articles, we turn the focus back on ourselves by asking folk at The List about cultural artefacts that touch their heart and soul. This time around, Jess Ewing tells us which things . . . Made me cry: I saw Geese at Barrowlands earlier this year with riotous enjoyment. Frontman Cameron Winter’s latest release, Live At Carnegie Hall, seemed to have the opposite effect. Raw and intimate, the live recording had a hymnal quality that was emotionally devastating. Made me angry: The University Of Edinburgh is cutting 90 degree programmes, Scottish literature among them. The university says content will be integrated into other programmes but, with redundancies expected, I’m not reassured. It’s hard not to wonder how a university in the capital became so detached from the country it sits in. Made me laugh: Richard E Grant declaring himself a traitor on day one of The Celebrity Traitors had me in stitches. Equally hilarious and disastrous, the performance was worthy of his cult classic Withnail And I. Someone should have warned him the game relies on keeping it quiet. Made me think: At Leith’s Wee Museum Of Memory, I overheard older visitors tenderly recall their youth while I was perplexed by the workings of a jukebox. The trip was unexpectedly heartwarming, if slightly embarrassing. But it left me in awe of everyday objects and their ability to hold memory and bridge understanding between generations. Made me think twice: Understated and restrained, Paweł Pawlikowski’s Fatherland will be haunting me for the foreseeable future. Set in post-war Germany, the film follows Thomas Mann and his daughter’s return to their homeland. With a numinous score creeping over poignant monochrome shots, Fatherland challenges the comfortable sentiment that home is enduring.

the insider November 2026 THE LIST 7

8 THE LIST November 2026

Featuring an image by Andy Catlin

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SAY AWARD PICTURE: RORY BARNES

“

One iconic record emporium owner was prompted to do the splits

10 THE LIST November 2026

PICTURE: EUAN ROBERTSON

Kicking off our winter music special, Nicola Meighan looks back over the Scottish Album Of The Year Award’s prestigious history and forward to cohosting this year’s big night in Dundee

PICTURE: CAMERON BRISBANE

The SAY Award Ceremony takes place at Caird Hall, Dundee, Thursday 5 November; Nicola Meighan presents The Saturday Social on Central FM and hosts Scottish culture and entertainment podcast A Kick Up The Arts, akickupthearts.org

SAY AWARD

ow, I realise having 700,000 unread emails in your inbox is nothing to boast about, let alone the millions you’ve opened and forgotten. But, by the same token, it allows for a fair bit of digital archaeology, so let’s just call it prudent hoarding. It’s also a useful aide-mémoire, or so I like to tell myself. I’d entirely forgotten til now, for example, that in 2010 I started contacting local bands and record labels to sound them out about their thoughts on the possibility (and potential) of a Scottish-style Mercury Prize. My research for that article cast light on the fact that the Scottish Music Industry Association, including members of Mogwai, The Delgados and record label Chemikal Underground, were already discussing a similar idea, with a focus on engaging with artists of all genres, along with our wider music community. The notable distinction was that, unlike the Mercury, there would be no prohibitive fee to enter, so any act, signed or unsigned, and at any point in their career, could get involved. Two years later, in 2012, the Scottish Album Of The Year (SAY) Award was launched. Now here we are, celebrating its 15th anniversary and looking forward to this year’s ceremony at Dundee’s Caird Hall on 5 November. As ever, I’ll be cohosting with punk dreamboat Vic Galloway after well over a decade of wild times, unreal performances, incredible sounds, superlative albums and only the one pair of lost shoes along the way. Winners have, by and large, been unconfined by genre expectations, from Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells’ Everything’s Getting Older, via Fergus McCreadie’s jazz and folk perambulations on Forest Floor, visionary composer Anna Meredith’s Varmints, and incandescent three-time winners Young Fathers. In 2014, I was on the judging panel with dancefloor trailblazer Andrew Weatherall, literary rabble-rouser Kevin Williamson and Hollywood composer Craig Armstrong, when Young Fathers won for the first time (with Tape Two), in what was a unanimous, amicable and swift decision. But in other years, so the story goes, discussions have been somewhat more heated. While I haven’t heard of any bare-knuckle brawls or chairs lobbed through windows, there has been at least one occasion where Vic and I have been hanging around in the wings, with audience, artists and press all baying for an announcement while we awaited a final verdict in that fateful golden envelope. It bears noting that this envelope contains the promise of £20k, which previous winners (Kathryn Joseph among them) say has been life-changing and allowed them to keep making music (the other nine shortlisted acts receive £1000 each). Joseph performed live and reflected on her 2015 win at Mono a couple of weeks ago, along with last year’s winners Kai Reesu, as we announced the 2026 shortlist. Another previous winner, Mogwai’s Barry Burns, kicked off his DJ set with ‘Male Stripper’ by Man 2 Man Meets Man Parrish, prompting one iconic record emporium owner to do the splits. The anniversary celebrations include SAY Award sessions with headline sponsor Fettercairn, filmed at Dundee’s Mills Observatory (as depicted on Andrew Wasylyk’s gorgeous, 2022 SAY-nominated LP Balgay Hill: Morning In Magnolia). Online, you can watch live sets and conversations with magical former shortlisted stars Bemz, Theo Bleak and Lucia & The Best Boys. And then there’s the extraordinary Beldina Odenyo aka Heir Of The Cursed (nominated this year for her stunning posthumous self-titled album), whose 2021 SAY performance at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall is a beacon in blindsiding new film Bel. As for November’s big party in Dundee, who knows what thrills will ensue. KT Tunstall (winner of last year’s Modern Scottish Classic), Corto.Alto and Brooke Combe raised the roof in 2025, and that’s the spirit we’re taking forward. What I can tell you is that Kai Reesu and Sound Of Young Scotland queen Alice Faye are playing live; that there are more announcements to follow; and that you’re invited. Even I know that much from my emails, unread and otherwise. Say you’ll be there . . .

In it to win it: (from top) Golden Teacher perform in 2015, Mogwai win in 2021, 2022 nominees gather, 2025 winners Kai Reesu; (opposite) hosts Vic Galloway and Nicola Meighan at this year’s launch (top) and presenting in 2019 November 2026 THE LIST 11

Fri 6th Nov

Chisholm, McGoldrick, O’Connor and Byrne

thequeenshall.net | 0131 668 2019

Sounds Good November Highlights 4th

mor ve ötesi

18th

Paul Simon's Graceland: 40th Anniversary Celebration by the London African Gospel Choir

6th

Chisholm, McGoldrick, O’Connor and Byrne

7th

Across The Universe - The Beatles '66-'70

19th

Courtney Pine

9th

Martinů Quartet

22nd SCO 26/27: Side by Side

11th

AMPLIFI: Jaz Riley - Khalid Al Khajah - Tayoh

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A Night for MAP (Medical Aid for Palestinians)

Mike Joyce & Stephen Street: 26th The Queen Is Dead 40th Anniversary

20th Bruce Foxton & Secret Affair

27th

Dr John Cooper Clarke

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thequeenshall.net 0131 668 2019 12 THE LIST November 2026

Now in its 15th chapter, the Scottish Album Of The Year Award has been handed out to the diverse likes of Kai Reesu, Kathryn Joseph, Nova, RM Hubbert, Auntie Flo and Mogwai. We asked 2026’s shortlisted acts to nominate the album (other than their own) that they hope will take the prize home. This is what we got back . . .

BARRY CAN’T SWIM: LONER

chosen by: Conor Goldie of Vlure All of the nominated Scottish records are incredible, and all have our mutual admiration and respect. I spent a lot of the end of last summer listening to Barry Can’t Swim’s Loner after catching his Park Stage triumph at Glastonbury in 2024. The live orchestral recordings resampled and layered in with his usual genrespanning electronic productions are incredible. Have listened to ‘Wandering Mt Moon’ on many a walk home through Glasgow.

Vlure

November 2026 THE LIST 13

SAY AWARD

Having their SAY

14 THE LIST November 2026

BOARDS OF CANADA: INFERNO

chosen by: Swim School As fellow Edinburgh artists, Boards Of Canada’s Inferno feels particularly special. After 13 years, they’ve returned with a record that captures evolving soundscapes perfectly. It’s timeless, immersive and could have come from any decade.

SAY AWARD

Swim School

HEN HOOSE COLLECTIVE: THE TWELVE

chosen by: Leah McAleer representing Heir Of The Cursed Hen Hoose for the win, for sure. Half an hour of perfect pop: passionate and political, with banging tunes and beats. I could happily listen to this album 20 times a day as each time I hear new nuances and textures within it. Hen Hoose bring collaboration and creativity to the heart of the Scottish music scene and well deserve the recognition of the SAY Award.

Leah McAleer

BRÌGHDE CHAIMBEUL: SUNWISE

chosen by: Michael McGovern I would love to see Brìghde Chaimbeul’s Sunwise win. It’s so innovative and adventurous, and captures a sound we all know so well as Scots (the pipes) and presents it in a new way. I feel like it mixes traditional and modern elements of Gaelic song and serves it to a whole new audience. It’s also very refreshing to see Gaelic music and culture represented by the SAY Award. PICTURE: SARAH PLOSS

Michael McGovern

November 2026 THE LIST 15

VLURE: ESCALATE

SAY AWARD

chosen by: Sonedo I’d love to see Vlure take home the SAY Award for Escalate. I really admire how they’ve managed to create such a distinctive sound, blending the energy of punk with electronic and rave influences while staying true to their Glasgow roots. We also share a collaborator in Psweatpants, who features on their track ‘Something Real’, so there’s a nice personal connection to the record. It’s bold, exciting and a brilliant example of the creativity coming out of Scotland’s music scene right now. Sonedo

HEIR OF THE CURSED: HEIR OF THE CURSED chosen by:

Tamara Schlesinger of Hen Hoose Collective I’d love to see Heir Of The Cursed win the SAY Award. Beldina was a founding member of Hen Hoose Collective and I was lucky to see her talent first-hand. Her voice and songwriting were extraordinary. Thanks to her sister Leah, Beldina’s demos have been gathered together to create this album; it’s raw, beautiful and intimate, and an essential listen. Brìghde Chaimbeul Heir Of The Cursed is heartbreaking and beautiful to listen to. It deserves the recognition of the SAY Award. Vagrant Real Estate The shortlist is full of incredible albums, but the one that stands out for me is Heir Of The Cursed. The level of artistry and raw emotion captured across that project is something that you rarely come across, and lingers with you long after each listen. I think it’s a shining example of a singular talent who is sorely missed.

Brìghde Chaimbeul

PICTURE: JONNY ASHWORTH

PICTURE: SIGGY STANSFIELD

Hen Hoose Collective

Vagrant Real Estate

Check out all the SAY Award shortlisted albums at sayaward.com 16 THE LIST November 2026

November 2026 THE LIST 17

VF A Ladder to the Stars_A3 poster.indd 1

27/10/2026 16:25

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UNDERWORLD

Music is never finished, it just gets ready

After subverting the 90s Britpop sensibility, electronica duo Underworld spent three decades defying expectations and popping up in unexpected places. As they take centre stage at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations, Kevin Fullerton talks to Karl Hyde and Rick Smith about reinvention, creativity and their era-defining hit

PICTURE: JOHN GORRIGAN

18 THE LIST November 2026

World Of Underworld project, searching for new permutations in their most beloved material. ‘I get lost in the possibilities, honestly,’ enthuses Smith. ‘The urge for reinvention is constant for us. Music is never finished, it just gets ready. We get so much joy out of performing live that we really want to keep making it better for the fans that keep coming to see us. It’s important that we put effort in. People have invested in us both spiritually and financially. They’ve bought a ticket so it’s only right we try and give them a singular experience.’ ‘Reinventing things keeps it playful for us and that’s truly a gift,’ echoes Hyde. ‘We want to make sure there’s surprise and delight in every new live show, invigorating and expanding the experience as much as we can.’ Perhaps that process of reinvention is what continues to bring the band together after almost four decades, particularly when their creative ventures regularly diverge into solo projects. ‘We’re a team and Underworld gets more exciting day by day,’ insists Hyde. ‘This is the best band ever. We take what we’ve done separately and bring it back to Underworld. It adds to the whole story. Especially recently, we’ve found so much external inspiration from other artists and other art forms.’ Though they’re unable to reveal too much, the band’s newfound inspiration looks set to build on the success of ‘Arp12’, their recently released single with Dutch DJ Ki/Ki. A new studio album is in the works alongside a live record that will showcase their restless experimentation on stage. ‘We’re always updating our catalogue for live shows,’ explains Smith, ‘so it was getting to the point where we needed to share what that sound is now compared to the original releases.’ As they round off 2026 with Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebration, the mantra for a night in their spiritual home remains simple. ‘Dance, dance, dance. Joy, joy, joy,’ says Hyde. ‘With a countdown in the middle, of course,’ laughs Smith.

UNDERWORLD

‘D

rive boy dog boy/Dirty numb angel boy/In the doorway boy/She was a lipstick boy.’ Across the pop landscape of 1996, when the mainstream courted Britpop posers and Euro-dance atrocities, there were few chart toppers less likely than Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy (Nuxx)’. This stream-of-consciousness, fragmentary tale of an alcoholic on the edge was backed by euphoric sustained notes and the kind of fourfour beat that could shake the rum and cokes off nightclub tables. Both anthemic and inordinately gloomy, it was a strange fit for the Top 40, but an ideal one for Edinburgh’s underbelly, comprising the backbone to the soundtrack for Trainspotting, the now ubiquitous story of addiction in Leith’s bleakest tenements. Existing outside of the margins, the misadventures of Renton, Spud, Sick Boy and Begbie seemed to echo Underworld’s nightclub alcoholic, riding the 90s wave while falling prey to its worst excesses. The stratospheric success of ‘Born Slippy’, and its movie associations, has tied Underworld to one hit in the popular consciousness, something they remain proud of. ‘Thirty years on and we still love playing it,’ says Rick Smith. ‘We still love sharing that moment and, surprisingly, it never gets old.’ Yet, unlike other dance acts of the era, the sheer strangeness of their output soon allowed Smith and singer Karl Hyde to strike their own path. While peers such as Andrew Weatherall or Orbital flirted with a commercial sensibility, Underworld’s underlying sense of threat and restless experimentation always made them a proposition that could straddle the fields of the art world while still dabbling in more mainstream waters. Since those heady days, they’ve been no strangers to changing their sound in revolutionary ways, charting quiet synth odysseys on Strawberry Hotel, improvisational gambits with fellow traveller Brian Eno, or directing the music for the 2012 Olympics alongside their erstwhile champion Danny Boyle (they also provided glowering soundtrack work on his 2007 sci-fi thriller Sunshine). The pair are also unafraid to look in the rearview mirror as part of their

Underworld headline Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, West Princes Street Gardens, Thursday 31 December.

PICTURE: MILLIE CALDON

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GLOSS

KEY PLAYERS L

ewis and Suzi Cook from the Glasgow Library Of Synthesized Sound (Gloss) are sitting across from me on a comfy sofa in one corner of the old classroom they rent in the Gorbals. It’s part of the same Florence Street complex that houses Common Guild and other arts organisations. Autumnal afternoon light floods the space. I’ve been asked to remove my shoes before entering and a joss stick is burning at the other end of the room. The atmosphere is relaxed and positive. There are biscuits. It’s not quite what I expected from a synthesiser library, but then what did I expect? As Lewis points out, ‘it’s the first space like this in the UK’. Are there comparable examples of the Gloss-type model (a non-profit, artist-led, community-oriented electronic music library) anywhere else in the world? A handful, Lewis replies, including Australia, Prague and Portland. But each of these organisations takes a different approach to public engagement, organisational structure and funding. The aim of Gloss, the pair point out, is not for the people who use the facilities to leave with any particular technical proficiency: it’s to discover a joy in creativity on its own terms, through experimenting with some of the elementary building blocks of synthesised sound. Later on, I’m invited to doodle around on a Moog Grandmother semi-modular analogue synth, a type the library team often use to ease in beginners. I twiddle the twin oscillator buttons to create a fat throbbing drone from two notes gradually shifting in and out of tune. It’s addictive. Lewis and Suzi have been a couple since they were teenagers but only began to create music together several years later. In the 2010s, they attended one of the semi-legendary Green Door Studio workshops in Finnieston, for young people not in work or education. It was there that their still-gigging band Free Love was formed, along with other wellregarded Glasgow art/improv groups such as Golden Teacher. When I ask what genre they play, somewhat ironic looks are exchanged: ‘We can never pin it down and that’s part of the problem,’ says Suzi. The

What the heck is a synthesiser library? Greg Thomas finds out from the folk at Glasgow Library Of Synthesized Sound whose non-profit, artist-led model aims to simply bring joy to its users

two reference points I manage to winkle out are Italo disco and drone. It sounds fun. Lockdown put paid to touring so Lewis began teaching mixed-ability online classes called Introduction To Electronic Music. These sessions would regularly be so oversubscribed that a lottery system had to be introduced to assign spots. When things opened up again in the early 2020s, the workshops migrated to La Chunky studios in Finnieston. Gradually, a plan germinated for a bricks-and-mortar home to accommodate the courses which would also allow people to come and go, getting to know the equipment and misbehave with it on their own terms. Thus Gloss was born. ‘We moved in last January and opened as a library that October,’ Suzi notes. Several trips were made to Superbooth in Berlin, the world’s largest synthesiser convention, to beg and borrow donations from synth companies. It was hoped they would want to support a community project introducing members of the public, of all ages and backgrounds, to the delights of analogue electronics. ‘The response we got was, “interesting idea, good luck with that”, as if it seemed pretty unfeasible,’ Lewis recalls with a laugh. But it worked. Gear was grubbed up from a range of sources and the library now runs twice-weekly open sessions, introductory workshops, clubs, masterclasses, exhibitions and gigs. There’s a thriving membership list that comes with discounted rates and the library’s recent first birthday party show featured sets from Chicago’s Bitchin Bajas and Latvian composer Raivo Sloan. Despite the multiple funding crises engulfing Scottish art, Glasgow Library Of Synthesized Sound feels like an object lesson in how creativity and community can still find a way. ‘It’s a very fertile time in Glasgow right now,’ Lewis concludes. With the autumn sun streaming through the window, it’s hard to argue. Gloss, Glasgow; find details on sessions and events at gloss.scot

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KILIMANJARO

SCALING THE HEIGHTS Best known as a DJ simply by his surname, Josh Kilimanjaro is moving to a different beat. He chats to Afreka Thomson about taking up the drums again and the emotion of returning to his Zambian roots

efore he was playing Boiler Room sets with Fred Again, Josh Kilimanjaro was a drummer in a Christian indie-rock band from Dundee, a city better known for jute mills, bad poetry and questionable cakes (don’t come for me) than producing genre-bending Afro-house DJs. Now, after years behind the decks under the Kilimanjaro moniker, he’s returned to his drum kit with new EP The Ascension (Inkawami) and an accompanying live show. The Zambian-Scottish artist is swapping sweaty club nights for a more expansive exploration of his signature sound, with the infectious energy and topless on-stage chaos that have become his calling card. It’s a new chapter, but one that’s been a long time coming. ‘I’ve been drumming since I was a kid and been in bands since I was 12,’ he says. After a decade playing in one with his older brother, the group’s label offered them the chance to DJ at IMS (International Music Summit) in Ibiza. ‘None of us could DJ, but we’d all been going out to clubs for a long time.’ Given that he knew his way around a dancefloor, Kilimanjaro decided to play the set. Back in Scotland, word spread quickly among small-town clubs. ‘People were like, “oh, you played in Ibiza. Do you want to DJ here?”’ he laughs. One gig became regular bookings, then residencies, until he was playing three or four shows a week. But the drums never fully disappeared. ‘I wanted to DJ, but I still always wanted to get back on the kit,’ he says. The idea of a live show had been on his mind for years, and when he joined a management company after that Boiler Room set, they were immediately on board. The EP was written with that possibility in mind. ‘I wanted to write music without the constraints of a club, without the constraints of four-four, of a kick drum: music that needs to be performed.’ The result is six dates in November, starting in Berlin, with Kilimanjaro joined on stage by two musicians playing keys, synths and percussion. ‘I still need to be able to run around and do my usual nonsense.’ The EP features guests including Aluna (one half of AlunaGeorge) and rapper Kojey Radical, alongside vocals from Kilimanjaro and two of his siblings. And as rehearsals get underway, the songs are being reimagined. ‘We break down the stems and it’s like, “oh, it’d be really cool if one of the guys on piano went off on a run here, or we sneak an a capella intro in here,”’ he notes. For someone whose career has been built around reading a room and keeping the energy moving, it’s a chance to do something a little less predictable. Earlier this year, Kilimanjaro travelled to Johannesburg for a writing camp with fellow creative and pal Skyla Tylaa, before heading to Zambia and Kenya. It was his first time back in Zambia in around 20 years and his first time playing a show there. ‘It was super emotional, but also just really fun. It’s really interesting seeing the African crowds being like, “we kind of know what’s going on here, but also there’s some new nuances, new sounds and new flavours”. There’s something special about playing music rooted in your origins for people who share those roots.’ Scotland has shaped him in its own way, too. Kilimanjaro credits Ross Leighton of Fatherson with having a ‘massive influence’ on his writing, alongside Scottish EDM heavyweights like Optimo, Jackmaster and Denis Sulta. But it’s the wider scene’s inclusive atmosphere that he’s particularly proud of. ‘In Scotland, you can go out on your own if you want and enjoy the music and the energy, and you’re not going to feel out of place.’ In a career that’s taken him from being a baby with a drum kit to playing 4am B2Bs at Glastonbury, perhaps that’s the whole point: music that makes you feel like you belong. Kilimanjaro plays The Art School, Glasgow, Tuesday 24 November; The Ascension (Inkawami) is out now on Capitol Records.

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KILIMANJARO November 2026 THE LIST 23

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KATIE GREGSON -MACLEOD

Flying

PICTURE: SAM HISCOX

high It’s been four years since Katie Gregson-MacLeod woke up to discover a clip of her song ‘Complex’ had gone viral. Now, on the eve of finally releasing her debut album Albatross, the Invernesian musician talks to Danny Munro about the pitfalls of major label attention, getting back in the writing zone and why she’d kill for a tuna melt

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KATIE GREGSON -MACLEOD PICTURES: CLÉMENCE AGENET

>> Congratulations on your debut album Albatross. What was the recording process like? I went to Frome to

work with a producer called Dom Monks, who I’d been a big fan of for a long time. I just never really thought he was someone that was even in my world. His last few records at that point had been the new Laura Marling record, Billie Marten, Big Thief. So in my head, the win would be for him to even like the music enough to make it, you know? And he was up for it. I ended up taking a few players to Frome and we stayed there for two weeks. It felt like the really contained, intense, saturated, fast process that I really wanted it to be. Everything was recorded live, the guitar and vocals were recorded together. A lot of the time, the take that Dom chose was the first one we’d done as a band ever . . . that was what I was looking for. I was looking for moments that could only have happened in that room on that day with those people.

Could you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind that album title? So actually, I credit Ellie [fellow singersongwriter Elanor Moss] with that. She alluded to ‘The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner’. It’s a long poem, they’re going through all kinds of strife and the albatross appears as this symbol of good fortune; the mariner shoots the albatross and then is forced to wear it around his neck as a symbol of his burden, his guilt. So that came up in this conversation of having this amazing thing and then kind of rejecting it and carrying it with you as a burden, instead of it being the jewel in my pocket, which in the song ‘Daughter’ I allude to. After your track ‘Complex’ went viral in 2022, you were quickly signed to a major label and upended your student life to move to London. How do you reflect on that period now that you’re back in Scotland and detached from the major label world? It felt good. I didn’t feel crazy imposter syndrome while that was happening. PICTURES: KALEIDOSSHOOTS

I felt very secure and comfortable initially. But I didn’t really have the same connection to the core thing, which was the songwriting, the music and the making of music. As much as I was given all this stuff on a plate, I kind of needed less. I don’t know what my next album is going to sound like or what I’m going to write next, but I do know what feeling to avoid: the feeling of discomfort or this disconnect. I’m just now in a place where I’m very lucky to have a really great, small fanbase who I’ve been touring to a lot, who come to shows; I’m always surprised by the people that turn up in cities I’ve never even been to.

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What were you listening to while writing the album? I was trying not

to listen to too much heavily contemporary music. I feel my most inspired while listening to people that I think are the greats. And so I went back to lots of Leonard Cohen, [Bob] Dylan, Joni [Mitchell], Bridget St John, Carole King; Elliott Smith on the later end of things.

Have you got a busy rest of the year? You know what, it’s pretty relaxed,

KATIE GREGSON -MACLEOD

which is nice. I’ve been on tour a lot the last couple of years: a lot for me. And contradictory to where I am with the album release, I’m feeling like I’m in a big writing zone right now, which I was not expecting to be.

You were on tour for two and a half months straight last year. What does your rider look like? We’ve actually started to just keep it really

minimal. Basically, if I’m not driving: red wine, raspberries, crisps and hummus. It’s super stripped-back. But on tour with Bonnie [Kemplay], we were like, ‘just give us the cash and we’ll buy a pint.’

You have a well-documented fondness for tuna melt sandwiches. I have to ask, how do you make the perfect melt? Well [if I told you], I

would have to kill you!

Albatross is released by Last Recordings On Earth on Friday 6 November.

Aleena

On song Danny Munro rounds up five other rising Scottish singer-songwriters worth keeping an eye on ALEENA 2025 Sound Of Young Scotland (SYS) finalist Aleena only began making music during the pandemic. At Pitch 2026, Scotland’s hip hop and underground conference, her name consistently came up among delegates and attendees, with predictions that this SYS nod will not be the only prize on the horizon for this soulful Aberdonian. HECTOR SHAW Shaw is a friend and collaborator of Gregson-MacLeod’s and a rising star of the Scottish indie scene. Drawing on folk-pop influences including Joni Mitchell and Sufjan Stevens, he has produced two EPs filled with understated yet deeply personal folk and supported Jacob Alon. Latest single ‘Noah’ has received well-deserved airtime on 6 Music.

Hector Shaw

MAIRI SUTHERLAND Sutherland held a sodden Kelburn crowd in the palm of her hand back in July. The Perthborn finger-picking guitarist employs a distinctive open-tuned playing style and, on top of writing, playing and singing her work, is a visual artist, known to produce the covers for her singles. Talk about an all-rounder. SADIE! Newcomer Sadie! is enjoying a fruitful debut year. Having released her first single in January, the indie pop artist has since headlined The Hug And Pint and recently released her debut EP Rotten Fruit, featuring strong vocals delivered with an endearing Scottish accent. SALLY STENNING Edinburgh-based indie-folk artist Stenning, who operates in a musical space not a million miles from Hector Shaw, tours relentlessly and performed at just about every festival you can think of over the summer. Her biggest commercial success to date is ‘Far From Home’ on the soundtrack of video game Road 96, which now has several million streams.

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CELEBRATING 30 YEARS

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“

NO APOLOGIES

We’re living through a very damaging wave and it is killing people

PICTURE: MATT CROCKETT

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NO APOLOGIES

Kurt Cobain has been reshaped into a trans icon for Emma Frankland’s audacious and powerful theatre piece. Kevin Fullerton spoke to her about Cobain’s enduring cool, Nirvana’s progressive ethos and the need for hope in the trans community

n 16 April 2025, the Supreme Court altered the definition of ‘man’, ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ to exclude trans people and refer strictly to biological sex assigned at birth. That same evening, performer and theatre maker Emma Frankland premiered her show No Apologies, a theatre-cabaret hybrid which uses her hero worship of Kurt Cobain to interrogate the rejection and exclusion of trans people from their own narratives. ‘Kurt Cobain was trans,’ she declares at the top of the show, using she/her pronouns for this grunge icon. It’s a knowing provocation for those who’ve mistakenly attached a macho narrative to Cobain. But it’s also a ‘what if?’ scenario filled with potential for Frankland, a trans woman who grew up at a time when binaries were rigidly policed and trans heroes were non-existent. The foundations of this play were built from a tenminute piece Frankland wrote as part of a commission by Marlborough Theatre for Brighton Trans Pride Week. Inspired by a Reddit thread speculating that Cobain may have been trans, Frankland began to see how her experiences as a trans teenager dovetailed with Cobain’s battered disaffection. Her monologue proved resonant enough to go on tour. ‘Nirvana never played Glastonbury, but I did!’ she jokes. ‘Then I was thinking about making something longer form again and what that would be. With everything happening at the moment within the UK trans community, like the fact that young trans people are taking their own lives out of desperation, I thought I could never really get into a lot of stuff around Kurt’s life of addiction and suicide in a ten-minute cabaret piece, and obviously that’s very much a part of that story.’ Having worked in autobiographical theatre before, she knew the power that personal experience wields. ‘The more specific you are about your own journey, the more it allows an audience to think about theirs,’ she explains. ‘If I’m talking about me when I was 14, everyone in the audience

PICTURES: KALEIDOSSHOOTS

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NO APOLOGIES

is thinking about themselves at 14. And there’s something so strangely universal about Nirvana and Kurt. Even people who weren’t alive like I was in 1993 still come to that music when they’re teenagers. My son’s 14 now and he’s listening to it with his friends. Whether we perform this show in Germany or across the UK or in the Balkans, this band still has such a visceral connection to people.’ Frankland performs as Cobain during the swansong of his career, taking to the stage for the now legendary MTV Unplugged gig in 1993, recorded five months before he took his own life. Though by no means a tribute show, the meticulous staging and costuming of No Apologies (replete with romantic candles, a palatial chandelier, Cobain’s shopworn cardigan and punk-infused interpretations of Nirvana’s most powerful songs) bear the sad clarity of a final photograph. For many, Frankland included, that Unplugged session is a snapshot of effortless cool that allows countless generations of teens to project their ideals onto him. ‘Unfortunately, part of growing old is eventually outliving your ideals,’ opines Frankland. ‘I mean, hopefully some of us get more radical as we get older, but because of the tragedy around Kurt’s life, he didn’t have that chance to disappoint everybody, and so can remain that young, disaffected voice. There’s a real draw for young people in that authenticity.’ Despite delving into the annals of music history and into Frankland’s own conflicted teenage years during the 1990s, the real backdrop of No Apologies is contemporary. As trans people fight for the right to exist, the urgency of hearing their voices has become ever more vital. ‘As a trans person who makes theatre, wouldn’t it be glorious to not have to feel like making something that speaks to the political climate around trans lives?’ laments Frankland. ‘I desperately wish that things would change and be different for the trans community. And the message of No Apologies for a cis audience member is to feel what we’re going through, feel the ways in which you can be an ally. And there’s also a message for a trans audience member: know that we are in this together. What has existed as long as trans people is transphobia, and that comes in waves. And unfortunately, we’re living through a very damaging wave and it is killing people.’ What’s striking about Cobain, particularly during a time when the machismo of Pearl Jam or Guns N’ Roses’ cock-rock guitar wagging dominated the mainstream, is how much he championed equality both inside and outside of his music making. As those Reddit threads attest, it isn’t difficult to imagine him as a trans ally if he were alive today. ‘First and foremost, Nirvana were a feminist band,’ Frankland states, ‘And that was at a time when male-fronted bands weren’t feminists. That was not the politics of the time. Kurt Cobain was really fronting his anti-racism, his support for the LGBTQ+ community, his support for women’s rights. Nirvana were unusually radical. There are artists speaking out nowadays too, but at great cost.’ The unavoidable tragedy of Cobain’s life and of the suicide of many trans people makes No Apologies an intense affair, but Frankland insists there are glimmers of light for anyone who comes to see it. ‘I’m trying to shake people up, but I also want to give that pathway to hope somehow. Hopelessness is what they want us to feel.’ No Apologies, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Thursday 12 & Friday 13 November.

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LOVING

ANGINE DE POITRINE

THE ALIENS

PICTURE: CONSTANTIN MONFILLIETTE

W 32 THE LIST November 2026

ho knew at the start of 2026 that there was a polka-dotted masked microtonal rock duo-shaped hole in the music scene? Perhaps the Quebec cognoscenti, or fans of niche complex instrumental music, or the family and friends of the two individuals who now manifest as Angine De Poitrine? But to the hordes making first contact with these friendly aliens, this year has been a whole new joyous close encounter of the viral and now IRL kind. The beings who answer to Khn (guitar, bass, effects) and Klek (drums) first beamed into our Earth internet in February when US radio station KEXP streamed a performance they had recorded in December 2025 during Brittany’s Trans Musicales festival. By this point, Angine De Poitrine were relative veterans of the Quebecois festival circuit; now the rest of the world (this writer included) cottoned on quick-style to their tight musical machinations, mesmeric minimalist grooves and gonzo stagewear (monochrome polka-dotted robes, angular headdresses and Pinocchio noses) which entirely obscured the identity of these ‘two random dudes’ from the town of Saguenay. Someone somewhere (not just their mums) knows who these supremely talented players are. It is relatively common knowledge that they are childhood friends, teenage prog rock fans who spent years jamming together before emerging blinking into the light to form their first band. Twenty years on, their musical telepathy has borne fruit as Angine De Poitrine, which translates glamorously as ‘chest pain’. Angine started as a microtonal side project: imagine playing the notes between the notes of traditional western musical notation. The costumes were an extempore ruse when they were booked to play the same venue twice in one

ANGINE DE POITRINE

The hype has been stratospheric, but with live shows confirming their serious musical prowess, Angine De Poitrine have proved they’re no novelty act. Fiona Shepherd admirably avoids writing ‘math rock’ while exploring the phenomenon of this eye-popping Quebecois duo

week and felt the need to create some mystique to get patrons through the door a second time. There’s no doubt the image and mythology, rough as it is, has played a part in generating intrigue but this would simply be Mr Blobby cosplay were it not for their super-tight, surprisingly life-affirming music, looped and loopy, thrilling in its tension-and-release dynamic. The pair cite Frank Zappa, Quebecois heavy metal veterans Voivod and Oz psych rockers King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (in particular their 2017 album Flying Microtonal Banana) as influences. Onstage at Glasgow’s O2 Academy in mid October, they appeared to have developed their own cheery cult, with Klek’s swinging proboscis leading the march. Their stage set, comprising tatty polka dot curtains, was simple. The sophistication lay in the pedals set-up and the dexterity of Khn’s playing, whether marshalling the mantric power of repetition, decorated with energising noodly precision, or combining funky bass with classic rock squall on his custom double-necked hybrid guitar. On one hand, they are a prog rock muso’s dream with racing time signatures and false endings. On the other, they are born (or maybe made) entertainers. Klek has shrugged in interviews that ‘I’m just playing drums’. But there is something unexpectedly sweet about their performance, with its elementary choreography and touching rituals around their nonsense dialogue and triangle symbols. You’ve got to be serious about being this silly. Angine De Poitrine end the year as the first artists ever to win Canada’s Polaris Music Prize for Best Album and Best Song in the same year. As for 2027, their potential goes to infinity and beyond. Angine De Poitrine: Vol II is out now on Spectactles Bonzaï. November 2026 THE LIST 33

Heading to Scottish Gas Murrayfield? Simply with your contactless card or device on trams and buses to enjoy capped fares across our network. Remember to Tap Off trams to only pay the cheapest adult daily city zone fare, otherwise an airport zone fare will be charged.

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Our music special reaches a thunderous crescendo with a handy alphabetical round-up of gigs, festivals and album releases from now until the end of January. Winter is coming but enjoying all this amazing music should put a spring in your step

Left to right: (top) Bon Iver, Fontaines DC, Becky Hill; (middle) Aniqo, Beabadoobee, Count Florida; (bottom) Bicep, Bishi

November 2026 THE LIST 35

WINTER MUSIC

SOUND & VISION

WINTER MUSIC

ANIQO

COUNT FLORIDA

Produced by Bill Ryder-Jones, Earth, Love And Variations has the Berlin and Lisbon-based songwriter and visual artist known to her pals as Anita Goß in introspective mode as she aims for some inner peace through a collection that explores ‘love in its different forms [and] the bonds we carry with us’.  La Double Vie, Friday 6 November.

Almost certainly our favourite punning name on this list, the trio from Glasgow (where else?) deliver Love Without Alarm, an onslaught of jangly 180-second (or thereabouts) pop gems. Stephen Pastel is a fan. No reason why you shouldn’t be either.  Lost Map, Friday 22 January.

BEABADOOBEE

Go Like Crazy Big Moon is the debut collection from this Belfast-born, Edinburgh-based alt-folk artist who is part of an unofficial movement bringing the harp to contemporary audiences. The album comes with a strong visual identity: a hand-made life-size fairy tree features in the artwork as well as at her live performances.  Self-released on Friday 20 November.

Touring on the back of her brand spanking new Pylon album, the British-Filipino alt-indie star known to her pals as Beatrice Laus cuts loose in front of a huge audience happily lapping up an artist who has cited Smashing Pumpkins and Stephen Malkmus as inspirations.  OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Saturday 14 November.

BECKY HILL

DEA MATRONA

When an artist sticks their birthname in the title of an album you know they’re probably getting all serious and real on us (see Joanne, The Real Marshall Mathers and Raymond vs Raymond). So, Rebecca may be dishing up a dose of deepdive authenticity for Hill’s fans. Polydor Records, Friday 13 November.

Another Irish duo, this time the rock pairing of Mollie McGinn and Orláith Forsythe, who tour with their latest release, Hate That I Care. Dubbed by Clash as ‘raw pop songwriting at its most rebellious’, the record tackles expectations and the chaos of self-discovery.  SWG3, Glasgow, Thursday 26 November.

BICEP

DEEP TIME

With their new album Slug, Belfast duo Andrew Ferguson and Matthew McBriar want us to look beyond baked-in negative impressions to see the beauty of a thing. The dull land slug and effervescent sea version act as the ideal metaphor. Expect their typical brand of melancholic euphoria to be fully present and correct.  Ninja Tune, Friday 29 January.

Curated by Irish experimental composer, performer, writer and artist Jennifer Walshe, Fruitmarket’s annual explosion of new music features the likes of Tomomi Adachi, Janet Beat, Luke Fowler, Nina Guo, Kate Molleson, Mariam Rezaei and Wobbly for a festival which aims to consider the historical moment we’re living through.  Fruitmarket, Edinburgh, Thursday 26–Saturday 28 November.

BISHI The acclaimed British-Bengali artist, composer, producer and electric sitarist brings us a night dedicated to her evocative soundtrack for Maya: The Birth Of A Superhero. This 33-minute immersive VR film revolves around a south Asian girl coming of age and experiencing the awakening of her sexuality.  SWG3, Glasgow, Monday 23 November.

PICTURES: KALEIDOSSHOOTS

36 THE LIST November 2026

DARA DUBH

DJANGO DJANGO Uncut have praised the Scottish/English/Northern Irish band’s Doveland (about a small town in Wisconsin that may or may not have existed) for unfolding ‘with an alchemical White Album-like sweep’. Pretty strong stuff.  Clouds Hill, Friday 6 November.

BON IVER

EAST 17

2016 feels like a long time ago, doesn’t it? It was also the year when ex-cabin dweller Justin Vernon released 22, A Million, an album described by Pitchfork as ‘certainly Bon Iver’s most difficult record . . . the work of a songwriter who seems to have lost interest in established, easily deciphered forms’. Now comes the anniversary edition.  Jagjaguwar, Friday 20 November.

This southern hit machine comprising Tony, Terry, Brian and John absolutely churned them out across the 90s and their rammed Best Of features indisputable classics such as ‘House Of Love’ and ‘Deep’ as well as their festive standard ‘Stay Another Day’.  London Records, Friday 4 December.

ROSIE FRATERTAYLOR Just five years on from her debut album and now freshly signed to German label ACT, Frater-Taylor can count Seal, Jimmy Page and Gilles Peterson as hardcore fans. This virtuoso jazz/folk/soul/pop guitarist will release a new album in the early new year.  Old Hairdressers, Glasgow, Sunday 8 November.

FONTAINES DC One of the most intriguing musical collaborations in some time is that of the Irish quintet and Spain’s Rosalía as they brought us ‘Where Is Gone?’ as featured on the band’s new album Dopamine Chamber. Can’t promise they’ll be reuniting on stage in Glasgow, but what a thing that would be.  OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Sunday 22 November.

JOZEF VAN WISSEM & JIM JARMUSCH Recorded in Bologna during the (no doubt painfully hot) summer of 2025, Bocca Di Lupo and Mouth Of The Wolf are albums of haunting instrumentation, spoken word and ambient sound, featuring guest appearances from Courtney Barrett and Deux Femmes.  City Slang, Friday 6 November.

LIZ LAWRENCE Previously one half of pop duo Cash + David, this multiinstrumentalist taught herself how to produce, and has been releasing the results of that labour since 2018. Her new album Vespers is, as she puts it, ‘the record of a life and death, an act of devotion and reflection’.  Mono, Glasgow, Sunday 15 November.

SAM BROWN Not enough music acts name their album after the length of time it takes to listen to it. So all hail Sam Brown for 43 Minutes, a mastered vinyl version of her third album, released in 1991. Having had a global number one hit three years earlier with ‘Stop!’, she held firm against management interference and produced a deeply personal album.  Pod Music, Friday 4 December.

SHEKU KANNEHMASON These gigs will mark almost a full year since Kanneh-Mason suffered a fracture to his left ring finger: not ideal for a cellist. Fully fit again, these concerts have him joining forces with the SCO to perform pieces by Haydn and Beethoven as well as a Jay Capperauld world premiere.  Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Thursday 12 November; City Halls, Glasgow, Friday 13 November.

SIOBHAN MILLER The Scottish folk singer doesn’t hang about: her latest album, While We Have The Time, was recorded in 12 days from first session to the final mastered version. All of this while having a new baby. Guests on the album include Eddi Reader, Donald Shaw and Fergus McCreadie.  Albert Halls, Stirling, Wednesday 30 December; Barrowlands, Glasgow, Saturday 23 January.

MOGWAI

SNOH AALEGRA

Happy Tears is the recorded story of a career that has spanned beyond what many could have imagined when the Glasgow young team got together just over 30 years ago. From debut single ‘Tuner’ to their recent Iggy Pop hook-up, this album will contain multitudes.  Rock Action Records, Friday 8 January.

Seems that love is high up on the Iranian-Swedish singer, songwriter and producer’s agenda right now. Legendary Love’s lead single is ‘I Love You’ (her first single in three years) and in her press release she says, ‘every song holds a piece of who I was, who I became, and who I will continue to be because I allowed myself to love this deeply.’  Stem, Friday 13 November.

THE POOZIES The Scottish trad-punk pioneers mark 35 years in the business by releasing the digital version of Off The Hook, a collection of purely original material. Founding member Mary Macmaster is still going strong on the vocals and electro harp, and for the very first time, a pair of men have been granted access to The Poozies’ inner sanctum.  Self-released, Monday 16 November.

WINTER MUSIC

ERIC BIBB & SEASICK STEVE With very good reason, we step outside the album and gigs bubble for a moment to cite a double A-side single from two modern blues masters who have plenty in common: Americans who spent many years living in Scandinavia and continue to write songs that speak honestly to the human condition. ‘Lean On The Blues’ and ‘What In The World We Gonna Do’ are the tunes in question.  Repute Records & Eastcote Recordings, Friday 20 November.

TOMMY LEFROY This indie duo (one Canadian, one American) have opened for Sigrid at Wembley Arena while their debut album, The Precariat, takes its title from the economic term for a growing class of people living with increasing instability and uncertainty. North American does not come out of this very well.  King Tut’s, Glasgow, Sunday 31 January.

Clockwise from immediate left: Deep Time curator Jennifer Walshe, Tommy Lefroy, Snoh Aalegra, Mogwai, Sam Brown, Siobhan Miller, Liz Lawrence, Darah Dubh, Dea Matrona, Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch, The Poozies, East 17, Eric Bibb & Seasick Steve, Django Django, Rosie Frater-Taylor, Sheku Kanneh-Mason November 2026 THE LIST 37

DISCOVER THE MONKEY OLD FASHIONED

38 THE LIST November 2026

It’s one of the most anticipated Edinburgh openings in a very long time. A certain Mr Yotam Ottolenghi has landed in George Street, bringing with him his signature style of veg-forward Medinspired sharing plates (evening starters means a mini-buffet of six of them). A promise to highlight local produce seems most evident on a nicely judged breakfast spread, with well-fired rolls popping up beside a full Scottish of dreams. After that, you’ll be ready to grab a bar seat for a flight of three mini Martinis: alongside weekend all-day opening, it’s designed to blur the lines between day and evening, special occasion dining and casual bites. (Jo Laidlaw) n 92 George Street, Edinburgh; ottolenghi.co.uk

eat & drink

OTTOLENGHI

PICTURE: AMY HEYCOCK

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EAT & DRINK

Burning love C

Duncan McLachlan tells Suzy Pope how he stepped away from conventional cooking and blazed an award-winning trail with Ember, his live-fire street food business

hef and long-time wild cooking enthusiast Duncan McLachlan makes his signature panuozzo sandwiches using live fire, often cooking against a biting east coast wind. It’s hard work, the hours are long and the weather doesn’t always play ball. But would he trade it in for a restaurant kitchen? Not a chance. ‘To be honest, I thought street food was going to be easy compared to fine-dining restaurant cooking . . . ’ McLachlan admits of his Ember food truck operation. He began his culinary career aged 15, working in his family’s hotel restaurant in St Andrews. When it closed in 2022, he took a head-chef job at a fine-dining establishment and quickly decided that inflexible, intense kitchen hours weren’t for him, especially with a young family. ‘I’m working even harder now than when I was doing 16-hour shifts in restaurant kitchens,’ he admits, ‘but I wouldn’t go back.’ Between chef shifts, McLachlan would head for the hills to clear his head, bringing a bivvy bag or hammock and cooking on an open fire: he wasn’t about to settle for a pack of instant noodles. ‘I’d always bring something really nice to cook. I learned to make some spectacular food with nothing but a campfire.’ This is where the idea for Ember took shape, taking cooking back to analogue: at his food truck, everything is cooked on a charcoal grill or in a wood-fired pizza oven. All of this is not without its challenges, not least the Scottish weather. ‘Wind is the real killer. It’s worse than rain,’ McLachlan insists. ‘When wind howls directly into the pizza oven, the wood burns too quickly.’ He calls it a pizza oven but has never actually had pizzas on the menu; his passion is for Italian panuozzo, a Neapolitan sandwich made with folded sourdough pizza dough.

40 THE LIST November 2026

‘I just love the idea of making bread to order,’ he says. The bread is baked in the wood-fired oven while fillings such as medium-rare chimichurri steak and crispy porchetta are done over a charcoal grill. Finding sustainable charcoal for his grill was also a task. ‘A huge proportion of the world’s modern slavery is tied to the production of charcoal. I wanted to find an alternative that didn’t contribute to that situation.’ He uses briquettes made from hazelnut shells and ethically produced charcoal, free from chemicals and burning agents. While regular supermarket charcoal needs to turn white before you can work on it, to ensure all the chemicals have burned off, you can cook on pure charcoal while it flames. ‘You could eat this charcoal safely if you wanted to. I don’t understand why you’d go to the trouble of buying the best meat, the finest cut of beef to grill, then ruin it with cheap charcoal. The difference in taste is incredible.’ This attention to detail could be what secured Ember its win at the Scottish Street Food Awards, and second place at the British Street Food Awards, where his porchetta panuozzo also won best sandwich. ‘In the beginning, I wanted to make refined restaurant plates in the food truck. But I realised that’s not what street food is.’ Popping up at venues across Fife, including Howe Beer Project in Balmalcolm, Bowhouse near St Monans, The Newport Inn, and Craigtoun Meadows Holiday Park outside St Andrews, Ember embraces exactly what street food should be: simple, no need for a knife and fork, and focused on good ingredients, right down to the charcoal. instagram.com/ember.foodtruck

side dishes Ailsa Sheldon finds major players on the move and the humble potato taking centre stage as she rounds up the latest food and drink news

The Lyon Public House

November 2026 THE LIST 41

EAT & DRINK

alry gets to share in the joy of empanadas and morcilla as a branch of Leith Walk’s Argentinian restaurant La Querencia opens in the suburb. Also new is Kungfu Bakery on Nicolson Square. Started by five local Chinese mums and bakers, their take on kung fu baking means mastering the moves, learning the classics, then playing with flavour combinations: try the curry buns, pork floss rolls or dragon fruit bread. There’s been lots of buzz about Tatties on Union Street where the daily-changing menu features dishes like mussels with smoked eel and green tomato pickles, always with spuds on the side. On George Street, new gastropub The Lyon Public House has live music every night and a late-night pie window until 3am: always good to have options if it’s too far to stoat to Storries. The changes keep coming for Scottish hospitality. Inver, Pam Brunton’s highly lauded rural restaurant has gone on the market, while Rosie Healey has announced she’s leaving Glasgow’s Gloriosa. Trailblazers both, we’ll be watching eagerly to see what they do next. Staying in Glasgow, The Valinch, a new whisky bar and shop, has opened on Hope Street. Run by Thomas and Inga McDonagh (previously of The Bon Accord), it promises hundreds of drams as well as real ales. For lovers of a Detroit-style slice, Sub Rosa Pizza has expanded to a second site on Minard Road in Shawlands. And the hottest launch of all: The List’s Eat & Drink 365 Glasgow guide is out now, so pick up a copy to discover the best places to eat and drink across the city.

DROP THE BAGS. PICK UP THE CHOPSTICKS.

EDINBURGH / GLASGOW

42 THE LIST November 2026

FRENCH

CHEZ BERNARD

EAT & DRINK

Gazing out over the cobbles through Chez Bernard’s floor to ceiling windows, flickering lights dance on the Water Of Leith as it flows under Bernard Street Bridge. Despite its proximity, the bridge surprisingly didn’t provide the spark for this French bistro and wine bar’s moniker. Jonathan Heredia and Isla Mosquera named it after Heredia’s French grandfather, taking inspiration for their menu from the long, lazy lunches Bernard loved. With dark wood chairs, deep red walls, flashes of chrome and rows of neatly stacked bottles on shelves, the mood is homely, amplified by resident pup Rocky who selflessly surrenders himself for pats. Dishes lean towards sharing, though that depends on the size of your appetite on any given day. Dark, glossy French onion soup comes with a pleasingly hefty, cheesy crouton floating on top. Chunky pâté de campagne, lush goat’s cheese salad with walnuts, grapes and honey, or nicely salty ham and cheese buckwheat galette all satisfy. Pop up to the counter to curate your own cheese board, choosing from around ten options to have with oatcakes, bread and a little pot of honey for drizzling. It’s a French bistro so, naturally, there are snails in garlic and parsley butter. Not your bag? A cold seafood selection ticks off chilled prawns, oysters, smoked fish and dressed crab. This is a versatile and budget-friendly set-up with wine front and centre: a couple of good-value choices by the carafe, 26 by the glass and around 60 by the bottle. French drops rightly take top billing, but the list roams around Europe and the New World too. For those who paid absolutely zero attention in French at school, one translation of chez is ‘at home’: with their charismatic and convivial Gallic service, it’s exactly how the team here make you feel. (Paul McLean) n 38 Shore, Edinburgh; chezbernard.co.uk; average price £16 for two dishes.

FILIPINO

KULTURA Taking over Moskito’s old lower-ground floor spot, Kultura brings a rare chance to enjoy the food of the Philippines in Glasgow. With roots in Aberdeen, where the first Kultura opened in 2025 following a successful pop-up, it’s a smart, spacious, fairly blingy restaurant. Copious foliage and decorative baskets sit amid chunky stone with flashes of neon-style lighting; much of Moskito remains but it’s a decent fit for the new operation. The big bar dominating the main room has smart servers mixing up Filipino-themed cocktails, mocktails and mango shakes, and pouring their dedicated Kultura draught beer. There are various wee off-shoot areas and rooms for delving into the food, usually presented in cute woodenware, with occasional extravagant plating bringing more razzamatazz. Starters include calamari with chilli sauce, crispy chicken bites in adobo glaze and sweetly marinated grilled pork skewers with a spiky, oniony vinegar dip. Soups, noodles, grills, plus plenty of pork, chicken and seafood dishes follow. Ginataang tinolang manok is a fulsome bowl of chunky chicken and chayote (a kind of squash) in a comforting coconut milk broth that’s fragrant with ginger and chillis. Sides are usually required: garlic fried rice is a nice redolent option, while ginisang pak choi with garlic and soy is delicious. Prices can feel pretty steep, so check with your server as some dishes suit two people along with sides. If selecting is tricky (the menu’s a tad bewildering for cuisine newbies), their all-you-can-eat buffet features a good selection. (Jay Thundercliffe) n 196 Bath Street, Glasgow; kulturaglasgow.com; average price £34 for two courses.

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Ask EADith

Got a food dilemma? Need a killer rec to seal the deal? Or just want the inside track on Glasgow and Edinburgh’s eating and drinking scene? Then why not ask EADith, our Eat & Drink team’s helpful agony aunt. This month, she’s dreaming of more civilised shores, while keeping it entirely local

EAT & DRINK

Cher EADith Every provincial village in France always has a delightful little bistro and it really is so desperately disappointing that one can never find anything like it in Scotland. Help? Elizabeth&David, Edinburgh

PICTURES: PAUL MCLEAN

Mes amis, Evidence of the culinary cringe is often found in my bulging postbag, but those days belong in the past when one simply knows where to look. Which is, of course, Tante EADith’s raison d’être. To prove my point, here is a lovely wee café-deli-bistro to put on your radar. I was urged to secrecy about it by a north Edinburgh local who wanted to keep it to herself and her lunching friends, but my brief explainer on the economics of hospitality was enough to lift the embargo. Tucked halfway between Ferry Road and Newhaven Harbour in Trinity, you’ll find La Cîme (pronounced ‘seam’, mes chéries), run by Franco-Scottish couple Anne Quintin and Will Blamire. Inside there’s space for just three tables complete with bentwood chairs plus a handful of perching stools, while the wall shelving is stacked with good things: books, wine, tins of cassoulet, dijon mustard. The afternoon sun slants in and there’s the friendly chatter of locals and regulars, young and old, two and four-legged, swinging in to settle down or take away. If you stumbled across it in Quintin’s home region of Lozère you’d coo with delight. The place may be small but the food looms large with a menu bigger than you’d think possible from the tiny (if well-staffed) kitchen. Everything is palpably created on-site. Ratatouille with fennel sausage and roasted potato, delightful eggs baked Turkish-style with a creamy garlic yoghurt and spiced tomato relish; a three-inch tall wedge of blue cheese and roasted celeriac quiche with exquisitely fine shortcrust pastry; croque monsieur on chewy sourdough; thick frittata. I could go on and, if I may, I will. Another menu card has daily specials: confit pork belly, game terrine or a clever apple and chestnutstuffed cabbage. Lining up atop the deli counter are plates of cake, torte, baked Basque cheesecake and shining brown croissants. The coffee machine rumbles comfortingly. Once or twice a month, they’re open in the evening for a wine dinner or themed feast. It’s a torrent of temptation. If you’re still determined to head to France, Elizabeth and David, bonne chance. I’m taking my camper van to Trinity. n La Cîme, 210b Newhaven Road, Edinburgh; la-cime.co.uk; average lunch price £15 for two courses.

BAR FILES Creative folks reveal their top watering hole

SINGER-SONGWRITER KOHLA

PICTURE: MOLLY THOMSON

As a vintage-romantic jazz-influenced artist from Edinburgh, I’ve had the pleasure of performing at The Jazz Bar on Chambers Street; a vibrant, retro and rather bougie venue I’d recommend to everyone artistic visiting the capital. As a disabled artist, I love to relax in their comfortable candle-lit seating with a Virgin White Russian in hand while enjoying wonderful live music. My top tip is to visit late afternoon or early evening at weekends for (often free) chilled out performances. n Kohla’s new album Fantasy is self-released on Friday 6 November.

A whisky bar brought to you from the team behind the Port of Leith Distillery.

Single Casks, Cocktails, Views.

26 ST GILES STREET November 2026 THE LIST 45

TipList

Our TipLists suggest the places worth knowing in different themes, categories and locations. This month, we’re celebrating the dishes our team sampled this year and can’t stop thinking about, talking about, dreaming about, and now writing about

EAT & DRINK

MEMORABLE DISHES 2026

A well-crafted cocktail can be just as memorable as any dish. Monkey Shoulder Brand Ambassador Rachel Reid highlights the drinks that have lived in her memory this year BAR DANI FREEZER MARTINI

The Big Taquero

Glasgow THE BIG TAQUERO JALAPEÑO HASHIES

Unit 3, Hidden Lane; instagram.com/thebigtaquero Founded at Dumbarton’s Unit 23 skatepark, this taco specialist opened a wee Finnieston backlane spot in 2026. Their jalapeño hashies look like three alien bird’s eggs and are crazy addictive: chilli and cheddar hash brown balls completely coated in bright green avocado and confit garlic mayo, sprinkled with crushed Takis chips and chopped chives.

DAR ALHAJAR MALAWAH

963 Duke Street Soft bread is the thing to order at this humble new Yemeni cafe at the eastern tip of Duke Street. More correctly known as malawah, the flatbread is drizzled in honey and folded into itself in a way that marvellously exceeds the sum of its simple parts.

MEYHANE MANTI

88 West Regent Street; meyhaneglasgow.co.uk The impressive new diner from Merchant City’s Türkiye Efes brightens up a city centre corner with massive exterior murals. The menu includes great mezze and kebabs, but there’s also a superb special of manti: small dumplings filled with spiced lamb, doused with garlic yogurt and chilli butter.

RONG FUSION NOODLES SHORT RIB RAMEN

120 Dumbarton Road; instagram.com/rong.fusion.noodl At this hot new spot, a cartoonishly Instagrammable shard of beef on the bone is stripped down at your table into a soft, beautifully fatty, meaty ramen. It also does noodles, broths and fried chicken in styles from all over east Asia.

QASBA CHAKCHOUKA SFERIA

21 Allison Street; instagram.com/qasba_gla This Southside diner only has a few tables and a tiny open kitchen but the north African food is packed with flavour, passion and endless interest. Chakchouka sferia is a big decorative bowl of fried potato dumplings in a rich red tagine sauce with bell peppers, fragrant wild garlic and ras el hanout. (David Kirkwood & Jay Thundercliffe)

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Ardfern

Edinburgh ARDFERN SUNDAY ROAST

10–12 Bonnington Road; ardfern.uk Roberta Hall-McCarron’s superb all-day café, wine bar and bottle shop does a top-tier Sunday roast. Glorious thick slices of beef rump cap and Yorkshire pudding stuffed with ox tongue come with killer hash browns, glistening roasted carrot, hispi cabbage and rainbow chard. It’s a cut above the competition.

BARRY FISH TROUT PASTRAMI

62 Shore; barryfish.co.uk The menu here changes regularly but there would be tears if the tender trout pastrami left the starters. Wild sea trout is cured, cold smoked, glazed with treacle and rubbed with pepper and coriander seeds, then served with a pleasingly wobbly aioli, capers and dried grapes.

ELEANORE RICE PUDDING

30–31 Albert Place; eleanore.uk Take a classic, send it skyward. Eleanore, which had a subtle change of direction this year, skilfully balances tradition with creativity. Their rice pudding soars from school dinners to delicious new heights. Tender creamy rice, with a burnished brûlée crown, and nuggets of sharp rhubarb and chewy ginger cake: stellar.

NOODLE MEETS CHANG’AN BIANG BIANG NOODLES

1126 Argyle Street, Glasgow; bardaniglasgow.com I’ve been loving Freezer Martinis lately and Dani’s is the perfect place to enjoy one with pintxos from the Basque Country. Their bifana and tomato salad is the right amount of indulgence to freshness; paired with a clean, bright Freezer Martini? It doesn’t get much better than that.

DOGSTAR CRUNCHY NUT

17 Portland Place, Edinburgh; dogstarleith.com Any restaurant that does freshly baked madeleines will always be high on my list of must-visits. Everything at Dogstar is brilliant from the moment you enter the space, but pairing those madeleines with their Crunchy Nut cocktail is the greatest possible end to your dinner.

SEBB’S WHITE LINEN

68 Miller Street, Glasgow; sebbs.com One of my favourite restaurants for cocktails and food. Their Smoko Coco, featuring coconut-washed Monkey Shoulder, pairs perfectly with their DC’s Texan hotlink sausage, with gold sauce and bread and butter pickles. If I want to keep things light and bright, the White Linen (pictured) has notes of yuzu and jasmine and goes unbelievably well with chalkstream trout ceviche. Sebb’s

42 South Bridge; instagram.com/noodlemeetschangan Precision is key at this fast-paced joint. The menu focuses on hand-pulled, thick wheat biang biang noodles from north-west China. Made to order and swimming in chilli oil, bowls come with slowbraised beef or Scottish lobster. The classic with ground beef and crisp vegetables is tough to beat.

NORAH SAUSAGE, EGG & CHIPS

3 Pier Place; norahnewhaven.co.uk A dish so simple has no business being this good, but here we are. Norah relies on good, simple Irish cooking and this is the perfect example. Locally sourced pork sausages, hand-cut chips with just the right sprinkle of salt and a soft-yolk fried egg are all you need on a blustery day by the sea. (Ailsa Sheldon, Paul McLean & Suzy Pope)

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Hi Glasgow. We’re back. Look out for our brand new, 96-page guide with TipLists, area guides, reliable recommendations and all the on-the-ground local knowledge

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MILE YARD

Your new spot in the Old Town Good coffee, proper breakfasts and somewhere to get a bit of work done. Mile Yard is an all-day café and bar just off the Royal Mile, ideal for working lunches, casual meetings or a change of scenery from your usual desk. Come back for drinks after work or host your next event in the bar.

MILE YARD at Stay Hush, Royal Mile Cooper's Close, Edinburgh EH8 8PA

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@stay_hush_uk

FREE and available at your List pick-up points

November 2026 THE LIST 47

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DISCOVERING MORE BY THE SHORE Shop Hopping In Leith & Newhaven

eith and Newhaven is Edinburgh’s creative quarter, home to artists, designers and makers working in studios, workshops and shared spaces. You’ll also find independent boutiques and shops selling contemporary craft, vintage clothing, food and drink, and plenty of inspiration for gifts that are a little out of the ordinary. Start your shop hopping around the area at Leith Makers, where dozens of local artists sell ceramics, textiles, jewellery, paintings and prints. Handsel on Leith Walk is another good place to browse, while regular markets at Out of the Blue Drill Hall bring together local makers and small businesses. At Coburg House, open studios offer the chance to discover work straight from the artists; the gallery shop is open at weekends, too. Bard’s gorgeous atelier is a must-visit for high-end craft from across Scotland, while Flux and Logan Malloch also have beautifully curated gifts, spanning a range of price points. For vintage finds, head to Leith Walk, where Epoca Vintage Clothing Shop, 5th Season Vintage and Pascal & Co offer plenty to rummage through. TBCo is the place for cosy home comforts, from blankets and homeware to pyjamas you’ll want to stay in all day. Book lovers will love friendly Argonaut Books, or McNaughtan’s Bookshop, a treasure trove of second-hand, rare and collectible titles. For food and drink shopping, Valvona & Crolla, Scotland’s oldest delicatessen and Italian wine merchant, is packed with Italian specialities. Pick up a bottle at Lind & Lime Gin Distillery or explore local spirits at Shore Distillery. At Woven Whisky, within Browns, you can even create your own whisky blend. Wine lovers can browse Cornelius Beer & Wine, Leith Bottle Shop, Ardfern or Bludge, where knowledgeable staff can help you find just the right bottle. For a quieter pause, Pekoe Tea Edinburgh is well worth a visit for artisanal teas. And don’t miss Leith Market, held outdoors every Saturday from 10am to 4pm, for local producers, food and independent traders.

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To make your explorations even more tempting, a special double-yourmoney voucher scheme has been created for the More by the Shore campaign in partnership with itison: on sale from 1 November, for every £5 voucher bought you get £10 to spend in participating shops as well as restaurants, cafés, bars and other venues, including a number of those mentioned above. With Christmas around the corner, there’s never been a better time to expand your shopping horizons all the way along Leith Walk and into Leith and Newhaven, and this year you can enjoy extra sparkle with the More by the Shore festive trail arriving in late November. Follow the links at edinburgh.org/more-by-the-shore for updates on the festivities, to snap up the vouchers and to discover where you can spend them.  Leith and Newhaven are easily reached from the city centre by bus, tram or VOI bike. For details of these, head to edinburgh.gov.uk/planyourjourney More by the Shore is brought to you by Forever Edinburgh. For all the latest go to edinburgh.org/more-by-the-shore

travel & shop

Second Stories is an independent fashion label founded by Nicola Beth Fletcher, who designs bespoke clothing from her seaside studio in Portobello. Blending vintage silhouettes with a bohemian sprinkle of rock’n’roll, Fletcher takes a considered approach to fashion, creating pieces from surplus fabrics that already have a story to tell. Leftover gingham, handembroidered tablecloths and other unexpected finds all have the potential for a second life, meaning no two pieces are quite the same. Her Dream Coats are inspired by the classic Afghan and are made-to-order, cut to the wearer’s individual height and finished with a luxurious trim of Mongolian sheepskin: a look that would make Stevie Nicks proud. (Afreka Thomson) n secondstories.co.uk; instagram.com/secondstoriesofficial

PICTURE: SCOTT DUNCAN; MODEL: JO-ANN ALARI; HAIR & MAKEUP: AMELIA CONWAY

SECOND STORIES

November 2026 THE LIST 49

PICTURE: ASSOCIAÇÃO DE TURISMO DO PORTO E NORTE, AR

TRAVEL & SHOP

WanderList: Braga

PICTURES: ADRIANO FERREIRA BORGES / SEMIBREVE

ears ago, I visited Porto for the Primavera music festival. The music was great, the seafood was excellent and I was impressed by the city, with its historic hand-lettered shopfronts and dramatic steep streets. When torrential rain came (one local called this northern region ‘the Britain of Portugal’), we did the sensible thing and took a tour of a traditional port cellar. I came home with a new favourite drink: white port and tonic. Another time, I was smitten with Lisbon’s azulejo tiles and bewitched by Sintra’s occult lore. But until last year, I’d never even heard of Braga, the oldest city in Portugal. I visited for the arts festival Semibreve and was blown away; not just by the music over the weekend, but by the city itself which makes for a far cheaper holiday than Portugal’s other main hubs, with bus and train tickets from Porto airport starting at €3. Once upon a time (the Middle Ages to be exact), Braga was a top destination for Christian pilgrims. It explains why modern Braga still has so many churches, basilicas and chapels; from around 7am to 10pm, its mountain valley air rings with hundreds of bells. I’d recommend visiting the ornate rococo Basílica Dos Congregados, the concrete minimalist Capela Imaculada Do Seminário Menor and, if you don’t mind climbing 500 zigzagging steps, the dramatic Bom Jesus Do Monte (a World Heritage Site) just outside the city. Braga attracts different visitors nowadays. It was named Portuguese City Of Culture 2025 and became a Unesco Creative City Of Media Art back in 2017. It’s worth looking up what’s on before booking. Square, the northern Portuguese festival, takes place for the second time in January, run by Lovers And Lollypops, an independent music label that’s become a Portuguese DIY punk institution. The grand Theatro Circo puts on music and dance under its opulent chandeliered ceiling, with arthouse films in its smaller auditorium. Nómadas is an electronic music festival in an ancient granite quarry, taking place in July, and Semibreve will be back with more experimental music and digital spectacles next October. No trip to Portugal is complete without a pastel de nata and Braga sells the best I’ve ever tasted at Manteigaria, where you can enjoy them outside with an espresso among the bright flowers of the pedestrianised Avenida De Liberdade. Other food spots worth a visit are Cafetaria Centésima Página (a café with a sunny courtyard garden behind a bookshop), the no frills Frigideiras Da Sé for traditional meat pastries and delicacies, and the family-run Retrokitchen, where home-style cooking and incredible salads are served, some on Portugal’s iconic Bordallo Pinheiro cabbage leaf plates. Don’t forget to wander the city’s many narrow, cobbled side streets for tins of sardines, filigree jewellery, cork accessories and port to bring home. visitbraga.travel/en

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Previously a total mystery to her, Portugal’s oldest city completely charms the socks off Claire Sawers

PICTURE: ASSOCIAÇÃO DE TURISMO DO PORTO E NORTE, AR

on your doorstep Remember, remember, the 5th of November. Isy Santini has, so she’s sharing her top firework and bonfire night recommendations DUNCARRON MEDIEVAL VILLAGE In a forest near Denny, this reproduction fortified village keeps Guy Fawkes Night alive in style, with a roaring bonfire and spectacular fireworks display (Friday 5 November). Visitors will enjoy live music, interactive poetry and dazzling fire performances. Set against a striking medieval backdrop, the event aims to blend history, community and a touch of magic. n duncarronmedievalvillage.com

KNOCKHILL RACING CIRCUIT

HELENSBURGH FIREWORKS After a year’s hiatus, Helensburgh’s fireworks display returns with a bang. Expect food, drink, live music and a light show at this much-loved event on the town’s waterfront (Sunday 1 November). It’s organised by Helensburgh Heart, a charity dedicated to funding local projects and strengthening local bonds, meaning all donations go straight back into the community. n helensburghheart.com

Actor Georgie Buckland fondly recalls card games and pasta pig-outs during a treasured Italian trip

’ve been on a number of wonderful holidays over the years, so it’s tough to pick just one favourite. But it would have to be our oldschool family holiday to Sorrento in 2011. We stayed in this beautiful villa and spent our days doing nothing but playing card games and wandering the beautiful streets. I made it my mission over those two weeks to try a spaghetti carbonara in every restaurant we visited to find the best in Italy. By day three I was sick of it but persevered right through to the final day when, of course, I deemed the very first restaurant we went to the best. I am so grateful that I have those beautiful holiday memories with my sister and parents. We revived our traditional holiday this year as adults and, it’s safe to say, it was just as wonderful. Georgie Buckland appears in Mean Girls at Edinburgh Playhouse, Tuesday 17–Saturday 21 November. Duncarron Medieval Village

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TRAVEL & SHOP

PICTURE: FAY SUNMERFIELD

my favourite holiday

Just north of Dunfermline, Knockhill hosts its most ambitious Fireworks Night ever (Saturday 7 November), with a brandnew drone display in addition to classic ’works. Combining high-octane motorsports with Bonfire Night fun, visitors can choose to watch death-defying fire and car stunts, go wild at the funfair, cheer their mini speed demons on at junior kart racing, or gather around the firepit to toast marshmallows as the sky lights up. n knockhill.com

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Fine print Danny Munro finds there’s a lot more to Glasgow collective Good Press than simply creating books and zines

32 St Andrews Street, Glasgow; goodpress.co.uk; instagram.com/good_press

Wheel Of Fate

shop talk GOOD DAYS You’ll find a little bit of everything at Good Days, a shop blending homeware, lifestyle and a diverse programme of creative workshops. Regular events like Girls’ Club and the ever-popular Scrap And Yap (a BYOB scrapbook event) are supplemented by fantastic seasonal offerings, such as wreath making, bauble painting and beginners lino printing. n 38 Sinclair Drive, Glasgow; good-days.co.uk; instagram.com/good.days.uk

RECREATION JEWELS Recreation Jewels brings a welcome dose of colour and flair to the traditional charm bracelet bar with their signature maximalist look, ensuring everyone leaves wearing a unique piece of personalised jewellery. Book an appointment and choose from a quaint

Get those artistic juices flowing as Isy Santini rounds-up a trio of shops with a creative twist jam pot and quirky matryoshka charms or browse their beautifully boho ready-to-wear options. n 20 Thistle Street, Edinburgh; recreationjewels.shop; instagram.com/recreationjewels

WHEEL OF FATE Since relocating to Leith earlier this year, occult store Wheel Of Fate has expanded with a new DIY crafting studio. In addition to witchy workshops, where attendees can learn skills like bookbinding and broom making under the tutelage of an experienced craftsperson, customers can now book selfguided sessions to try their hand at leather etching or designing their own tarot cards. n 24 Haddington Place, Edinburgh; wheeloffate.co.uk; instagram.com/wheeloffateedi November 2026 THE LIST 53

TRAVEL & SHOP

ikki Lynch is a core member of Glasgow-based Good Press, a collective with no time for the management structures typically present in most workplaces. This is a workers cooperative bookshop, printers and event space that Lynch explains is dedicated to the promotion, distribution and production of independent and self-published printed matter. Founded in 2011 in nearby record shop Mono and now based in their own unit on neighbouring St Andrews Street, the team have spent 15 years trading literature on their own terms. Though they sell plenty of books, prints and zines, their remit extends far beyond commerce. ‘As a community-centred space, we hope to cultivate a positive exchange of ideas and practices,’ says Lynch, including ‘support, knowledge sharing, convivial colearning and a place to discuss ideas beyond the bounds of institutional structures.’ In practice, this takes many forms. Whether it’s the print studio and bookmaking service, or the book launches and spoken word performances it hosts each week, Good Press serves its community with a bustling calendar all year round. When put to Lynch that it must be difficult to maintain a commitment to independent works in dire economic times, the collective member appears nonplussed. ‘We often notice rising costs in smaller ways like shipping being more expensive but, having said that, we also have an enormous amount of things for under £5.’ The bills must be paid, of course, but a commitment to accessibility is a duty from which Good Press doesn’t shirk. ‘Inclusivity and accessibility are ingrained within the anti-hierarchical approach of the open submission policy. This all rings truer and perhaps more essential as the world and those who run it drive us towards a more unequal society and a bland, AI, algorithmicinduced stupor.’ For Good Press, participating in Glasgow’s arts and culture world remains a pleasure, not a chore: ‘People endlessly make things, no matter what the economic and social climate, which we’re always grateful for and thrilled to provide a home for.’

Ida Applebroog Portraits

Exhibition. 06.11.26 – 07.02.27

Free

Open Daily 11am — 6pm 54 THE LIST November 2026

45 Market Street Edinburgh

0131 225 2383 fruitmarket.co.uk

Supported by

Ida Applebroog The Ethics of Desire (Study), 2012, ink, tape and vellum on paper. Courtesy the Estate of Ida Applebroog, Applebroog Industries and Barry Rosen Ltd.

The Art School, Nice N Sleazy and Garnethill Multicultural Centre play host to Core’s fourth annual ‘celebration of noise’ as ears get set to be thoroughly pummelled over a long and raucous weekend. Among those appearing to crank it up way beyond 11 are raging Moroccan punks Taqbir, Singaporean grindcore crushers Wormrot, New York’s scream kings Saetia (pictured) and the British/Austrian feminist post-hardcore crew Petrol Girls. (Brian Donaldson) n Various venues, Glasgow, Friday 13–Sunday 15 November.

going out

CORE

PICTURE: STEVE TANNER

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I’m always happy when Dubbed the ‘Queen Of The Indies’ by Time magazine, Parker Posey has carved an idiosyncratic route to success, from 1993’s Dazed And Confused to scene-stealing in Christopher Guest’s mockumentary movies, and eye-catching TV turns in the likes of Lost In Space and The White Lotus. Now starring in Martin McDonagh’s critically acclaimed film Wild Horse Nine, Parker chats to James Mottram about tea, travel and tradition

Hello Parker. What’s that tea you’re drinking? It’s a herbal tea . . . I travel with my tea. It’s lemongrass, mint and licorice root. It’s my little go-to for comfort and self-care. There’s a spice store in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and I make my own tea. Put it in a big bowl, mix it all up and then put it in my little bags. It’s a little taste of home wherever I go.

What attracted you to Wild Horse Nine? There’s so few auteur directors in the culture now and Martin McDonagh has become one of them. When you read a piece of writing that is a composition, it can withstand repeat watching. It could be on stage. You would go again. The actors are held by this great writing that can take you emotionally anywhere and has many different tones and directions. This took him ten years to write. It’s baked; it’s fully living, as it should be. I feel like there’s so much that’s rushed now; directors and writers want to get their movies made. He really knows how to make a composition, make something really full.

PREVIEWS

Does McDonagh’s unique black humour appeal? He’s got a great wit in the writing that’s subtle and sharp and so smooth. When people write comedies, they write jokes and it’s usually by committee. What were your feelings towards the story, about these two CIA men on a mission to Rapa Nui aka Easter Island? It’s so nice

to have a story about men who really love each other. There’s a lot of love in this, even though they’re cantankerous and the humour is very biting. But they’re all very on the edge and very much alive in situations that are life threatening, so I love the stakes of it. You play the acerbic wife of Sam Rockwell’a CIA spook. How much fun was that? There’s not a lot of rich female characters

in movies. And I’m always happy when I get to act with auteurs.

You don’t have a lot of screen time to make an impression so what was your approach to the character? There’s a lot of mind-

reading. I always want to talk to the art department or have them send me pictures of what everything looks like. Wardrobe is really important, and the details are really important, and then the whole script is really important. I like being able to see the rest of the puzzle as you go in, like an athlete, and ride the waves of the dialogue down the hill. I travelled to Rapa Nui and then we shot in Moab in Utah, this majestic part of America that is otherworldly and ancient and awe-inspiring.

Is travel something you’ve enjoyed doing in your career? I’ll always take the trip! I was like that in my twenties too. It was like, ‘oh, that feels like I want to experience that or go to that place’. More so than like, ‘oh, that’s a small part. I’m not going to take it because it’s not the lead.’ So I’ve kind of been living my life like that. Wild Horse Nine 56 THE LIST November 2026

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when I get to act with auteurs What was your experience of Rapa Nui? I was only there for

eight days but I got to go to a few caves. I got to go to church and see the service there, which was incredible.

You recently featured in HBO’s The White Lotus. Did that change things for you? The White Lotus was really popular, even

in Rapa Nui! I took a photograph with an 8ft 5 man at church with bones and a whole headdress. The Rapa Nui people worshipped on the right side of the church, and visitors were on the left side. It was all a mix between their indigenous belief and catholicism (Mary had a bird on her head), and so people were getting their pictures taken by this giant in the headdress. And then someone came up to me and was like, ‘can I take a picture?’ I guess everybody loved it! I was like, ‘whoa, this is huge!’ You came out of the 1990s indie scene. Are you sad that period has gone and independent cinema has endured its struggles?

Yeah. The artists have to conform within the world of genre so it’s just a different battle, right? You still see a lot of great movies but I think it's harder to get financing. Wild Horse Nine is in cinemas from Friday 6 November; The White Lotus is available on Now TV.

The White Lotus

CARRYING STREAM FESTIVAL Held in memory of poet, songwriter and political activist Hamish Henderson, the Carrying Stream Festival returns to Edinburgh for another celebration of the organic passing of Scottish culture between individuals and generations. With events from Kirsty Law and Bothan Dhùn Èideann, both Scots and Gaelic feature in the programme. Visual arts are also front and centre, with a film celebrating a new portrait of Henderson by artist Charles Nasmyth. ‘Henderson grew up familiar with Gaelic folksong,’ says Fife-based Nasmyth, ‘but as a folklorist he was an advocate of all aspects of Scotland’s culture in a European context. At the School Of Scottish Studies, he worked alongside Calum, brother of the Gaelic poet Sorley MacLean. He was also a friend of Gaelic folk singer and scholar Margaret Bennett who is interviewed in the film.’ Henderson died in 2002 but, for his portrait, Nasmyth says he ‘was able to form a psychological picture of Hamish’s physical presence by getting to know his widow and others.’ The finished painting reflects Henderson’s dichotomies: ‘Both in youth and old age, Hamish’s face combined sensitivity and conviction. Whilst he could be very sociable, he also spent a lot of time in solitary thought.’ In the background, the portrait also features some of Henderson’s inspirations, including folk singer Jeannie Robertson, Hugh MacDiarmid and Nelson Mandela. ‘A humanitarian, Hamish fully supported Mandela’s release and also helped Jewish people escape from Nazi Germany,’ says Nasmyth. The film being screened at the festival is directed and produced by Michael Lloyd of Flyting Films, with the artist presenting. The screening promises to raise the profile of a man whose contribution to post-war Scotland’s cultural renaissance has, Nasmyth believes, too often been overlooked. (Marcas Mac an Tuairneir)

Various venues, Edinburgh, Wednesday 11–Tuesday 17 November. November 2026 THE LIST 57

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GAELIC CULTURE

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PICTURE: ROSIE SCO

GOING OUT

‘W

e’re a harmony group because we like harmonies.’ So says Ruairidh Wallace, one fifth of Curiosity Shop, a new indie folk combo set to reel you in like Edinburgh’s answer to Fleet Foxes. ‘Any time I hear a good harmony song I love it. It feels like you’re part of something, you know? You can feel the vibration, especially if you are all singing directly at each other in a small room.’ This is how Curiosity Shop rehearse but it was also how they were forced to perform at Brighton’s Alt Escape showcase for new bands earlier this year. When beset by technical difficulties, they saved the day with a fully unplugged performance, as Wallace recalls: ‘We just told the crowd, “if you want to hear us, you’re going to have to listen. This is how they used to do it in the old days”. And it went really well.’ It has become a band habit to capture the attention of audiences with the a cappella harmony intro to ‘Crows’, so much so that it is now the opening track of their debut EP. Bound For The Sky is a fully formed five-track treat for the ears, encompassing old-school folk-rock languor, carefree skiffly odes and soulful melancholic ballads. It’s the accomplished outpouring of a band founded on friendship, specifically of Campbeltown natives Wallace and Sonny Scott, who bonded at school over Nirvana, Pink Floyd and The Clash. Scott persuaded Wallace towards folk but he was already halfway there with a love of Nick Drake and John Martyn, and a repertoire of classical and traditional music: ‘songs I learned phonetically in Gaelic

Our column celebrating new music to watch continues with Curiosity Shop. The harmonising indie folksters chat to Fiona Shepherd about landscape inspiration, carrot confusion and being a bunch of weirdos or Italian like “Ave Maria” or “Ombra Mai Fu”. I’m not entirely sure but I think that one is about a carrot . . . ’ It’s actually about a tree and was written by one George Frideric Handel. As for Scott, ‘my mum sent me to nursery with a harmonica. She said she knew I was going to be a musician.’ Although they hightailed it to Edinburgh as soon as they left school, both are appreciative of their rural background. ‘You can’t deny the influence of the landscape,’ says Scott. ‘You’re right next to the sea, there are hills and forests behind you. And Paul McCartney’s just up the road, although we never bumped into him.’ At music college, they gravitated towards three other country boys: bassist Louis Taige from Wick, multi-instrumentalist Yann McAuley from Forres, and drummer Duncan Biggar from the Borders. ‘We’re not necessarily odd-ones-out but I think we stood out within our own crowds in each respective corner of Scotland, so we feel very at home with each other,’ says Scott. ‘We’re all weirdos,’ confirms Wallace. ‘Musically, things just stuck quite quickly,’ adds Scott. ‘Louis and Duncan have a grasp of music theory, I’m hanging on a little bit having studied music, and Ru and Yann are more ears. With each new member, the songs evolved and we’ve slowly cultivated the sound of Curiosity Shop. I think it’s very much tied to the five of us.’ Curiosity Shop play The Glad Café, Glasgow, Saturday 21 November; Bound For The Sky is out now on Fontana Records. November 2026 THE LIST 59

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future sound

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ARTS

CREATIVE EDINBURGH AWARDS

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The Creative Edinburgh Awards will once again celebrate the people, organisations and projects shaping the city’s creative scene. Since launching in 2012, the awards have recognised more than 100 winners, with past recipients sharing how this has opened doors to funding, new opportunities and lasting creative connections. ‘The thing I really love about these awards is that they celebrate the creativity that is in Edinburgh year-round,’ says Katie Ailes of I Am Loud CIC, whose Loud Poets Grand Slam Final won the 2023 Collaboration Award. ‘Winning the award really felt like the community saying, “hell yeah, we’re behind that and we agree”.’ Other previous winners include female artist collective The Great Her, Girls Rock School and Daydream Believers, a non-profit organisation which provides education, training and resources to develop creative skills in young people. The 2026 awards will honour creative talent across eight categories such as collaboration, community, inclusion, festivals and leadership. To mark the awards’ 15th anniversary, past winners recently reunited to reflect on their journeys and the creative community that continues to connect them. Suzanne Loftus of Cutting Edge Theatre, which won the Inclusion Award in 2023, said it had helped in various ways: ‘It opened up new funding routes straight away and we gained more credibility. We were then able to describe ourselves as an award-winning theatre company and we’re now multi-yearfunded by Creative Scotland. We credit the award as the beginning of all that.’ This year’s shortlist features 32 individuals, organisations and projects chosen from over 140 nominations within the city’s creative community. (Ananya Patankar)  Central Hall, Edinburgh, Friday 13 November.

VIC’S S PICKS

BBC broadcaster, author, actor, musician, DJ and columnist, Mr Galloway flicks through some music listings to choose top November gigs in variously sized rooms and across different genres

PICTURE: OLOF GRIND

op of my bucket list of artists I love but haven’t yet seen is Stevie Wonder. The pioneer and living legend (not hyperbole, ladies and gentlemen) with a back catalogue to rival anything throughout the history of pop rolls up to the Hydro in Glasgow (Wednesday 11 November). He’s celebrating 50 years of his extraordinary Songs In The Key Of Life album, a genuine 20th-century masterpiece. Will he play it in full from start to end? Or play other gems from his outstanding oeuvre? I for one will be begging, borrowing or blagging a ticket to find out. Billed as ‘Dundee’s most stubborn indie rock musicians’, the triple threat of post-hardcore, emo and victory rock in the form of Avast!, Cruise Elroy and Little Anchors play the city’s Hidden venue (Friday 13 November), proving that DIY underground still packs a punch. Carving out their own idiosyncratic niche, these acts are as worthy of your attention as anyone playing larger venues or surfing the zeitgeist. I saw Avast! and Cruise Elroy last year and it was a soul-enriching night of community spirit and unbridled rifferama. Step up, Dundee! The ‘Bard Of Salford’, Dr John Cooper Clarke returns to Edinburgh for a spot of pithy punk poetry at Queen’s Hall (Friday 27 November). Expect belly laughs and withering pathos, often within the same sentence, from a true original. He famously influenced Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, but every Northern wordsmith of the last 50 years has torn out a leaf from his book. He celebrates half a century in the game soon and isn’t slowing down. He might sneer, but the term ‘national treasure’ comes to mind. My old mucker James Yorkston celebrates 25 years at Domino Records this year and has an excellent compilation, La Magnifica,, out soon to prove it. Hear his own wry, pastoral, acoustic songs and selected traditional influences at the Pleasance Cabaret Bar in Edinburgh (Friday 27 November) and Dunkeld’s Birnam Arts (Saturday 28 November). A man as at ease writing novels as songs, Yorkston has done it his way: raw, unadorned and uncompromising.  Listen to Vic Galloway every Monday night on BBC Radio Scotland, or anytime on BBC Sounds; he co-hosts the Scottish Album Of The Year Award ceremony at Caird Hall, Dundee on Thursday 5 November.

60 THE LIST November 2026

PICTURE: GARETH GOODLAD

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ScreenList There’s no finer time to watch noir than in November, affectionately referred to in the film community as ‘Noirvember’ (courtesy of film critic, Marya E Gates, who coined the term). Filmhouse will have pairings each Sunday throughout the month, so make sure you don’t miss these.

ScreenList recommends must-see screenings of Filmhouse throughout November. This month, programme manager Raymah Tariq dons her fedora to recommend a caseload of noirs

Shakedown and Nightcrawler

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A crime photographer obsessed with getting the scoop to the point he becomes increasingly involved in the story revealing his true insidious nature. Wait, which film am I talking about? Shakedown feels like a very direct precursor to Nightcrawler, and pairing these two has long been on my mind. n Sunday 1 November.

Detective Story

William Wyler’s police drama follows Kirk Douglas as a detective who sees no shades of grey going about a day in the bullpen. Stealing the show are Eleanor Parker, who plays the wife to Douglas’s character, delivering a scene which will completely knock your socks off, and Lee Grant as a shoplifter, in what is truly a masterclass in character acting. It’s no surprise that they were both nominated for Academy Awards. n Sunday 8 November.

The Long Goodbye

Philip Marlowe, created by Raymond Chandler, is one of the quintessential noir characters. Some would say it’s hard to beat Humphrey Bogart’s portrayal in The Big Sleep (also playing on Sunday 29 November) but I’d say Elliott Gould comes into his own in this 70s modern adaptation by Robert Altman. Gould plays a dishevelled Marlowe who lives with his cat and takes on a case for a friend, but not all is as it seems. n Sunday 29 November.

The Long Goodbye

In partnership with

62 THE LIST November 2026

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MINOTAUR

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Exiled in France since 2022, Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev returns with Minotaur, his first film since 2017’s Loveless. It’s a potent remake of Claude Chabrol’s 1969 movie The Unfaithful Wife and won the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. In Zvyagintsev’s version, businessman Gleb (Dmitriy Mazurov) discovers his wife Gallina (Iris Lebedeva) is having an affair. ‘It’s a wonderfully assembled story,’ he notes of the Chabrol original. ‘The structure of this story easily integrated into Russian turf.’ Crucially, the piece takes place in 2022 at the outbreak of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. ‘Everything we see on the screen is exactly what we wanted to show,’ he says. ‘Silence. Not being able to see things. People doing their jobs. There are tanks going to the front in the war with Ukraine. People just having dinner, moving plates from left to right, drinking wine, saying jokes. It’s a real atmosphere of Russian society in 2022.’ What unfolds is ostensibly the tale of an enraged, jealous husband, hinted at by the mythological beast of the title. Zvyagintsev speaks of the film’s ‘labyrinth of complex relationships: silence, mysteries, secrets’, something also symbolised by the design scheme, especially the ultra-chic, modernist house, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, where Gleb and Gallina live with their teenage son. ‘The space is transparent, but at the same time it’s untouchable.’ Yet with Gleb forced to give up personnel from his business for the military draft, it’s also an X-ray of the Russian soul, a portrait of a nation swayed by propaganda. ‘It’s the doublethink that Orwell wrote about: two plus two equals five.’ Perhaps modern-day Russia and the totalitarian world of the author’s Nineteen Eighty-Four are not so different. ‘The people,’ Zvyagintsev says, ‘are forced to be silent.’ (James Mottram)  In cinemas from Friday 27 November.

STREETLIFE

Something about clubbing on a Sunday night breeds a sense of adventure. There is less of the living-for-the-weekend pressure to make sure it’s a large one and patrons tend to be the kids who don’t have school in the morning: roll up the shift workers, creatives, hospitality staff, LGBTQ+ community and other relaxed renegades. Edinburgh DJ, producer and promoter Reuben Lowe recognises the appeal of the off-peak party. ‘Due to work commitments, I’ve always struggled to go out on Friday and Saturday nights,’ Lowe says. ‘There was a time when Sunday was the best night of the week to go out. Because promoters often didn’t need to pay rent for a club on Sundays, it allowed them to put on slightly cooler, less commercial nights.’ Inspired by legendary Edinburgh parties from Tackno to Taste, Lowe has launched a new Sunday event, Streetlife, named after its beloved venue, The Street. It’s conceived as ‘a proper evening out rather than a traditional nightclub experience’, with food, cocktails and a beckoning dancefloor from 6pm until 1am, a come-as-you-are attitude and a music policy described as ‘underground but accessible’. ‘There’s definitely a nod to those early inspirations but I’m not trying to recreate the past,’ says Lowe, a longtime Street resident. ‘It’s about creating something that reflects how people like to go out today. The earlier start and finish time is a good example, combining a relaxed early-evening bar and cocktail culture with clubbing, and offering a good selection of non-alcoholic alternatives.’ (Fiona Shepherd)  The Street, Edinburgh, every Sunday.

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GOING OUT London African Gospel Choir (and bottom from left), Lucy Beaumont, Douglas Gordon as part of Central Scotland Documentary Festival, My Fair Lady

GOING OUT FURTHER AFIELD Get yourself away from the central belt and out into various parts of Scotland where the cultural landscape is just as rich and varied. Among the upcoming highlights this month are a comedian reflecting on her awful small-screen appearances, a classic musical heading to Pitlochry, and a show that brings iconic reggae into the ears of wee ones

HIGHLIGHTS PREVIEWS

ABERDEEN

INVERNESS

NATIONWIDE

LONDON AFRICAN GOSPEL CHOIR

INVERNESS FILM FESTIVAL

FAIR SATURDAY

It’s a mere 40 years since Paul Simon’s beloved/ divisive Graceland and, led by founder Crystal Kassi, this renowned choir will be raising a number of roofs in its honour including this northern one. n Music Hall, Tuesday 17 November.

The 24th IFF plays a huge part in Eden Court’s half-century celebrations and hosts some intriguing flicks including Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut, Danny Boyle’s Ink and Susanna White’s Prima Facie, plus some Scottish shorts. n Eden Court, Friday 13–Thursday 19 November.

The perfect counterbalance to Black Friday, Fair Saturday celebrates culture and supports social causes through a programme which encourages inclusion, kindness and sharing. n Various venues, Saturday 28 November.

KIRKCALDY

BOB MARLEY FOR BABIES

DUNDEE

JAMMING THE IGNORANT ART SCHOOL

SEONAID AITKEN’S MANOUCHE NOUVEAU

PERTH

The Cooper’s acclaimed five-year Ignorant Art School programme has a retrospective of sorts with an experimental exhibition bringing together ideas and strategies that resonated with artists and participants. n Cooper Gallery, until Saturday 12 December.

This acclaimed vocalist and violinist ushers in a new line-up for an evening of gypsy jazz in which due homage is inevitably paid to Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli. n Adam Smith Theatre, Friday 27 November.

DUNFERMLINE

LUCY BEAUMONT

PITLOCHRY

MY FAIR LADY

CENTRAL SCOTLAND DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL

As stand-up titles go, Bad At Quiz Shows, Good With Weirdos is surely up there. The Hull comic chats about a bunch of chaotic matters including her disastrous appearances on Mastermind and The Wheel. n Carnegie Hall, Friday 6 November.

Another delight from the Cumming conveyor belt as the man himself plays Professor Henry Higgins in the Lerner and Loewe musical, with Verity Power taking on the role of Eliza Doolittle. n Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Saturday 21 November–Thursday 31 December.

Another top-notch selection of non-fiction films includes How To Feed A Dictator, We, The Hated and the Douglas Gordon doc, while artist Zilja BrøndumEklund interprets the festival through live painting. n Macrobert Arts Centre, Thursday 5–Monday 9 November.

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From the folk who brought you Beatles For Babies comes this show all about the reggae icon featuring one sweet hit after another. n Perth Theatre, Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 November.

STIRLING

SOLD OUT SAT 07.11.26

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opera of

In its centenary year, Puccini’s epic final opera Turandot gets a spectacular new co-production from Scottish Opera and Irish National Opera. Carol Main hails it as a breathtaking achievement

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n the year in which Scottish Opera’s general director Alex Reedijk celebrates his 20th anniversary with the company, and music director Stuart Stratford clocks up ten years, all the stops have been pulled out to open the 2026/27 season. In a visually stunning blockbuster from director David McVicar, Puccini’s Turandot is seen and heard as never before. This is breathtaking opera in all its glory. Staging, design, a stellar cast, chorus, choreography, lighting and, as ever, the orchestra of Scottish Opera, are all on point throughout, with not one weak link. Set in the sumptuous (silks, feathers, lots of peacock blue) yet decaying ancient palace of the Chinese emperor, but updated to the times of fascist Italy in which Puccini composed the opera, society is stuck in a trap of desperation. Not until Princess Turandot’s three riddles are answered will things change. But no one can solve their puzzle, leading to execution for those who are brave enough to try. Not even pleading for mercy on his knees in full nakedness before the icy Turandot (authoritative and resolute from the magnificently voiced Trine Møller) prevents the unfortunate Prince Of Persia from having his head chopped off when he gets the answers wrong. But then along comes the mysterious Calaf, with his blind father Timur (Insung Sim playing the solid voice of reason) and lovingly loyal Liu, deeply moving in a tender portrayal by Hye-Youn Lee. Think of any quiz show final and ramp up the pressure as, one by one, the unknown Calaf gets the answers right. Far removed from the football terraces that have made Puccini’s melody world famous, Victor Starsky’s ‘Nessun Dorma’ is heard with astonishing ease and fullness right across the range as Calaf challenges Turandot to come up with his

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name by dawn. If she doesn’t, he wins her heart. Musically, the score weaves its emotion in swathes of lush orchestral textures, with brass fanfares heralding action and off-stage voices ghostly in their effect. Elements of Chinese music appear at key moments, apparently authentic tunes brought to Italy via a music box. Ping, Pang and Pong are a playful trio, a cabaret comedy act with bowler hats and walking sticks, well matched in a seamless vocal blend. In a noncomedic role for a change, Jamie MacDougall shows just what a serious actor he is as Emperor Altoum. By producing a Turandot with the entire libretto and music as written by Franco Alfano, the composer selected to complete the work after Puccini died, there is a sense of wholeness. Rather than stopping at Liu’s death, this version allows the impact of Turandot finding love with Calaf to be keenly felt in a production that is as moving as it is theatrical. Turandot, Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Wednesday 4, Saturday 7 November; Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Wednesday 11, Saturday 14, Tuesday 17, Thursday 19, Sunday 22 November; reviewed at Theatre Royal, Glasgow.

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DO NOT PASS GO 

PICTURE: MIHAELA BODLOVIC

Lizzie Magie is hardly a household name, but her achievements and legacy have come into sharper focus in recent years. Born in Illinois in 1866, the pioneering feminist supported herself as a typist before creating The Landlord’s Game, a board game aimed at illustrating progressive taxation and redistribution of wealth. As this playful devised piece from Jordan & Skinner shows, there is a rich irony in the fact that her creation was the basis for Monopoly, a paean to amassing wealth that made millions for the men who patented and distributed it while Magie went penniless. Performed by a cast of three (Amy Helena, Melanie Jordan and Diane Thornton), Do Not Pass Go is less a conventional biography than a string of engaging vignettes, set to music and incorporating British Sign Language, that illustrate episodes from Magie’s life. The emerging popularity of the original game among students and Quaker communities is demonstrated using an assortment of tables and chairs. Characters from Monopoly are brought in to explain the single tax system developed by Henry George, of which Magie was a proponent. The Parker Brothers, to whom Charles Darrow sold the game without crediting Magie, are depicted as predatory monsters while Darrow appears in the guise of a silent movie villain. The show, directed by Caitlin Skinner, tends towards overstatement at times, with spoken passages so cyclic as to be almost surplus to requirements. There is, however, something infectious about the more inventive storytelling aspects. Although the piece could be tighter, it feels appropriate that such a pioneering figure should be celebrated with an unconventional staging, bringing in politics and economics while pointing out contemporary resonances with a light touch. (Allan Radcliffe)  Dundee Rep, Tuesday 3 November; Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, Thursday 5–Saturday 7 November; reviewed at Studio Theatre, Edinburgh.

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FJORD  In this remarkable film, Romanian director Cristian Mungiu does something daring: he critiques the implementation of his own progressive values, challenging just how tolerant liberal societies really are. In recognition, the filmmaker was rewarded with his second Palme d’Or (his first was for 2007’s abortion drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days). Inspired by real events, Fjord introduces us to the Gheorghius, a conservative Christian clan consisting of mother Lisbet (Renate Reinsve), father Mihai (Sebastian Stan) and their five children. The family arrive in a remote Norwegian village, having left Romania: for the Norwegian Lisbet, it’s a return home. Although they are friendly in their own reserved way and make themselves useful to their community, their values do not completely align with those of the locals. Their disciplinarian approach to childrearing raises eyebrows, and rumours of abuse rapidly reach the ear of child services, who pay the family a visit and are all too eager to take the kids away. It’s an uncomfortable watch and yet feels absolutely essential. Fjord shows how state overreach and rushing to judgement can lead to religious persecution and alienation, with the family driven into the arms of unsavoury types when they become the centre of a social media storm. There’s nuance in the portrayal of the family’s neighbours, but those working in child protection come in for perhaps too much of a kicking, with the most hissable depiction of a social worker since Hunt For The Wilderpeople, in the shape of Ellen Dorrit Petersen’s pitiless Gunda. With so much at stake and plenty to say, Fjord wears its epic length remarkably well. The lack of empathy creates a real chill in the air, with Mungiu’s austere, unshowy style presenting his case with compelling severity. (Emma Simmonds)  In cinemas from Friday 13 November.

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Even-handed in his sympathy and withering criticism, Kevin Bridges keeps both the punches and the laughs rolling in his new touring show. Jay Richardson hails the ongoing fine form of Glasgow’s favourite comic

REVIEWS

our years since Kevin Bridges last graced the Hydro, his current show’s title (Here If You Need Me) reflects the fact that so few comedians can make an arena seem as intimate as the Glaswegian. His relaxed openness and down-to-earth authenticity isn’t wholly to his advantage, encouraging more audience interjections than most comics playing rooms this size experience. Playfully acknowledging his millionaire status, Bridges still retains that everybloke relatability that first established the newly selfstyled ‘Big Kev’ as a generational stand-up talent. He’s now globetrotting, staying in swanky American hotels with a bar in the middle of the swimming pool, observing nouveau riche tackiness without much judgement, save the temptation it places on a full bladder. But he’s still mostly focused on taking the piss, revving up a bigoted redneck in his warped fantasies of Britain bowing down to sharia law. Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell are also roundly mocked for the latter’s indiscreet largesse with SNP funds, though there’s heartfelt admiration in Bridges anointing him a ‘legend!’ Approaching his 40th birthday, it seems incredible that this father-of-one can continue to draw so deep from the nostalgia well of his own Clydebank schooldays. Yet even with well-worn routines on the big television that got wheeled into the classroom or the juvenile frustration of waiting for porn facilitated by a dial-up modem, his mastery of blunt, exquisite phrasing and gift for a unique visual image render these potentially clichéd tropes satisfyingly distinctive, if not exactly fresh. The latter routine is part of broader reflection on technological developments that finds him hilariously building a head of steam and losing a battle for supremacy with his phone. Employing tech and mental health as a way to alternately bash and defend the Boomer generation and Gen Z, Bridges is admirably even-handed. He’s a defender of the elderly in their persecution by daytime television and for the young team in their doomscrolling. Ultimately though, he’s only loyal to the laughs and cutting in his criticism of all and sundry. With specific regard to neurodiversity, he’s sublimely dismissive, encapsulating the faddishness of various conditions in a single pithy line disguised as enquiring crowd work. Reducing his no-doubt luxurious home to a playground for his childlike way of getting about the place, he’s casually, off-handedly disclosing of his vulnerabilities, making light of issues that other comics would grandstand or opine about, and all the funnier for it. At the beginning of his tour, some segues are a bit abrupt, requiring smoother passage. Yet Bridges’ chuckling good humour, ability to roll with the punches of whatever the crowd yells at him and recourse to solid football metaphors shows him to be impressively match fit nonetheless; whatever the personal trainer he so disparages might say about him.

PICTURE: ANDY HOLLINGWORTH

Kevin Bridges: Here If You Need Me, OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Tuesday 3 & Wednesday 4, Sunday 15, Tuesday 17, Wednesday 25 & Thursday 26 November.

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THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE

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We all remember the teachers who made their mark on our developing selves, good or bad. For the impressionable Edinburgh pupils in Miss Brodie’s class at Marcia Blaine School For Girls, she is an exotic beacon of light, beaming hope, possibility and glamour into their lives. Or does she? Muriel Spark sprinkled the pages of her 1961 novel with many things, most frustratingly (and brilliantly) a sense of ambiguity. From the basic question of ‘is she a good teacher?’ right up to ‘is she an actual fascist?’, The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie encourages us to view its 1930s heroine through many lenses. Eschewing a classroom setting for arresting amphitheatre-style steps (softened by pale pink carpet), the stage is as bold and stylish as Brodie herself. An enormous lampshade hovers above, vintage in shape and material, but filled with space-age lighting rods. This dichotomy of eras is echoed by Brodie’s approach to life, which blends a love of Renaissance art with a ferociously modern outlook on women’s education and sexuality. Stepping into this vastly complex role with high heels and much aplomb is Gayle Rankin, a Hollywood and Broadway star born for the part. Her capacity for acerbic wit quickly makes its mark, and from the first day of term onwards, we look forward to whatever comes out of her mouth next. Such rapaciousness needs a foil and Maureen Beattie as starched headmistress Miss Mackay, Brian Ferguson as would-be suitor Gordon Lowther and the rest of this strong ensemble bask in Rankin’s glow, yet keep their own comic lights shining. For a story so steeped in loss, regret, tragedy and longing, there’s a slight lack of gut-wrenching emotion to be found in David Harrower’s script or Vicky Featherstone’s direction (although perhaps this small missing piece in the jigsaw is most aptly attributed to Spark herself). But as innocent frolics slowly turn to sinister manipulation, inappropriate vicariousness and bitter twisted logic, the play packs a punch in many other ways and Rankin is a marvel throughout. (Kelly Apter)  Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Wednesday 4–Saturday 7 November; reviewed at Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh.

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YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER

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Pakistani-American writer/director Bassam Tariq follows up his promising debut Mogul Mowgli with a fiercely spiritual action thriller that subverts stereotypes, while acting as a formidable showcase for its double Oscarwinning star, Mahershala Ali. Tariq and Ali were set to work together on the MCU reboot of Blade, which was tragically cancelled, with Ali’s stunt and sword training put to stunning use here instead. The actor plays devout Muslim Latif, an ex-military hitman dealing with the sudden death of his beloved wife and mother of his three children. It plunges him into a crisis of faith as he struggles to fill her shoes and battles to secure breastmilk for their baby with an unsympathetic medical establishment. As if that wasn’t enough, Latif gets drawn into the conflict between his shady employer Mike (Laith Nakli) and gun-toting, gold-toothed Christian pastor Hwan (John Cho, clearly having a blast). Hwan is targeting Mike’s nephew, Hatty (Abubakr Ali), who runs a porn studio specialising in Muslim-themed material. Giancarlo Esposito is the local imam desperate to keep Latif on the straight and narrow, while Adia plays Fatiha, Latif’s distraught but no less defiant teenage daughter. Ali gives another astounding, mesmerically pained and conflicted performance at the centre of this fascinating, visually rich film, showing impressive physicality and pairing credibly and touchingly with newcomer Adia. There are powerful scenes aplenty as Tariq puts mothers on a divine pedestal, immerses us in Muslim culture, makes religious hypocrisy a target, and offers his own thrillingly idiosyncratic and intimate take on crime tropes. Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother dips its toe in John Wickesque waters, but is far more interesting and emotionally authentic. The film transcends its pulpy, neo-noir stylings by demonstrating the destructive cycle of religious violence and speaking soulfully to the tensions of our time. (Emma Simmonds)  In cinemas from Friday 20 November. 72 THE LIST Month 2024

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Visually hitting the right note from the outset, Being Heumann is a vibrant portrayal of 1970s San Francisco. Coda director Siân Heder points the lens at the near month-long 504 Sit-in of 1977, when Judith Heumann and over 100 other disability activists sought to enforce legislation allowing access to education, jobs and equal rights while making discrimination against people with disabilities illegal. The film centres around Heumann and collaborating civil rights groups performing nationwide sit-ins as a response to previous efforts being ignored. Officials realise the publicly broadcast consequences of their apathy and begin to use tactics like refusing food, water and comfort to the activists, showing the hard reality of staging this kind of protest for people who need regular medical assistance. But Heumann’s determined group endures the longest ever protest in a federal building. During the climactic court scenes, activists share moving testimony of the rejections, segregation and unsafe conditions they faced daily. Sadly, elsewhere the film tends to gloss over its real-world characters. As a talented cast (including Ruth Madeley as Heumann, plus Antwan Tolliver and Mark Ruffalo) provide authentic performances, the script struggles to create a compelling portrait of the group dynamic and of Heumann’s life and motivations, letting slip a genuine sense of this activist. Despite the heavy subject matter, the sit-in scenes are given a sleepover treatment, with an excess of quiet speeches and cutesy moments until political intervention moves the action forward. While Being Heumann tells an important story, it lacks the depth of a truly inspiring film. (Rachel Morrell)  In cinemas from Friday 6 November; screened at Grosvenor Picture Theatre as part of International Film Festival Glasgow, Wednesday 11 November.

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Brighton-based artist Aimée Parrott’s new show of mixed-media works, created through monotype printing, stitching and painting, is a glorious and nerve-jangling kaleidoscope of colour; a dance of energy and light. The exhibition consists almost entirely of pieces made during this summer’s heatwaves, with the bleached-out and translucent feel of the visuals codifying something close to the skittish anxiety of those months (at least in England). An almost-too-much luminosity and heat radiates from Parrott’s thin fabric surfaces. Added dazzle is created, in some cases, by pointillist dot patterns in acrylic ink, or secondary artworks placed behind (and visible through) the translucent fabric surfaces, hinting at moiré effects. There is an elemental energy to this work and a commitment to a pure form of visual abstraction that takes Parrott away from the realms of, say, socially engaged ecological art. Many of the monotypes which form the basis of these pieces (imprints from copper plates drawn on with printing ink) are what the artist calls ‘generative’ forms. Spirals, orbs, fern-like articulations: there is a Mandelbrot-like fractal quality to such shapes, as if we could be looking at things that are infinitely large or infinitely small. An evocation of something like the animating force of nature is in play, rather than any specific response to our present climate and nature crises. That said, in ‘Fever’, which seems the most figurative work in the show, it is hard not to picture the windows and side wall of a house viewed front on, heat emanating from without and within. The show’s title, borrowed from surrealist poet Dylan Thomas, reflects the artist’s sense of humanity’s entwinement with the vast processes of energy transferal that constitute life on planet earth. These works hum with that same strength. (Greg Thomas)  Cample Line, Thornhill, until Sunday 13 December.

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AIMÉE PARROTT: THE GREEN FUSE DRIVES THE FLOWER 

GOING OUT Potfest (and bottom from left), The Snaw Queen, Stories: The Tap Dance Sensation, Alfie Brown

OTHER THINGS WORTH GOING OUT FOR If you fancy getting out and about this month, there’s plenty culture to sample such as a reopened botanical haven, the year’s most heavily anticipated documentary (to put it mildly) and the arrival in the north of a West End blockbuster

HIGHLIGHTS

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FESTIVAL

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PALM HOUSES

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OPERATION MINCEMEAT

Treat yourself with a visit to the RBGE’s recently restored Palm Houses featuring rare and threatened plants in a dramatic setting. There are also some events laid on such as a concert by cellist Su-a Lee on 11 November. n Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, open daily.

This festival has been bringing potters and the public together for over 30 years, first coming to Scotland in 1997. All told, over 500 artists show off their ceramics across ten UK locations, with The Briggait getting its big moment this month. n The Briggait, Glasgow, Friday 27–Sunday 29 November.

Dubbed as ‘Singin’ In The Rain meets Strangers On A Train’, this Olivier winning musical is the all-true story of the twisted secret mission that seemingly helped defeat the Nazis in World War II. n King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Monday 2–Saturday 7 November; Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Tuesday 10–Saturday 14 November.

COMEDY

ALFIE BROWN After a superb Fringe run with The Entertainer, the comedy provocateur takes that show on the road. His take on XL Bully pooches and their owners will almost certainly stay with you. n The Stand, Glasgow, Saturday 14 November; The Stand, Edinburgh, Sunday 15 November.

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HOW TO ROB A BANK Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz and Pete Davidson star in this heist comedy about a crew of bank-busters who take to social media to document/boast of their crimes, with a veteran FBI agent and brainiac software engineer in pursuit. n In cinemas from Friday 13 November.

MACBETH Foldout stage their debut production and it’s a big choice. Founded in 2025 by RCS graduate Oat Jenner, the company welcomes artists from all backgrounds, creating opportunities to share ideas and build lasting creative relationships. n Burns Street Studios, Glasgow, Wednesday 11–Saturday 14 November.

STORIES: THE TAP DANCE SENSATION

YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING

THE SNAW QUEEN

France’s Got Talent alumni RB Dance Company provide a mix of tap, urban jazz and visual theatre for their Hollywood-set story of the blurred lines between ambition and obsession. n King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Monday 9 November.

You’ll have read about the amazing pre-sales figures for Nathan Fielder’s three-hour documentary on the disgraced tech-sis Elizabeth Holmes. Now see the evidence for yourself in a packed room. n In cinemas from Friday 20 November.

The Tron panto celebrates its 40th anniversary with Johnny McKnight again at the helm as we step into Kristine Cagney Kringle’s Christmas workshop. n Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Wednesday 18 November–Thursday 31 December.

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By Jane Austen Adapted by ash parker

Brought to you by Strawmoddie Theatre 10 - 13 Dec | The Pleasance, Edinburgh

Registered in Sc otlandNo. SC022 513 and is a Scottish Charity No. SC0013 37

strawmoddietheatre.company

Emma Print A3.indd 1

13/10/2026 19:06:45

Scotland’s leading independent cinema and the home of film in Glasgow www.glasgowfilm.org

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SE7VEN PRODUCTIONS & PRESTIGE PRODUCTIONS PRESENT

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YELLOWJACKETS Starring icons who are partly known for some creepy screen roles (Christina Ricci and Juliette Lewis) and some modern stars in the same mould (Ella Purnell, Sophie Thatcher and Jasmin Savoy Brown), Yellowjackets lands (safely) for its final batch of episodes. Jumping back and forward between the mid-90s setting of a plane crash and the modern day as survivors battle for power over each other, you may find yourself watching most of this through your fingers. (Brian Donaldson)  Starts on Paramount+, Friday 20 November. November 2026 THE LIST 77

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SUPERPOWER TO THE PEOPLE Superheroes may be idolised for their buff bodies, shiny capes and extraordinary powers, but what if they were actually ordinary Scottish folk? As Kirsti Wishart launches her new novel, she chats to Lucy Ribchester about imagining a world in which superheroes get tangled up in red tape and dreary bureaucracy

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here is something intrinsically funny, I think, about putting the words “Scottish” and “superheroes” together,’ says author Kirsti Wishart over Zoom. ‘There’s just something that doesn’t quite work about it. What would Scottish superheroes actually look like?’ It’s a question Wishart ruminates on in her new novel, The Pocketbook Guide To Scottish Superheroes. The story takes place in a world where superheroes abound in society, harbouring a plethora of extraordinary talents from flying to generating instant coffee on the spot. This (being Scotland) creates the need for an agency to assess newly ‘abled’ heroes, and it’s here that protagonist Cathy, an ex-comic book artist, spends her days dealing with superhero bureaucracy at work, while grappling after hours with her father’s abduction by the mysterious Kannyman. A civil servant by day and writer by night, Wishart is therefore no stranger to either the mechanics of civic organisation or the art of dividing herself across multiple identities. A lifelong fan of comic books, she began wondering what the day-to-day practicalities of life in a world with superheroes would look like; and the messy and mundane processes of assessing who makes the grade. ‘Because of the particular place where I was working,’ Wishart says, ‘I thought, “well, would that not put a strain on the benefits agency?” There would be this thing about judging, “well, are they a superhero? Are you a superhero? You’re not.” And the absurdity of trying to work that out within a bureaucracy; it was fun exploring that, seeing how it would actually look in the real world.’ For Wishart there is something ‘fundamentally dodgy’ about the idea of superheroes, because such categorisations inevitably lead to social hierarchy. With this in mind, she wanted the book to focus not on big names or vast powers but on ordinary people (such as Cathy) and for it to take place in ordinary Scottish locations. ‘I wanted it to happen in places that are a bit off to the side, if you like. No disrespect to Dundee, but it doesn’t feature all that often in Scottish literature. I suppose this is quite a Scottish approach. It’s ignoring the big stars and focusing on the wee people instead.’  The Pocketbook Guide To Scottish Superheroes is published by Shoreline Of Infinity on Thursday 5 November; the book is launched at Blackness Library, Dundee, that same afternoon.

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We’re wading deeply into the letter W in our latest alphabet-themed series of album recommendations Yaeji’s With A Hammer (2023) was one of those hotly anticipated albums that arrived with a bang then instantly disappeared. Its critically lauded approach to synth-pop should have been an audience smash, from the retro-futurist murk of ‘For Granted’ (which could soundtrack the end credits to every cool indie movie for the next decade) to ‘I’ll Remember For Me, I’ll Remember For You’, an early entrant into the party-time vibes of nu-jazz. Want Grimes with less cringe and fewer politically dubious meltdowns? Yaeji is the classier, more astute heir to her throne. After that sugar rush, a comedown is in order with PJ Harvey’s White Chalk (2007), perhaps one of the most desolate releases of the 21st century. Leaning into piano-led goth folk, its echoey production adds a ghostly hue to songs of life, loss, sorrow, abortion and subsequent regret. Harvey would attempt this falsetto-led sadness again on I Inside The Old Year Dying (which also draws inspiration from England’s West Country), but little can match White Chalk’s heartwrenching pathos. (Kevin Fullerton)  Other W listens: We Will Annihilate Our Enemies by Real Lies (2025), Waiting by Fun Boy Three (1983), Wax Limousine by Wesley Gonzalez (2022).

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my perfect podcast

PICTURE: MICHELLE HUGGLESTON

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In this column, we ask a pod person about the ’casts that mean a lot to them. This month, it’s comedian Ignacio Lopez, host of Side Gig, a podcast where he chats to people from the worlds of entertainment, sport, music and comedy about what they do and what they used to do

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Which podcast educates you? No Film School. Very insightful nerdy look at film gear and film production. I went to

PREVIEWS

film school but it was a million years ago. We used to shoot on mini DV and the lights were all hotter than the sun, so things have come a long way.

Which podcast makes you laugh? The Dogg Zzone. A look at what comedy writers Seanbaby and Robert Brockway call ‘cursed media’, with a different guest each week. Currently they’re working their way through The Secret Man, an autobiography of the pathological liar that the Jean-Claude Van Damme film Bloodsport was based on. The subject matter is always unhinged and the analysis is hilarious. Which podcast makes you sad or angry? Behind The Bastards. A deep dive into the lives of reprehensible people from history (and increasingly modern day). It’s kind of comedy, as host Robert Evans, producer Sophie Lichterman and whoever they’ve talked into guesting on the show can be flippant and silly about stuff. It’s a great listen, but the subject matter is often grim. Which podcast is your guilty pleasure? Not sure if it’s a guilty pleasure but there have been times where I’ve been laughing out loud on public transport and had some funny looks: Ghastly Women with two ace comics, Esther Manito and Lily Phillips. Tell us someone who currently doesn’t have a podcast but totally should. And why do you think their one would be amazing? I would love to hear an autobiographical podcast by Joe Pesci, covering his early life and all the

iconic work he’s done. Then it becomes a true-crime podcast about his ex-wife trying to kill her other ex-husband who was a stunt actor (this happened).

Pitch us a new podcast idea in exactly 25 words NINPOD: Nine Inch Nails fanatic Ignacio Lopez chats with guests from the NIN-verse (there’s a lot!) and dives into Trent Reznor’s discography (all the halos!). Side Gig With Ignacio Lopez is available wherever you get your podcasts; Ignacio Lopez: Nada is at The Stand, Edinburgh, Wednesday 2 December; The Stand, Glasgow, Thursday 3 December.

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STAYING IN

GAMES

WORLD OF WARCRAFT: FOREVER

PICTURE: MICHELLE HUGGLESTON

Later this month, World Of Warcraft turns 22, an astonishing age for a game that still attracts millions of paying subscribers. Over the years, it has grown (some would say bloated) across 11 expansions, while its various Classic editions offer a return to earlier versions of the game. Now, World Of Warcraft: Forever promises a different kind of reset. A standalone title set in the original 2004 timeline, Forever aims to remix the game with updated professions and new ways to play. Developer Blizzard has reworked the existing map and added three new zones, plus 1000 quests on top of the original and revamped questlines. There are also new dungeons and raids, revamped character models and an expanded range of race and class combinations. A new race, Skyborne, offers a variant on the high elf. An extensive recent beta test gave players an early glimpse of the changes and the responses have been very positive. While Classic appeals to players seeking a return to the slower-paced experience of the early days, Forever aims to marry that nostalgia with a substantial technical overhaul. Volumetric lighting and dynamic shadows give familiar locations a more atmospheric look, while controller support finally offers an alternative to the traditional keyboard-and-mouse set-up. Blizzard’s challenge will be making these changes feel meaningful without losing what made the original game so enduring. It’s an intriguing attempt to bridge the gap between old-school foundations and modern expectations. (Murray Robertson)  Released on PC on Wednesday 4 November.

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When a baby blue compact car enters a top-speed, high-stakes chase through the narrow streets of Zurich, you may be reminded of its cinematic predecessor: that iconic, red little-engine-that-could from The Bourne Identity. Apple TV’s new heist drama series, 12 12 12, has all the tense action, lavish scenery, interpersonal drama and scheming plot lines of your favourite spy thrillers. But unlike Jason Bourne, there is no amnesia present in the rival protagonists here. Rather, both the slick career criminal Paul (Jamie Dornan) and the vindictive FBI agent Jack (Anthony Mackie) are clear-minded in their opposing missions. Paul must pull off a billion-dollar underground bank heist if he wants to protect his family from the criminal gangs who have re-emerged from his murky past. Jack has let the thief slip away before, in a career altering, multi-million-dollar intelligence failure. This time around, he’s hellbent on stopping what could be the biggest bank robbery in European history and redeeming his professional reputation. So while the financial stakes are high, the personal ones are even higher. Creators Dudi Appleton and Jim Keeble launch viewers straight into the action, unfolding this cat and mouse chase across three timelines which comprise the title: the 12 months of planning the convoluted robbery, the 12 hours of careful execution, and the 12 days of escaping the scene. The result is a nail-biting ride of building tensions and sly espionage that will satisfy your appetite for a high-octane series as winter draws in. (Lucy Mills)  Available on Apple TV from Friday 13 November.

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podcast of the month

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Dominic & Junior takes Sopranos’ fans back to the mean streets of New Jersey for a walk down memory lane. But there’s more than mob-adjacent nostalgia at play in this warm and reflective podcast, says Paul Dale

These wiseguys (and gals) are clearly having a ball and that carries weight in any podcast. Too old to care but too young to forget, they respectfully dig down into their memories of working with Chase and Gandolfini, father and son cultural legacies and, of course, the genre specifics of the iconic series that touched all their lives. Chianese is also old and astute enough to recall Hollywood in its heyday and make those cinematic and musical connections from west to east coast and into the heart of that beloved HBO series. The result is something autumnal-warm, mature and reflective. In a field dominated by youthful inquiry, this is an attempt to celebrate the dying of the light. Episodes of Dominic & Junior are available wherever you get your fictional mob-based listening; The Sopranos can be streamed on HBO Max.

REVIEWS

o, you rewatched The Sopranos twice during lockdown? You’ve studied and dissected its 2021 movie prequel The Many Saints Of Newark and HBO’s excellent two-part David Chase documentary. You’ve even had a go at every recipe in The Sopranos Family Cookbook. And still there’s a cultural void in your life that can only be filled by affiliated ItalianAmerican chit-chat. Thank the lord of ageing men then for the Dominic & Junior podcast. That’s 95-year-old Dominic Chianese (or Corrado ‘Junior’ Soprano aka Uncle Junior) and his ‘in real life’ 62-year-old son Dominic Junior (who appeared in three episodes of The Sopranos Sopranos’ sixth and final season as the somewhat uninspired character name of Dominic). The format here is simple: father and son shoot the breeze about Chianese Sr’s career as a musician (he’s an accomplished singer and acoustic guitarist) and actor (lest we forget he was also Johnny Ola in The Godfather Part II II), as well as their collective life, work and mutual admiration. Then they are joined by an old friend from the neighbourhood. Distinguished guests in the first series include E Street Band icon Steven Van Zandt (Silvio Dante), John Ventimiglia and Katherine Narducci (Artie and Charmaine Bucco), and Federico Castelluccio (Carmela’s fantasy lover Furio). They even step outside The Sopranos Sopranos’ alma mater bubble to speak with legendary actor, writer, director and producer Chazz Palminteri (The The Usual Suspects Suspects, Bullets Over Broadway Broadway, Modern Family Family) to talk about being offered the role of Tony Soprano (he turned it down for artistic and health reasons) and his relief and lack of regret about that decision. The themes of James Gandolfini’s genius and the seminal imperative of his casting as Tony are a constant (but also sometimes a given) here. It’s not all machismo and wilting nostalgia, however, with one episode featuring Aida Turturro aka television’s greatest sibling narcissist Janice Soprano. This rare treat has Chianese and Turturro waxing lyrical about the complexities of playing divisive, landmark characters that come around for an actor once in a lifetime. Contradictions, humour and fragility were the mix that made both their characters work and here they attempt to deconstruct and honour this through the lens of time.

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CIARÁN

Róisín (Ninja Tune) 

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Detached from his Bearface moniker and the umpteen bandmates he once shared a stage with, former Brockhampton vocalist Ciarán McDonald is finally ready to share his long-awaited solo material. Róisín marks that independence with a carefully arranged, quietly personal 13-track offering. When Brockhampton split in 2022, McDonald moved into a New York apartment with a group of musicians, one of whom was Abhi Raju. It’s clear that the US songwriter/producer left an impression on the Belfast-born crooner, who sounds as though he’s spent the last four years enjoying the distorted stylings of increasingly popular guitar-led pop stars such as Dijon and Mk.Gee. This lo-fi playing style is omnipresent on Róisín, though that is not to say the album sounds imitative or vapid. On the liturgical ‘Houston’, McDonald’s layered vocals mimic that of a church choir, as he yearns for a moment beneath the Texas sun with an absent partner. There’s a touching vulnerability on lead single ‘K-Bar’, while Giggs’ anthemic 2007 single ‘Talkin Da Hardest’ is interpolated on the pitched down Dean Blunt-esque rap cut ‘White Leather’, an indicator that the post-boyband McDonald is beginning to embrace his European identity. Brockhampton were not taken seriously by large corners of the internet by the time they went their separate ways, reduced to a flash-inthe-pan phase of late 2010s hysteria by those who were quick to endorse the group when they first made waves in 2017. With his first full-length solo release, McDonald has produced the strongest post break-up material of the group and might rejoin the cultural zeitgeist as a result. (Danny Munro)  Released on Friday 6 November.

RACHID BENZINE

The Man Who Read Books (Canongate) 

REVIEWS

The course of conflict between Israel and Palestine is labyrinthine and deadly, shaped by mistrust and generational enmity. Even attempting to convey the impact of such a complex subject would seem a forbidding task; to do so in a short novel is nigh on impossible. But in The Man Who Read Books, Rachid Benzine takes a strikingly simple approach to tell the tale of a nation through the eyes of one man. Over a mere 130 pages, his protagonist essentially narrates his own life story and the significance literature has had on his journey. During a ceasefire in Gaza, young French photographer Julien heads out from his hotel into the streets of the city and encounters Nabil, an elderly man selling books. While Julien attempts to take a picture of Nabil, the bookseller asks him to first take the time to listen. He slowly unfolds his tale, of a lifetime lived entirely in the shadow of conflict and war, from his birth in 1948 to a Muslim mother and Christian father, through university, refugee camps and into family life, all played out against a strifetorn backdrop with no resolution in sight. Through Nabil, Benzine graphically conveys the deprivation and dust, the oppression and horror. As a reader, it’s not just the personal loss of Nabil’s family and friends that hits home, but the cumulative grief of dispossession, ethnic cleansing and genocide. And yet, woven through his harrowing story, we witness the power that resides in books and poetry. They become glimmers of hope and tools of survival, as well as an aid to engender empathy in a world where it would be all too easy to have none. Benzine’s profound and affecting narrative illustrates that, even after decades of dehumanisation, compassion and dignity can endure. (Paul McLean)  Published on Thursday 5 November.

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GAMES

SILENT HILL: TOWNFALL

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Konami took a real punt when they tasked Glasgow developer Screen Burn (responsible for interesting indie games Stories Untold and Observation) with creating a new entry in their prestigious Silent Hill series. The publisher’s recent strategy has been to branch the franchise away from the titular fictional US town, first to 1960s rural Japan with Silent Hill F and now to a Scottish island based on the quaint fishing village of St Monans. That risky decision has now paid off twice: Silent Hill has never really been about its formative location, but about broken people drifting through mysterious places, their deepest personal traumas manifesting as otherworldly horror. In Townfall, Simon finds himself wandering the deserted, misty streets of St Amelia in 1996. It’s a beautifully realised, eerie facsimile of so many Scottish coastal settlements, replete with authentic street furniture, detailed shop fronts and lovingly crafted community noticeboards. But there’s something very wrong with the place and it’s not long before Simon encounters patrolling monsters whose movements can be monitored using a handheld TV. This system is reminiscent of the motion tracker from Alien: Isolation, itself one of the game’s biggest influences (alongside the John Wyndham-esque Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture). As the town of St Amelia gradually reveals itself, the game layers in puzzles and enemy encounters that escalate in difficulty, making progress increasingly fraught (and frequently terrifying) as numerous disparate story threads coalesce. Townfall is a deeply unsettling experience that proves Silent Hill can thrive wherever its damaged inhabitants happen to wash up. (Murray Robertson)  Out now on PC and PS5.

REVIEWS

Raised in San Francisco to two musician parents, Sheherazaad’s musical heritage spans generations and continents. Her grandmother was a concert producer renowned for her work in the Indian classical music scene, and while Sheherazaad’s output now concerns itself with themes relating to the South Asian diaspora, her musical education started in jazz and The Great American Songbook. This debut album captures the folky minimalism of her 2024 EP Quasr (produced by Grammy-winning artist Arooj Aftab) but layers on more drama and experimentation. Khudgarzi translates to The Selfish Woman, an archetypal character Sheherazaad was made to fear growing up (‘embracing her felt like stepping into a forbidden forest I’d been running away from’, she writes in the album’s press release). Written in the aftermath of a break-up, the collection speaks to the multi-faceted nature of femininity, in all of its beauty, shame, guilt and horror. Opening track ‘Qatil’ (Murderess) introduces its theatrical tone with pulsing percussion and two interlocking vocal tracks (Sheherazaad’s buoyant tones and a deeper speaking voice). The tension is diffused in ‘Pakeezah’ (Pure One) with its beautiful yet haunting pizzicato strings that are punctuated with dissonant scratches. Songs like ‘Mard’ (Man) and ‘Andhera’ (Darkness) lean more heavily into experimentation, with contemporary sensibilities coming through in the melodies and sound design. There’s a cinematic quality to all ten tracks, Sheherazaad’s compositions swelling with emotion and subtext. Each lyric, instrument, string line and production choice are part of her storytelling, challenging and spoiling the listener in equal measure. (Megan Merino)  Released on Friday 20 November.

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STAY HUSH

A Little Edinburgh Escape

November Concerts

Edinburgh's just as good outside the festival season. Tucked away just off the Royal Mile, Stay Hush has 21 design-led apartments for winter weekends, midweek city breaks and longer stays. Think cosy interiors, your own kitchen and the Old Town on your doorstep. Whether you're visiting for a few nights or working from somewhere different, make yourself at home.

STAY HUSH Royal Mile

STAY HUSH Castle Terrace

Cooper's Close Edinburgh EH8 8PA

33-35 Castle Terrace Edinburgh EH1 2EL

stayhush.com

@stay_hush_uk

Sheku Kanneh-Mason plays Haydn with Andrew Manze and SCO Academy

12-13 Nov, 7.30pm Edinburgh | Glasgow

Side by Side with SCO Wind Soloists and RCS Winds

20 & 22 Nov

LIST.CO.UK Scotland’s definitive guide to arts & culture, helping people get a life since 1985.

Glasgow 1pm | Edinburgh 3pm

The Magic of Mendelssohn

DISCOVER WHAT’S ON

with Sir Stephen Hough

26-27 Nov, 7.30pm Edinburgh | Glasgow

Explore our concerts sco.org.uk Company Registration Number: SC075079. A charity registered in Scotland No. SC015039.

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GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR INBOX Whether you’re looking for something to eat or something to do, we’ve got you covered.

Halloween may have slithered on by, but there’s still scary stuff to add to your watchlist including a Friday The 13th prequel, an update on the Slavic legend of Baba Yaga and a hairy hellbeast prowling the Hebridean waters. Claire Sawers finds quality laughs among the chills too, from a much-missed comedy icon and a mega-bright up and comer >>

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his is a show for everyone who is, has been, or will be a delusional and irritating 24-year-old: I see you, I love you, I am you,’ explained comedian Leo Reich when describing his glorious Gen Z sitcom It Gets Worse (Channel 4) just prior to it airing. The now 28-year-old stars as Ethan, and wrote the London-set series where consent forms are signed before sex parties and a privileged white boy reflects to his therapist, ‘maybe woe is me?’ Reich’s knowing writing is simultaneously zingy and zeitgeisty, and soaked in jaded ennui; he slays at the angsty, in-between areas between twink cluelessness and ultra self-awareness. But there’s plenty of wisdom in his wisecracking which lands like Russell T Davies scripting Broad City. There’s some inspired casting too, with a delicious Andrew Scott cameo as a daddy-issues hook-up, plus Vicki Pepperdine plays Ethan’s mum, bringing some fabulous Dear Joan And Jericha vibes. Gird your loins as the group sex continues in Yaga (Now TV), where the son of a billionaire has gone missing from a small coastal town, and a cocky, flirty PI (Noah Reid aka Patrick from Schitt’s Creek) is flown in to help local police crack the case. In this Canadian adaptation of Kat Sandler’s dark thriller play, Hudson ‘so hot right now’ Williams gets an extra part cast just for him: he plays both the missing rich boy and his lookalike roommate. The mystery swirls around satanic rituals, supernatural magic and trippy visions. Carrie-Anne Moss plays an enigmatic academic (complete with Olivia Colman-style elegant grey tresses) rumoured to be sleeping with her students. Through her, plus the myth of the child-eating Baba Yaga, the show explores female fury, sexuality and invisibility. Entertaining but perhaps with a few too many clashing elements thrown into the potion. Linda Cardellini plays a grieving mother in Crystal Lake (Now TV), giving some gory back story to the 1980 slasher movie Friday The 13th. From production company A24 and writer Brad Caleb Kane, this prequel series blends 1970s Americana scenes of cookouts, camping and bowling alleys with schlocky violence. Sometimes it’s not clear whether the show is going for deliberately camp, fun pastiche or just spilling over into naff nonsense: a scene with a burst Ziploc bag of blood feels like the former while a fake brown bear encounter swings sharply to the latter. Cardellini, though, is brilliant as Pamela Voorhees, struggling to rebuild her life and even fall in love again, after her son Jason drowns in a lake when his summer camp counsellor abandoned her kids to go frolic in a cabin. Flawed, but now with added psychological depth. ‘Intimacy was his greatest wish and biggest fear,’ sighs an exgirlfriend of the late Matthew Perry. She shares warm memories of the thoughtful, sweet man that she met in rehab and, like most of the talking heads here, describes a man easy to love yet impossible to save. The One About Matthew Perry (Netflix) rewinds to the slapstick, sarcastic comedian’s early days breaking into acting; from chasing the dopamine hit of making others fall about laughing, up to his breakthrough, era-defining role in Friends and the snare-like trap of addiction. No cast members from the iconic sitcom appear here but Perry’s sister Mia conveys the family’s turmoil as they witnessed overdoses, a coma, criminally exploitative staff, but also his eventual happiness after writing a bare-all memoir. Episodes one and two reminisce about his career highs before the final episode takes a deeper dive into his emotional struggles and the heartbreaking impact on loved ones.

Tears and fears: It Gets Worse (top), Crystal Lake; (previous page) The One About Matthew Perry (top), Yaga

SAWERS ALSO SAW . . . Bel on BBC iPlayer: ‘Haunting, powerful documentary about gifted singer-writer Beldina Odenyo’ Loch nam Madadh (Wolf Bay) on BBC iPlayer: ‘Jump scares and Scottish folklore prowl around this fun horror on a CalMac ferry’ Nocturne on Apple TV: ‘Stephen Graham is a seriously chilling serial killer in this deeply creepy US thriller’

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Proud to support Leith’s bid for UK Town of Culture 2028 November 2026 THE LIST 89

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JOSHUA REDMAN

If Ever You Would Leave Us (Blue Note) 

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When Joshua Redman was 15, his estranged father and fellow saxophonist Dewey Redman, sent him a message of congratulations, saying, ‘you sound like Sonny Rollins’. Forty-two years later, Redman Jr says goodbye to Rollins, whom he regarded as ‘a musical father, grandfather and godfather, all rolled into one’ with an album (subtitled ‘We Play For Rollins’) that openly wears its deep admiration for the late saxophone colossus. Beginning with a very personal solo rendition of ‘There Will Never Be Another You’ that could be interpreted as Redman answering his hero during one of Rollins’ famous practice sessions on Williamsburg Bridge, the album moves through duo, trio, quartet and quintet treatments of favourites and lesserknown items from Rollins’ discography. ‘Doxy’ is a lovely saxophone and bass romp, with Christian McBride matching Redman’s almost Thelonious Monkish impudence. To close the album, Redman and drummer Marcus Gilmore (whose grandfather, drum legend Roy Haynes, recorded with Rollins in 1957) honour the sax icon’s calypso legacy with a grooving, concise ‘Don’t Stop The Carnival’. Whereas Rollins was revered for stretching ideas out logically at great length, Redman mostly favours a briefer conversational approach, the two longest tracks being ‘If Ever I Would Leave You’, which barrels along with fabulous persuasion, and ‘Blue Seven’, where Redman and Chris Potter conduct a superb tenor trade-off. Two songs, ‘Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise’ and ‘God Bless The Child’, introduce the contrasting styles of Cécile McLorin Salvant and Gabrielle Cavassa, the former bending and stretching her lines with impressive dramatic feeling, the latter more matter of fact but still soulful. And Rollins’ alumni, pianist Kevin Hays and guitarist Peter Bernstein, add to the sense of continuity, with the latter starring on the bluesy, swinging ‘Grand Street’ from Rollins’ 1958 recording Sonny Rollins And The Big Brass. (Rob Adams)  Released on Friday 20 November.

GAMES

STAR WARS: GALACTIC RACER

(Fuse Games) 

At least one good thing came from The Phantom Menace: the Nintendo 64 game Star Wars Episode I: Racer. Based on the film’s standout podrace scene, it sparked an unlikely subgenre of racing games set in the Star Wars universe. Galactic Racer is the latest take on the formula, featuring a typically diverse cast of aliens (including a charming, fourarmed Scouse monkey), detailed recreations of familiar worlds such as Tatooine, Jakku and Crait, and a punchy orchestral score from veteran Star Wars game composer Gordy Haab. The campaign takes a roguelite approach, guiding you through a series of races in landspeeders, speeder bikes and skim speeders, with the iconic podracers appearing later on. Each craft is alarmingly fragile, demanding a careful balance between speed and control. An afterburner provides a moderate boost, while the much faster ramjet engine needs to be used judiciously to avoid smashing your vehicle into the scenery. Upgrades and abilities can improve vehicle resilience and, when a run ends in defeat, players start again with some improvements retained. UK developer Fuse Games comprises senior staff from the Burnout and Need For Speed franchises, whose fastpaced racing and thrilling vehicular skirmishes earned them devoted followings. Galactic Racer is blisteringly fast and its short races demand strict concentration as you negotiate the hazards ahead. The clear sound design conveys vital information about vehicle status and race conditions, allowing you to keep your eyes on the track, while the controls strike a good balance between accessibility and complexity. With numerous skirmish and multiplayer modes to complement the campaign, there’s plenty here for race fans, whether they’re into Star Wars or not. (Murray Robertson)  Out now on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

STAYING IN The Rise Of The Rockstar Chef (and bottom from left), The Taper Man by Nick Harkaway, Avedon, How Houdini Made Magic

MORE THINGS WORTH STAYING IN FOR A packed month of things to do indoors or consume on your travels include the sequel to a powerful literary memoir and a podcast peek at US politics, plus in telly land there’s an all-female legal drama and an all-bloke food documentary series BOOKS

GAMES

NICK HARKAWAY

THEOS: CITIES OF MYTH

ALL’S FAIR

A big year ahead for George Smiley with Matthew Macfadyen set to play the iconic slippery spy on TV and The Taper Man from John le Carré’s son where George finds himself in 1960s LA, navigating an unfamiliar intelligence culture. n Viking, Thursday 5 November.

Following the classic city-building game format, this work from the people who brought you Pharaoh: A New Era will have you engrossed for many an hour as you lay the foundations of a town. n Dotemu, Wednesday 4 November.

We’ve reached the second season of this swish (if critically unadmired) Hulu legal drama starring Kim Kardashian, Glenn Close, Sarah Paulson and Naomi Watts. A ‘camp classic’ was one of the kinder descriptions. n Disney+, Wednesday 4 November.

LIVIA FRANCHINI

HOW HOUDINI MADE MAGIC

THE RISE OF THE ROCKSTAR CHEF

Thirty years after the mysterious death of her artist husband, his widow is thriving as a cult horror writer when an old friend resurfaces who threatens to expose her dark past in High Tide. n Doubleday, Thursday 5 November.

Derren Brown is a man who knows about eluding from the most dangerous of scenarios (Russian roulette anyone?) so who better than the mentalist to tell the story of Harry, the world’s greatest escapologist. n All episodes available on BBC Sounds.

Something of a contrast to all that female energy, this series has uber-blokes Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal and Marco Pierre White chewing the fat and musing on the fights, the feuds and the food. n BBC One, Thursday 5 November.

HANIF KUREISHI

HIGH STAKES

AVEDON

As the midterms’ verdict is cast, Hillary Clinton joins host Kara Swisher for this mini-series to chat through the consequences as Americans have a chance to vote against Trump in their swathes. n Episodes available on Vox Media.

Ron Howard has directed this documentary, which premiered in Cannes, about the work of a legendary American photographer who became almost as well-known as his many famous subjects. n Netflix, Wednesday 11 November.

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HIGHLIGHTS

A follow-up to his hospital memoir Shattered, Kureishi’s Are You With Me Now? features his recollections of holidaying on the Amalfi Coast through to his life after the tragic accident which left him paralysed. n Hamish Hamilton, Thursday 5 November.

PODCASTS

back PICTURE: EMILY FAE

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QA &

WITH LUKE WRIGHT

Poet and performer Luke Wright is a busy bee this month. He’s part of the opening night line-up for Edinburgh poetry festival Push The Boat Out, he’s taking to the stage solo with a show based on Later Life Letter (his acclaimed poetry collection about adoption and identity), and he’s also tour support for the Bard Of Salford himself, John Cooper Clarke. Somehow, Wright managed to squeeze in our Q&A to tell us about slow-eating celebrities, washing machine wonderment and a quite frankly genius tribute act name

Who would you like to see playing you in the movie about your life? Who do you think the casting people would choose?

If you were a ghost, who would you haunt? My wife.

Brian McFadden. And why would they also not choose him? Everyone’s happy.

If you could relive any day of your life, which one would it be? No looking back now.

What’s the punchline to your favourite joke? ‘I must look like such a twat.’

What’s your earliest recollection of winning something? Quite young. Maybe

If you were to return in a future life as an animal, what would it be? My cat, Sir John Betjeman.

If you were playing in an escape room, name two other people (well-known or otherwise) you’d recruit to help you get out? It’s an unlikely scenario so I haven’t given

it much thought.

When was the last time you were mistaken for someone else and what were the circumstances? Someone bought me a pint

What’s the best cover version ever? The Kinks’ ‘Victoria’ by The Fall.

Whose speaking voice soothes your ears? The poet Liz Berry.

Tell us something you wish you had discovered sooner in life? No one cares,

they’re doing their own thing. Wear the stupid item of clothing.

Describe your perfect Saturday evening? Down my local with all my pals.

Tell us one thing about yourself that would surprise people? I never miss a

Formula One race.

Did you have a nickname at school that you were ok with? And can you tell us a nickname you hated? My best mate’s brother

and his mate used to call me ‘the big gay face’ and I remember thinking, ‘I really hope this doesn’t take off ’. Fortunately, despite being very funny guys, they were not popular, so it didn’t. I did get a great routine out of it though. Years later, John Osborne and Molly Naylor toyed with the idea of calling me The Queen Mother but I liked it too much so they dropped it.

If you were to start a tribute act to a band or singer, what would it be called? Barely Manilow.

When were you most recently astonished by something? We ordered chicken wings and took them back to our hotel room and there were two dips. But both of them were blue cheese. I mean, why?

What tune do you find it impossible not to get up and dance to, whether in public or private? ‘I’m Still Standing’. Which famous person would be your ideal holiday companion? I’m basically on holiday

(tour) right now with John Cooper Clarke. He eats very slowly. So not him. The only other famous person I know is the Rev Richard Coles, in the hope of spiritual guidance and shorter suppers.

screamed at me in the car once because they thought we might hit a crow picking at carrion in the road. I said it was miles off and to relax and my seven-year-old said ‘but we hit one once’. I didn’t remember this but it made me realise that my children would remember things I wouldn’t. Their mother and I had recently got divorced and I knew that there would be more stuff to discuss somewhere down the line.

When did you last cry? Last night watching All Of Us Strangers.

What’s the most hi-tech item in your home? The washing machine weighs the load and adjusts the time accordingly. Why, there was a time we’d have dreamed of such a thing.

What’s a skill you’d love to learn but never got round to? How I would love to play the piano.

By decree of your local council, you’ve been ordered to destroy one room in your house and all of its contents. Which room do you choose? It would have to be one of the kids’ rooms.

If you were selected as the next 007, where would you pick as your first luxury destination for espionage? Monaco, baby! Luke Wright performs at Push The Boat Out, Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh, Thursday 12 November; Luke Wright: Later Life Letter, St Cecilia’s Hall, Edinburgh, Thursday 26 November; Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh (supporting John Cooper Clarke), Friday 27 November; his book Later Life Letter is published in paperback by Abacus on Wednesday 27 January.

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once cos they thought I was Jake Humphrey from Formula One. But better than that, John Cooper Clarke and I once ate an Indian meal for free in Salisbury because they thought he was Ron Wood.

six or seven, coming top of the class at school. Made me very competitive academically and probably not all that happy for it.

As an adult, what has a child said to you that made a powerful impact? My kids

BACK

PICTURE: RUEDIGER GLATZ

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hot shots Taking place in locales such as Aberfeldy, Inverness and Dumfries (plus the big two), this year’s French Film Festival (6 November–14 December) has a plethora of Gallic delights including Coward (pictured), a queer love story set in trench warfare, the latest version of Les Misérables, and cat-and-mouse crime drama The Money Maker. The diverse work of Roman Manfredi and Sayuri Ichida appears at Jerwood/Photoworks Awards 5 at Glasgow’s Street Level Photoworks (until 20 December). The former pays homage to Neapolitan locals living outside binary expectations (pictured) while the latter tackles Japan’s population decline via images of disjointed school buildings. Tilda Swinton makes her long-awaited return to the Scottish stage with Man To Man (29 October–7 November) at the Traverse Theatre. The actorly icon reprises the part she first played to huge acclaim in 1987 as a 1930s German widow who assumes her late husband’s identity in order to survive.

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so this is what Scotland tastes like

Tripadvisor Traveller Rating 4,507 reviews

Book now at JohnnieWalkerExperience.com 145 Princes street PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

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‘a truly unique Scottish experience’ Scottish Daily Express

‘spectacular’

‘the uk’s best christmas market’

The scotsman

Locals insider

14 Nov 2026 - 03 jan 2027 www.edinburgh-christmas.com

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