Life&Arts: What's on Today

Published on Monday 12 January 2009 19:11

FILM: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

The excellent new feel-good film from Danny Boyle, the genre-jumping director of Trainspotting, The Beach and 28 Days Later, charts how a kid from the slums of Mumbai (Skins star Dav Patel) wins the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. It's gorgeously shot, full of terrific performances and socially aware in an unobtrusive fashion.

&#149 Cinemas nationwide. Listings, p50.

COMEDY: JASON MANFORD

Jason Manford's populist humour, which has frequently been compared to that of fellow Northern man of the people, Peter Kay, has led to a swift rise to a high level of comedy celebrity. Expect a large number of fans of TV quiz show 8 Out Of 10 Cats to turn out at this live show by the 27-year-old Manchester comic, much of which will apparently be devoted to driving. With, possibly, a bit about sex toys.

&#149 The Stand Comedy Club, Edinburgh, doors 7:30pm, 0131-558 7272

VISUAL ART: TURNER IN JANUARY

When London art collector Henry Vaughan died in 1899 he split his considerable collection of Turner watercolours between several of the biggest galleries in Britain – 38 watercolours and drawings came to Edinburgh, and are only exhibited in January.

&#149 National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, 10am-5pm, 0131-624 6200

MUSIC: ANIMAL COLLECTIVE

The cult, avant-garde Baltimore collective are currently picking up rave reviews for their eighth album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, which shares musical DNA with everyone from Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev to Bjrk and CocoRosie. Expect a reverential atmosphere at this gig.

&#149 Glasgow School of Art, 7:30pm, 0141-353 4526

VISUAL ART: TREASURED PLACES

Final week for this exhibition celebrating Scotland's buildings, from the archive of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, which boasts more than 14 million photos, paintings and plans of places ranging from castles to football stadia.

&#149 City Art Centre, Edinburgh, 10am-5pm, 0131-529 3993

THEATRE: FAME

Nearly 30 years after the release of Alan Parker's iconic film, David De Silva's musical is still going strong. X Factor finalist Beverley Trotman stars in this touring version as Miss Sherman, the teacher inspiring a group of starstruck young student performers. The show is at the Playhouse all this week, then transfers to Glasgow.

&#149 Playhouse, Edinburgh, 7:30pm, 0844 847 1660

FILM: ROLE MODELS

Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott play two emotionally stunted men who choose to mentor kids as community service – rather than spend time in jail – for trashing a delivery truck. Good chemistry, a furiously funny script and a lack of sentiment ensure this transcends its hokey premise.

&#149 Cinemas nationwide. Listings, p50.

MUSIC: CHRIS BROWN

He's a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, actor, and music video director, he's playing the biggest venue in Glasgow and he doesn't even turn 20 until May this year. Yes, we hate him for that, too. Expect a mix of songs from his two-million selling debut and new album Graffiti at this gig.

&#149 SECC, Glasgow, 7:30pm, 0844 395 4000

THEATRE: SUNSHINE ON LEITH

Scripted by Stephen River City Greenhorn, Dundee Rep's Proclaimers musical, now on tour, is unashamed stage soap opera, an old-fashioned saga about a working-class family. It's slick, funny and passionately acted, with a brilliant soundtrack.

&#149 His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen, 7:30pm, 01224 641122

FILM: FAR NORTH

This is an intriguingly weird fable with a gothic twist from Asif Kapadia – the director who brought us The Warrior – in which the nomadic lifestyle of a mother and her adoptive daughter in the frozen tundra is altered by the arrival of an injured soldier. With Sean Bean and Michelle Yeoh.