10 things to do in Scotland this week

THIS week’s arts, entertainment and lifestyle highlights from across Scotland, including TradFest and Dead by Dawn festivals in Edinburgh, award-winning theatre at The Arches, and live music from Ricky Ross and King Charles.
Ricky Ross. Picture: Robert PerryRicky Ross. Picture: Robert Perry
Ricky Ross. Picture: Robert Perry

Film: Point Blank

Glasgow Film Theatre

Today (22 Apr) – Wednesday (24 Apr); more info

John Boorman’s American debut remains a stone-cold classic with a never tougher Lee Marvin electrifying as betrayed gangster out for revenge and determined to collect the $93,000 owed him after participating in a successful heist. Full of existential dread and hard-hitting violence it helped usher in the new Hollywood golden age of the 1970s.

Music: King Charles

Tuesday 23 Apr @ The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen, 7.30pm, £10; more info

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Wednesday 24 Apr @ Electric Circus, Edinburgh, 7pm, £10; more info

Thursday 25 Apr @ King Tut’s, Glasgow, 8pm, £10; more info

This West London musical dandy has staked his claim to join the ranks of fake pop royalty but his debut album Loveblood is closer to the alt.folk eccentricities of Devendra Banhart than the flamboyant funk of Prince (or the pomp flourishes of Queen for that matter).

Art: Mariana Castillo Deball

CCA, Glasgow

Until May 18, free; more info

In her own words the art of Mexican artist Mariana Castillo Deball presents a “kaleidoscopic approach to language” which, she proposes produces art that is “an intermediate game between science, storytelling, fiction and visual arts”. Her subject matter is apparently Mayan culture, but in her approach she combines the inspiration of a leading archaeologist, an anthropologist and our own Eduardo Paolozzi with her own research in the British Museum.

Theatre: Wuthering Heights / Poke

The Arches, Glasgow

Tuesday (23 Apr) – Saturday (27 Apr); more info

The winners of this year’s Platform 18 Award –the prize is a production at the Arches and the Traverse – promise a fascinating double bill. One is Peter McMaster’s all-male Wuthering Heights, a provocative take on Emily Bronte’s novel which includes a spirited cover of Kate Bush’s song. Balancing things out is Poke, Amanda Monfrooe’s exploration of the exploitation of female bodies. See them both at the Arches from Tuesday, and the Traverse in Edinburgh next week.

Music / Culture: TradFest

Various venues, Edinburgh

From Wednesday (24 Apr); more info

A new 12-day festival celebrating Scotland’s “arts of tradition” gets under way in Edinburgh this week. TradFest brings together concerts from some of the country’s leading musicians with folk drama, storytelling, dance and site-specific events running in tandem with annual occasions like Beltane and May Day. Check out the full programme of events (PDF) (http://www.scottishstorytellingcentre.co.uk/tradfest/TradfestProgramme13.pdf).

Film: Bafta Shorts

Dundee Contemporary Arts (as part of UK tour); full list of tour dates

Thursday 25 Apr, 12.45pm and 7.15pm; more info

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Lynne Ramsay’s Swimmer is among the short films screening as part of a Bafta showcase that stops at Dundee Contemporary Arts on Thursday. All nominees at this year’s Baftas, the shorts can also be seen at Dundee Contemporary Arts on Thursday, then Edinburgh Filmhouse, Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow Grosvenor, and Eden Court, Inverness, in May.

Festival: Dead by Dawn

Filmhouse, Edinburgh

Thursday (25 Apr) – Sunday (28 Apr), £75; more info

Where else but Dead by Dawn could you see a late-night double bill featuring films called Fist Of Jesus and Big Ass Spider? The horror film festival celebrates its 20th anniversary from Thursday, with a typically irreverent, tongue-in-cheek programme of gore and scares.

Comedy: Improverts

Bedlam Theatre, Edinburgh

Friday 26 Apr, 10.30pm, £5.50; more info

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A long-standing Edinburgh comedy institution, the Improverts keep things fresh with their instant reactions to audience suggestions. If you liked Whose Line is it Anyway? you’ll love the fast-paced sketches and quickfire wit on offer in this show.

Music: Ricky Ross

Friday 26 Apr @Orkney Arts Theatre, Kirkwall, 7pm, £20; more info

Saturday 27 Apr @ Ullapool Village Hall, 7pm, £20; more info

Ricky Ross’s new solo album, Trouble Came Looking, is a world apart from Deacon Blue. A collection of stripped back, acoustic storytelling songs, fleshed out with mandolin and double bass, it is best suited to the intimate venues Ross will visit from this week, on a tour that takes him to Orkney Arts Theatre on Friday, Ullapool Village Hall on Saturday, and on to Stornoway, Dunfermline, Dundee and Stirling (more dates on WOW247).

Clubs: Ethyl @ Catch 22

La Cheetah, Glasgow

Friday (26 Apr), 11pm-3am, £6; more info

Catch 22 hosts Ethyl of London house stable secretsundaze this Friday. The Hertfordshire producer’s supple, immersive co-productions with Huxley and Flori are dexterous refinements of the whiplash jack of Chicago, twisted into jerking, hypnagogic loops awash with melody; a rich, subtle stew of stretched-out house music that’ll make this four hour jaunt feel like a whole lot less.

Find more things to do in Scotland on WOW247.co.uk.