10 things to do in Scotland this week

THIS week’s hottest events across Scotland, including the Imaginate festival, Tectonics in Glasgow, Gourock Highland Games and music from Eagleowl and John Grant.

Eagleowl play shows in Glasgow and Edinburgh this week. Picture: Neil Cammock.

Theatre: Imaginate Festival

Various venues, Edinburgh

Until 13 May; more info

Star Trek: Into Darkness is released this week. Picture: Paramount Pictures

You may think it’s only for kids, but Edinburgh’s booming annual festival of performing arts for children and young people now offers Scotland’s richest programme of international stage events outside the Edinburgh Festival. So for starters, treat yourself to a ticket to one of the great Scottish shows being revived for this Festival – Paddy Cunneen’s magnificent short knife-crime play Fleeto, at the Traverse (7-9 May), for example.

Film: Star Trek Into Darkness

Various venues

On general release from Thursday

JJ Abrams‘ second take on the Star Trek universe is being heralded as another triumph. It’s a parable of terrorism in which Benedict Cumberbatch stars as a seemingly unstoppable foe. With smart nods to old storylines and action aplenty, this should appeal to Trekkies and those less invested in the Starship Enterprise.

Art: Gary Fabian Miller: The Middle Place

Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh

Until 13 July; more info

In 1976, Gary Fabian Miller started taking photographs of the Severn Estuary from the roof of his home in Clevedon, near Bristol. He always used the same film and the same exposure, so the only things that changed from one picture to the next were light conditions, sea state and cloud formations. Alongside 40 of these Sea Horizon images, the Ingleby is also showing a group of new, large format camera-less works collectively entitled The Middle Place.

Clubs: Philipp Gorbachev & Golden Teacher

Stereo, Glasgow

Friday 10 May, 11pm-3am, £5

With only two 12″ releases on Matias Aguayo’s excellent Comeme imprint since 2011, Philipp Gorbachev‘s output has been more sporadic than that of his stablemates, but the Russian’s EBM and Italo-indebted slabs have made for impressive listening nonetheless. Golden Teacher‘s mesmerising polygenre debut from earlier this year, Bells From The Deep End, was a bit of a masterpiece, and a hell of a calling card for their live show alongside Gorbachev.

Music: Eagleowl

Friday 10 May @ Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh

Sunday 12 May @ Glad Café, Glasgow, 8pm, £6

A self-proclaimed “lethargic pop band from Edinburgh”, Eagleowl have taken a while to get round to finishing their debut album, but This Silent Year, released by Fence Records on May 13, is worth the wait. They launch the album with two Scottish gigs this weekend, at the Pleasance, Edinburgh, on Friday, and the Glad Café, Glasgow,on 13 May,with further shows in June.

Festival: Tectonics

Various venues, Glasgow

Saturday 11 & Sunday 12 May; more info

The brainchild of conductor Ilan Volkov, Tectonics is a new kind of classical music festival – not least because it includes Aidan Moffat and Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai in its boundary-breaking line-up, alongside avant-garde icon Alvin Lucier, sound artist Hanna Tuulikki, and composers David Fennessy and Martin Suckling.

Theatre: Behaviour Festival

Various venues, Glasgow

Until Saturday 11 May; more info

The Arches’ Behaviour festival finishes this week, with some of the most provocative shows saved till last, including senior citizens discussing intimacy in All The Sex I’ve Ever Had from Thursday to Saturday, Quiz Show writer Rob Drummond’s The Riot Of Spring on Friday and Saturday, and – to close the festival – last year’s Fringe hit Torycore, in which a death metal band perform George Osborne’s 2012 Budget speech.

Days out: Gourock Highland Games

Gourock Park, Gourock

Sunday 12 May, 12noon; more info

The 2013 Highland Games season gets underway in Inverclyde this Sunday with the 57th annual Gourock Highland Games. As well as the usual mix of heavyweight events, piping competitions and highland dancing, there will be children’s entertainment and a ‘mini-chieftain’.

Outdoors: Aviemore Walking Festival

Aviemore, Inverness-shire

May 12-17, £10-£23 per walk; more info

From gentle forest and loch-side strolls to challenging mountain walks at breathtaking heights, get your walking boots on and experience some of the finest scenery and wildlife that Scotland has to offer.

Music: John Grant

The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh

Sunday 12 May, 7pm, £16.50; more info

The former Czars frontman is enjoying considerable acclaim for his solo work. This year’s Pale Green Ghosts continues the dark, deeply personal tone of the American singer-songwriter’s debut Queen of Denmark, but adds shuddering electronics, and backing vocals from a certain Sinéad O’Connor.