29 great things to do in Edinburgh in November

There's plenty to look forward to in Edinburgh this month, from big-name stand-up in the shape of Ross Noble and Joe Lycett to a Christmas silent disco and the start of panto season '“ it's all in front of you!

Let there be Silent Light in George Street!

Thursday 1

Christy Moore: On The Road

Want to feel old? Christy Moore has been entertaining audiences with his brand of Irish folk rock for 50 years. Hear some of the songs with which he’ll be forever associated at the Festival Theatre. 7.30pm, tickets from £27.50.

Joe Lycett will be sharing jokes, paintings and some of his pathetic internet trolling

Friday 2

Russell Watson: Canzoni D’Amore

It sounds like a rather delightful pizza, but Canzoni D’Amore is the latest show from classical crossover chappie Russell Watson, who’s cherished for taking his art, but not himself, seriously. We’re not sure what he’ll be performing, but it’ll certainly be tune and classy. Pop along to the Festival Theatre to find out. 7.30pm, from £35.

Saturday 3

Award-winning artist, bestselling author and 'style icon' Grayson Perry

Ross Noble: El Hablador

Who is the one they call El Hablador? It’s Ross Noble. Geordie, long hair, does stand-up where he dances about the stage, spinning out all the nonsense in his head into a show. But what is the legend of El Hablador? Answers at the Festival Theatre. Or not. 8pm, £27.50.

Sunday 4

The Whitney Houston Show

Dita von Teese is credited with bringing burlesque back into the spotlight

If you will always love Whitney then this is the show for you as Belinda Davis runs up and down the octaves in a homage to the late soul singer featuring all the hits and more at the Festival Theatre. 7.30pm, £32.50-37.50.

Monday 5

Vulcan 7

The seventh film in the popular sci-fi franchise is filming in Iceland with Gary Savage and Hugh Delavois… never heard of ‘em? That’s because Gary and Hugh are Adrian Edmondson and Nigel Planer, on stage at the King’s Theatre in a new play about actors who are not, to be honest, Young Ones any more. But they are funny. 7.30pm, from £19.

Tuesday 6

1918: Victory and Remembrance

Meet a Highland soldier from 1918 and learn about his experience at the front and his reflections on the Armistice in this event at Edinburgh Castle. Starts 11.15am, 12.15pm, 2pm and 3pm, free with admission to Castle

Wednesday 7

Joe Lycett: I’m About To Lose Control And I Think Joe Lycett

Pop in and see Joe Lycett on his brand new stand-up tour at the Playhouse, where he’ll be sharing jokes, paintings and some of the pathetic internet trolling he’s been up to recently. Let’s see if he’s as funny live as he is on 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown. 8pm, £27.

Thursday 8

Grayson Perry: Them & Us

Award-winning artist, bestselling author Grayson Perry and style icon (well, there may be a demented ragdoll out there…) is at the Usher Hall to discuss Donald Trump, Brexit and such traditional masculine traits as the desire to “always be right and to overtake all other cyclists when going up big hills”. 7.30pm, tickets from £15.75.

Friday 9

Oh! What a Lovely War

Joan Littlewood’s original production, in 1963, not only had a massive impact on the form and content of British theatre, it challenged how the nation viewed the Great War. The poignant, bittersweet songs, gallows humour and stark statistics remain as deeply moving and shocking now as they were then. It’s at Capital Theatres’ Studio to mark the 100th anniversary of the conflict’s end. 7.30pm, £18.50.

Saturday 10

Simply Sinatra

Come fly to the Usher Hall with suave soundalike singer Matt Forde and musicals star Victoria Hamilton-Barritt and enjoy Ol’ Blue Eyes’ greatest hits, including I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Fly Me To The Moon, Luck Be A Lady Tonight and Mack The Knife. Don’t worry about missing your Saturday Strictly, ballroom champions Chris and Emma Burrell and the Scottish Concert Orchestra Show Band will provide all the dance glamour you could wish for. 7.30pm, tickets from £19.50.

Sunday 11

Far, Far From Ypres

With a cast of 26 performers and narrated by BBC Radio Scotland presenter Iain Anderson, Far, Far from Ypres is a two-hour multimedia performance presenting First World War songs from the trenches, marching and recruitment songs, music hall songs, contemporary songs and poetry. It’s the story of the Scottish war effort, its excitement, hope, suffering, endurance, humour, fear and disillusionment in the face of horror told through the eyes of one soldier. With today being the centenary of the Great War’s end, there won’t be a dry eye in the Usher Hall. 7.30pm, tickets from £12.

Monday 12

Love Music Choirs

The pipes are calling as renowned piper Steven Blake and City of Edinburgh organist John Kitchen join 450 singers of all ages from Love Music Choirs on at the Usher Hall for a concert that would put Gareth Malone to shame. 7.30pm, £7.

Tuesday 13

Shakespeare in Love

Stage adaptation of the much-loved, award-laden movie starring Judi Dench, Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow. The Bard has writer’s block when he meets beguiling Viola de Lesseps, who is prepared to do anything to fulfil her illicit dream of performing on the London stage and pursuing a passionate affair with the greatest playwright of the age. King’s Theatre, 7.30pm, £19-£32.50.

Wednesday 14

Woman To Woman

Three of the UK’s most celebrated female singer-songwriters, Judie Tzuke, Beverley Craven and Julia Fordham, have got together to not just sing their solo hits, but show what they can do together. Catch these talented performers in perfect harmony at the Queen’s Hall as they perform such hits as Stay With Me Till Dawn, Promise Me and Where Does the Time Go, 7.30pm, tickets from £27.50.

Thursday 15

Dita von Teese

Performing striptease since 1992, Dita von Teese (see what she did there) is the biggest name in burlesque in the world since Gypsy Rose Lee and is credited with bringing the art form back into the spotlight with a new sense of elegance and sophistication. Playhouse, starts 8.30pm, £36.70-£77.80 (we’re sure this sort of thing never used to cost that much).

Friday 16

RSNO at the Movies

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Chorus team up with legendary film label Varèse Sarabande to celebrate its 40th anniversary in style. Expect tributes to Jerry Goldsmith (Alien), Elmer Bernstein (To Kill a Mockingbird) and Alex North (Spartacus), plus blockbuster TV themes (Game of Thrones) and movies (The Goonies, Back to the Future, The Matrix, The Abyss, The Iron Giant, Terminator 2, The Last of The Mohicans and Stargate). Usher Hall, 7.30pm, from £19.

Saturday 17

The King is Back

That’s Elvis Presley, reincarnated in the earthly form of one Ben Portsmouth. In 2012, Ben made history when he won the Elvis Presley Enterprises “Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest which took place in Memphis, crowning Ben as the “Worldwide Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist”, the first European Elvis to ever win this title. Find out why at the Usher Hall. 8pm, tickets from £26.40.

Sunday 18

Cheese Fest

From traditional cheeses to mozzarella sticks, halloumi fries and the most amazing mac and cheese expect to learn about all types of flavoursome fromage, wines and the best beers that go along with those cheeses at a day that put a cheesy grin on your face. Two-hour sessions are priced at £5 or £7.

Monday 19

Silent Light

Silent Light brings together the spectacular Street of Light from Edinburgh’s Christmas 2015 and 2016 and silent disco headphones to give you the ultimate street party: singing and dancing under a spectacular array of 60,000 lights synchronised to the music. And it doesn’t disturb the neighbours so that’s a win-win. Times vary, tickets cost £4.50.

Tuesday 20

Edinburgh Gang Show

More than 250 young people from Scouting and Girlguiding will be riding along on the crest of a wave at the King’s Theatre – it can only be the Edinburgh Gang Show back again for more fun! 7pm, £11-18.

Wednesday 21

Bjorn Again

On TV show X Factor, it’s often been said that Abba songs are the hardest to sing. Don’t tell this Australian tribute/parody act that, they’ve been recreating the magic of the Swedish supergroup for 30 years, kicking off the Abba revival that’s still going with such delights as the Mamma Mia! Movies. Usher Hall, 7pm, tickets from £27.50.

Thursday 22

Motown: The Musical

We heard it through the grapevine that this hit West End musical telling the story of the foundation and success of the legendary soul music label is on at the Playhouse. More than 50 classic hits are promised in a show with real soul power. 2.30pm and 7.30pm, tickets from £18.65.

Friday 23

EH6 Festival

Three days of craft beer, food and music kick off in Leith today, with loveable Liverpudlians The Coral headling the festivities tonight at the Leith Theatre. 4pm, £38.75.

Saturday 24

Christine and The Queens

Turning on the Graham Norton Show recently, we were struck by the sight of Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, bounding around the stage singing catchy Europop. Turns out it wasn’t Holyrood’s favourite mother-to-be, but French chanteuse Héloïse Letissier, aka Chris. Hopefully there’ll be no confusion as she plays not the Queen’s, but the Usher Hall. 7pm, tickets from £41.25.

Sunday 25

Madeleine Peyroux

Madeleine Peyroux’s extraordinary journey is one of music industry’s most compelling. Eight albums and 22 years since her debut Dreamland, Peyroux continues to challenge the confines of jazz, venturing into the fertile fields of contemporary music with unfading curiosity. Nice. Festival Theatre, 8pm, £24.50-£34.50.

Tuesday 27

Jack and the Beanstalk

Panto season gets under way – oh yes it does! – with an up-to-date twist on the well known story of Jack and the Beanstalk at the Brunton Theatre. Young performers from across East Lothian join a professional cast for lots of fun. 1.45pm, £17.50 (£14 concessions, family of four £60).

Wednesday 28

Nativity! The Musical

Stage adaptation of the much-loved festive film, with legendary comedian Jo Brand guest starring as the critic (boo! hiss!) ready to savage St Bernadette’s School’s shambolic attempt to stage a yuletide show. This promises to be a an early Christmas cracker at the Festival Theatre. 7.30pm, £22-£55.

Thursday 29

Worbey & Farrell

Four hands, one piano, that’s Steven Worbey and Kevin Farrell, who sit down at the Steinway to bring comedy along with the classical. They’re serious musicians, here promising the likes of Saint-Saëns Carnival of the Animals and Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto, but they’re also not averse to a spot of Liberace’s Boogie Woogie. And they have a unique way with of putting a cocktail together. Usher Hall, 7.30pm, from £16.

Friday 30

John Cooper Clarke

Styling himself the People’s Poet – or was that Rik from The Young Ones? – John Cooper Clarke’s verses on modern life have been influencing generations of performers ever since. Arguably, his distinctive look has influenced even more. Queen’s Hall, 7pm, £30.