Scotsman critics' choice: Five must-see shows on this week

Danceathon for Sarcoma at the Flying Duck in Glasgow

MUSIC: Scottish Ensemble: Quintets

Two fantastic string quintets are at the core of this week’s “Quintets” tour by the Scottish Ensemble: Mozart’s pungent G minor String Quintet, and Brahms’ wholesome G major. In each of the evening performances – in Musselburgh, Shetland and Aberdeen – the programme also includes the delicate touches of Martin Suckling’s Nocturne for cello and piano. Ken Walton

Perth Concert Hall, 22 February; Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, 23 February; Merchant’s House, Glasgow, 24 February; Mareel, Shetland, 26 February; Music Hall, Aberdeen, 27 February, www.scottishensemble.co.uk

FILM: Luck Star with live score by Ela Orleans

Silent movie screenings with live scores have come back into vogue in recent years, in part thanks to musicians composing new works that open up the films in hitherto unexpected ways. Glasgow-based Polish musician and vocalist Ela Orleans describes her music as “movies for ears” and has won the admiration of luminaries like of Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, so her live score for Lucky Star, a 1929 romantic melodrama set against the tumult of the First World War, should be special indeed, particularly in the haunting environs of Glasgow’s Mackintosh Queen’s Cross church. Screening as part of this year’s Glasgow Film Festival. Alistair Harkness

Mackintosh Queen’s Cross, Glasgow, 26 February, 0141-332 6535, www.glasgowfilmfest.org

POP: Danceathon for Sarcoma

A gig with a difference, and all for a great cause. The Flying Duck hosts its own indie pop/rock version of the 1920s dance marathons from 3pm until 3am, with guest DJs including Stephen Pastel and Vic Galloway and live music from garage band The Shiverin’ Sheiks, a non-stop disco party from Disco Shark and an all-star band featuring members of Belle & Sebastian and Teenage Fanclub. All proceeds go to Sarcoma UK so get on the floor – and stay there… Fiona Shepherd

The Flying Duck, Glasgow, today, www.flyingduckclub.com

ART: Richard Slee: Work and Play

You can’t attend a contemporary art fair these days without tripping over hip ceramics and postmodern pots, so it’s wonderful timing for Tramway to take this show of one of the country’s greatest and wittiest ceramic artists. Richard Slee is 70 this year and Work and Play, above, which riffs on tools, sports equipment and everyday objects, sums up both his craft and his craftiness. Moira Jeffrey

Tramway, Glasgow, until 20 March, www.tramway.org

THEATRE: The Crucible

The Lyceum’s strong relationship with internationally acclaimed director John Dove has been one of the key features of Mark Thomson’s time as artistic director; and now, in Thomson’s final season, Dove turns his attention to Arthur Miller’s great, timeless study of the psychology of the political witch-hunt, set in Salem, Massachusetts in the 1690s. Philip Cairns and Meghan Tyler lead a powerful 18-strong acting ensemble as farmer John Proctor and Abigail Williams, the teenage girl whose supposed communion with the devil triggers a horrifying spiral of unreason and violence; design is by Michael Taylor (who designed the Lyceum’s recent Waiting For Godot), and music by Philip Pinsky. Joyce McMillan

Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, until 19 March, 0131-248 4848