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

POP: John Grant

One of the great sleeper success stories of the past five years. John Grant, right, spent a decade fronting alt.country band The Czars but it is as a solo artist that he has truly found his velvety yet vicious voice. Celtic Connections first recognised his intoxicating talent five years ago; now he returns to the festival’s main arena to perform material from his third album, Grey Tickles, Black Pressure, which combines his trademark wicked torch songs with more eccentric electronica passages. Fiona Shepherd

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 26 January, 0141-353 8000

CLASSICAL: The Devil Inside

Stuart MacRae’s new opera The Devil Inside, written to a libretto by crime novelist Louise Welsh, opens in Glasgow tonight, and in Edinburgh on Friday. Based on a Faustian short story, ‘The Bottle Imp’, by Robert Louis Stevenson, this operatic version – co-commissioned by Scottish Opera and Music Theatre Wales – is brought to life by a cast of four, directed by Matthew Richardson, and chamber ensemble under the musical direction of Matthew Richardson. Ken Walton

Theatre Royal Glasgow, 23 and 26 January, 0844 871 7647; Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 29 and 30 January, 0131-529 6000

ART: The Spirit of Line: DY Cameron at 150

DY Cameron was a celebrated painter, but he was also a master-printmaker. At a time when etchings were highly fashionable, he was a leader in the art. His subjects were diverse and included architecture, scenes from the First World War and the Highland landscape, all in his economical style. The Scottish National Gallery holds a very rich collection of his work and to mark the 150th anniversary of his birth a selection of his remarkable prints are on display, together with other works on paper. Duncan Macmillan

Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, until 21 February, 0131-624 6200

THEATRE: The Glenn Miller Story

After Scrooge, a new brainchild from the veteran team of producer Bill Kenwright and star Tommy Steele; a version of the story of mighty 1930s and 40s bandleader Glenn Miller that creates a leading role for Steele, even though both cheerfully admit he’s far too old to play Miller, who died in a wartime air crash aged only 40. And however the script works out, the music is bound to be glorious, with a live 16-piece “Glenn Miller Orchestra” delivering ravishing period hits from In the Mood and String Of Pearls, to Chattanooga Choo Choo. “His music defined an era – his story stunned the world” say the playbills; they’re not wrong. Joyce McMillan

Playhouse, Edinburgh, 26-30 January; and His Majesty’s, Aberdeen,8-13 February, www.kenwright.com

FILM: Screening Europe

Curated by the University of Edinburgh’s film studies department, this season of films is designed to explore national identity through modern European cinema, but it’s also an excuse to watch a lot of interesting movies from the last three decades that don’t often get aired. This doesn’t hold true for Justin Kurzel’s recent Macbeth movie (its inclusion is, however, a good excuse to see it on the big screen if you missed it last year), but there is Peter Greenaway’s The Draftsman’s Contract, Isaac Julian’s racially charged Young Soul Rebels and Catherine Breillat’s period drama The Last Mistress. Derek Jarman’s punky adaptation of The Tempest kicks off the season. Alistair Harkness

Filmhouse, Edinburgh, 26 January, until 29 March, 0131-228 2688