Spotlight on . . .

YOU wouldn’t believe the random items and emails that arrive on the desk of an entertainment editor. In Spotlight on... I’ll highlight the ones that might otherwise slip under the radar, have some cult value or simply just be worth mentioning again. This week ...

THEATRE

An Appointment With The Wicker Man

IT is arguably one of the best-known Scottish films of all time. A tale of dark mystical practices on an island of the north of Scotland, the 1973 movie The Wicker Man is now considered a cult classic – the movie’s star, Christoper Lee, hailing it “his best film”.

It is to that film that the National Theatre of Scotland has looked for the inspiration of its latest touring work, An Appointment With The Wicker Man.

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Written by Greg Hemphill and Donald McLeary, and directed by Vicky Featherstone, the action takes place on a distant and remote Scottish island, where the Loch Parry Theatre Players mount a production of The Wicker Man.

When the lead actor goes missing in mysterious circumstances, the group calls on the services of a television cop from the mainland to step in and save the production.

Described as “a love letter to a unique and timeless cult masterpiece, except that someone forgot to pay the postage”, An Appointment With The Wicker Man is a wicked homage to, and a tender celebration of, a piece of cinema history that reveals for us the spooky undercurrents many believe to lurk just below the surface of Scottish village life.

The production tours to The Alhambra in Dunfermline next week – the closest the National Theatre of Scotland tour comes to playing the Capital – and The Guide has teamed up with the theatre to give you the chance to win tickets to see it.

To enter the draw to win, e-mail your name, age and telephone number to [email protected] with WICKER in the subject line. Entries to be received by midnight Sunday. Usual Johnston Press rules apply. Editor’s decision is final.

The Alhambra, Dunfermline, next Wednesday-Saturday, 7.30pm, £16.50, 01383-740384

YOUTH

Victim Sidekick Boyfriend Me

AS part of National Theatre Connections 2012, the Lyceum Youth Theatre present Victim Sidekick Boyfriend Me, by Hilary Bell, at the Traverse Theatre this week.

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NT Connections is a UK-wide initiative to support and encourage new writing and theatre for young people.

Victim Sidekick Boyfriend Me is a gripping and challenging look at the aftermath of a vicious crime and the unusual kindness shown to the perpetrator from those closest to the victim. The play explores guilt, retribution and forgiveness, and makes us question what the worst punishment we can imagine is.

From tonight, at the Cambridge Street venue, Victim Sidekick Boyfriend Me will appear as part of a double bill, with rehearsed readings of scripts by the Traverse Scribble groups.

“Victim Sidekick Boyfriend Me is a wonderful piece of theatre with a script that will no doubt ask a lot of questions of its audience,” says John Glancy, Lyceum Youth Theatre producer.

“Great theatre should challenge and inspire, and this will not disappoint.”

Traverse Two, Cambridge Street, tonight–Saturday, 7pm, (matinee 2.30pm), £15, 0131-228 1404