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

BARFLIES

DRAWN from the booze-soaked short stories and poems of cult American writer Charles Bukowski, Barflies was a huge success at the Fringe in 2009, selling out for the majority of its run and winning a Scotsman Fringe First award.

As it returns to the atmospheric surroundings of The Barony Bar, site-specific company Grid Iron’s offers up another rumbustious encounter with Bukowski’s hard-drinking alter ego, Henry Chinaski and a bevy of the women who shaped his life and work, pictured below.

The Barony Bar, Broughton Street, Monday until Thursday, 7.30pm, £15 (£6–£11), 0131-228 1404

GIG

MICHAEL KIWANUKA

SOUL superstar-in-waiting Michael Kiwanuka found mainstream attention when he supported Adele on her recent UK tour, the 24-year-old Londoner winning comparisons to Bill Withers and Otis Redding.

He’s since gone on to top the BBC Sound Of 2012 poll, and has been tipped by every man and his dog as one of the musical hopes of 2012.

It’s a foregone conclusion that the singer’s career will go stratospheric when debut album Home Again hits the shops next month, so Saturday’s gig at Electric Circus looks like the last chance to catch him at such an intimate venue.

“I’m feeling really happy,” he says ahead of his Capital show. “I couldn’t ask for it to be going any better.”

Electric Circus, Market Street, Saturday, 7pm, £9, 0131-226 4224

MUSICAL THEATRE

BEYOND THE BARRICADE

Having long delighted audiences throughout the UK and mainland Europe, Beyond The Barricade is now firmly established as one of the UK’s favourite musical theatre concerts.

Recreating some of the greatest West End and Broadway moments with amazing authenticity, its talented cast perform songs from Miss Saigon, The Lion King, Phantom Of the Opera, We Will Rock You, Blood Brothers, and many more major hit productions, climaxing with a spectacular finale from, you guessed it, Les Misérables!

Edinburgh Playhouse, Greenside Place, Tuesday, 7.30pm, £16–£24, 0844-847 1660

COMEDY

SIMON MUNNERY - HATS OFF TO THE 101ERS, AND OTHER MATERIAL

COMEDY fans are in for a treat as the irrepressible Simon Munnery brings Hats Off To The 101ers, And Other Material to The Stand on Tuesday.

A real favourite in our neck of the woods, the Fringe veteran’s latest show encompasses poetry, song, character monologues and stand up.

“They say laughter is the best medicine,” he quipped during a recent performance. “No it’s not, medicine is.”

Needless to say, the audience laughed in disagreement.

The Stand, York Place, Tuesday, 8.30pm, £8, 0131-558 7272