18 David Greiq
playwright
Greig continues to entrance audiences with his elliptical metaphors of alienation. Over the last year both San Diego and Out/yi'ng Islands has impressed audiences. the latter winning the Scottish Critics award for best new play. Greig is still young for a writer of his output. with such impressive pieces as The Cosmonaut Last Message. Casanova and The Speculator and the children's play Danny 306 . Me (4 Ever) among a splendid and diverse array of work. Greig's work has never fully taken hold outside of Scotland. yet he still provokes interest Outside the country. and acclaim Within it. (SC)
17 Alexander McCall Smith
novelist and academic Zimbabwe born and Edinburgh- based. McCall Smith has written a not-too-shabby 50 books in the last two decades. including academic titles. short st0ry collections and popular children's books. His detective novel. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. received two Booker Judges' Specral Recommendations in 1008 and his successes have flourished alongsrde the Detective Agency series.
McCall Smith's prose is destined for the silver screen wrth Anthony The English Patient Minghella at the helm. And he serialises a new book in The Scotsman in the new year. (AM
16 Ali Smith
author
The publication of a new Ali Smith book is cause to unpack the ponable bandstand and break out the streamers. This year fans of the ex-pat Scot were amply rewarded for our patient pining since 2001 Booker- shortlisted novel Hotel World with an exquisite collection of short stories. The Whole Story and Other Stories. explores the ways in which we long to know the unknowablc- 'whole stow'. the 12 tales rendered in Smith's vivid. beautifully unsentimental prose. As innovative as it is a toy to read. the book seems certain to add to the awards adorning her shelves. fBDl
15 llan Volkov
conductor
In January 2003. Han Volkov became chief conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He was 27. and the move made him the yOungest conductor ever to lead a BBC orchestra. But then Israeli-born Volkov has been hard at it since his teens. clutching a baton when most young boys were fiddling with their Joysticks. He's come a long way Since then. leading the New York Philharmonic and Russian National Orchestra in recent times. His Proms appearance earlier this year led one critic to call Volkov and the BBC SSO a 'formidable partnership. (KAi
14 Michael Clarke
director, Scottish National Gallery Bringing in a staggering 170.000 paying punters for the summer's Monet show in the newly restored RSA wetild have been enough to catapult SNG director Michael Clarke into the Hot 100. But at the same time Clarke. at the very heart of Edinburgh's arts establishment. has embarked on a massive protect to replace the foundations beneath the rieo-classical galleries which dominate Edinburgh's Mound. carving out a new entrance and 'underground' spaces in the process. It's on budget. and thanks to architect John Miller. looks set to be a well-Judged response to a sensitive site. (N8)
13 Charles Jencks
architect and historian
A maverick in the architecture world since he invented the phrase ‘post- riiodern'. Charles Jencks also turns his hand to landscape art. completing
his Landform protect outside the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in 2002. This year. the poacher turned gamekeeper. and Jencks' commissions for Maggie's Centres have resulted in a new landmark for Scotland. the Dundee building designed by US superstar Frank Gehry. The building is one of a series. and Jencks' next centre in Fife is already on site. The designer? Who else but Zaha Hadid. the best — and the ballsiest — woman architect in the world. (N8)
12 David Reilly
brought MTV Awards to Scotland Who says writing letters doesn't pay off? When Davrd Reilly knocked off a missive to MTV boss Brent Hansen abOut what a lovely place Edinburgh was and would he and his pals come to Visit. little did he know effect it would have come November. So Leith
got Christina. Beyonce and Justin. the city got hotel bills to throw out like confetti and we had to stand in the cold and crane to hear half an hour of Jane‘s Addiction in the gardens while the real pop stars flashed their wares down the docks. But more importantly, we got to prove that the Scots are damn good hosts and know how to throw a party . . . with a little help from our friends at MTV. (MR)
11 Dawn Steele
actress
The Glaswegian former hairdresser is still best known for her role as the housekeeper who captured the laird's heart in Monarch of the Glen. But the past 12 months have seen “sexy Lexie's' star on the ascendant. far away from the hills and lochs around Glenbogle. Most prominently. she won acclaim for her role as union leader Mary Corrigan in the BBC series The Key. Though currently treading the boards in Edinburgh as part of the Trav's revival of The Slab Boys. long- terin Caledonia looks set to lose its most promising young television star. as she plans a move to London. (80)
l 1 Dec 20013—8 Jan 2004 THE LIST 25