AUTUMN HIGHLIGHTS
COMEDY Picked by Brian Donaldson,
Comedy editor
long goodbye
‘R ecently seen as a brutish headmaster in Sky comedy Chickens, Barry Humphries is bidding farewell to the stage with his Eat Pray Laugh show. His to Scottish crowds kicks off at the Festival Theatre (Tue 5– Sat 9 Nov) with a second leg cropping up at Glasgow King’s next February. We’re sure Dame Edna will have plenty barbs to chuck out at possums everywhere, but we’d be amazed if a few of them aren’t aimed at new Aussie leader, Tony Abbott.
No doubt the Daily Mail will have assigned a ‘reporter’ to follow Russell Brand (SECC, Glasgow, Fri 11 Oct; Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 12 Oct, see page 12) everywhere he goes on his Messiah Complex tour just in case he slips up royally. For the rest of us, his reputation will live or die on what he gets up to in the privacy of his own stage.
Having recently launched his new mischief- making manifesto, 100 Acts of Minor Dissent, Mark Thomas takes some cheeky japes across the country. The show is an ever-evolving beast so by the time it reaches Scotland (The Stand, Glasgow, Mon 21 Oct), who knows what conscience-nudging larks he’ll have been up to? On a more off-kilter tip is Paul Foot (The Stand, Edinburgh, Wed 6 Nov), whose demented Words will either charm or bamboozle you.’
22 THE LIST 19 Sep–17 Oct 2013
VISUAL ART
Picked by Rhona Taylor, Visual Art editor
‘T wo Edinburgh institutions join forces this autumn to present exhibitions by the hugely inl uential artist Louise Bourgeois. Modern One and the Fruitmarket Gallery offer two very different takes on Bourgeois, who died in 2010 and is probably best known for her giant steel spiders. Louise Bourgeois: A Woman Without Secrets at Modern One (Sat 26 Oct–Sun 18 May) brings together some of the American artist’s major sculptures – including one of the arachnids – as well as a selection of paintings and installations. Over at the Fruitmarket, Louise Bourgeois: I Give Everything Away (Sat 26 Oct–Sun 23 Feb) focuses on her works on paper.
Down at Holyrood, the Scottish Parliament presents 40 works by Andy Warhol (Pop, Power and Politics, Sun 5 Oct–3 Nov, see page 104). The show, which explores themes of power and politics, includes portraits of Lenin, Mao Zedong, Richard Nixon, the Queen and the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Tickets are free but they need to be booked in advance as it’s bound to be busy.
Over
in Glasgow, the Common Guild curates the very i rst Scottish exhibition by Slovakia’s talented multimedia artist Roman Ondák (Sat 12 Oct–14 Dec). Watch out for a performance of This Way, Please which, as with so much of Ondák’s work, merges art with the everyday.’
DANCE Picked by Kelly Apter,
Dance editor
tutus,
the women’s heads)
equal starched (on
‘O nce upon a time, ballet used to tight buns and incomprehensible narrative miming. These days, as Robin Thicke would say, there are a lot of blurred lines. First up is Scottish Ballet’s diverse double-bill at Theatre Royal, Glasgow (Thu 26–Sat 28 Sep, see page 99). Christopher Hampson’s Rite of Spring will get you thinking, Kenneth MacMillan’s Elite Syncopations will leave you smiling. Making its Scottish debut, Ballet Black works to provide professional opportunities for black and Asian dancers. Their quadruple bill at Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh (Thu 10 Oct) also mixes up the classical and contemporary worlds.
Perhaps
exciting
the most visitation this autumn is New York’s Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, playing Edinburgh Festival Theatre (Fri 11 & Sat 12 Oct, see page 99). Works by Jirí Kylián, Jo Strømgren and Crystal Pite will prove what a European inl uence this US company has.
Making a welcome return are the BalletBoyz at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow (Thu 7 Nov). Over in the contemporary camp, Traverse Dance Festival (Tue 5–Sat 9 Nov) features Joss Arnott Dance and David Hughes Dance among others. And the wonderful National Dance Company of Wales brings a top class triple-bill to Theatre Royal, Glasgow (Tue 12 Nov).’