So much culture, so little time. We boil it down to 20 of the best events
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AROUND TOWN Museum Lates
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TV Better Call Saul
Among the delights at this adults-only NMS event is a speed dating fiesta, a chance to immerse yourself in a hands-on history of videogames and music from Happy Meals and The Wild Curve. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Fri 13 Feb. This looks like being the kind of show which gives the spin-off a good name. Breaking Bad’s slimy yet loveable lawyer goes on a few prequel-like adventures which hint at what was eventually to come. See preview, page 95. Netflix from Mon 9 Feb.
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THEATRE Manipulate
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COMEDY Mark Thomas
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VISUAL ART Design in Motion
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FILM Selma
Still time to squeeze in some delights at this innovative theatre festival, including Dance of the Magnetic Ballerina, Mr Carmen (see no. 10 on this page) and Butterfly. See preview, page 85, and coverage at list.co.uk. Traverse Theatre and Summerhall, Edinburgh, until Sat 7 Feb. Having left traditional stand-up behind a long time ago, the campaigning comic continues to make big, and funny, points about serious subjects. Here, he recalls the time an arms manufacturer spied on him. See Highlights, page 57. Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Thu 10–Thu 12 Feb.
The work of seven designers goes on a roadshow across the land dropping in on Dundee this month before alighting in Edinburgh (Mon 2–Fri 13 Mar), Glasgow (Mon 18–Fri 22 May) and many other locations in Scotland. See feature, page 32. Dundee, Fri 13–Fri 27 Feb.
Ava DuVernay’s film about Martin Luther King has made her the first black female director to have a movie nominated as Best Picture at the Oscars. David Oyelowo nabs the role of a liftime as the good doctor. See review, page 60. General release from Fri 6 Feb.
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CHOSEN BY AUTHOR LUCY RIBCHESTER Mr Carmen
I’m not quite sure what I expected from St Petersburg-based Theatre AKHE’s Mr Carmen when I first saw it at the Fringe in 2012, but it certainly wasn’t what I got. An extraordinary piece, AKHE’s production defies categorisation as physical theatre, narrative or metaphor and seems happy to exist in its own magnificent strange glory. With a very loose connection to the story of Prosper Mérimée’s novella Carmen (on which Bizet’s opera is based), two men stage a battleground of words, whipping out ever more innovative contraptions to produce the names ‘Jose’ and ‘Carmen’ before destroying them or watching them dissolve of their own magical accord. The chance to see it for a second time is a rare treat. Mr Carmen, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Sat 7 Feb; The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester is out now from Simon & Schuster; she appears at Pitlochry Winter Words Festival,Sat 21 Feb.
5 Feb–2 Apr 2015 THE LIST 5