AROUND TOWN

Daring to be different and celebrate a little later, Edinburgh’s Diwali – The Festival Of Lights (Sunday 19 November) celebrations are taking place this weekend, with dance, live music, a parade and fireworks bringing communities together.

Detox Health Beauty are on a mission to make you feel good. They’ll be bringing the finest health, fitness and wellbeing minds together for Wellness, Midlife And The Menopause (Saturday 18 November), an uplifting experience at Edinburgh’s One Spa at the Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa.

Taking place at Glasgow’s Argyle Street Arches, Lidl’s Chateaux Noir (Friday 17 & Saturday 18 November) returns to plunge guests into darkness for a series of fun, affordable wine tasting sessions.

MUSIC

Seattle rockers Queens Of The Stone Age (Saturday 18 November) are asking fans to come and celebrate the end of the world on their The End Is Nero tour. Expect lots of headbanging classics from Josh Homme and co, plus tracks from the band’s latest album In Times New Roman. Glasgow’s OVO Hydro plays host.

Also at the OVO Hydro this weekend is legendary rapper 50 Cent (Sunday 19 November), who is out on his Final Lap tour. It marks the 20th anniversary of his smash-hit album Get Rich Or Die Tryin.

American singer-songwriter Ben Folds (Saturday 18 November) is best known for his time in the Ben Folds Five. He’s back with a new album, What Matters Most, his first new studio release in eight years. Check him out at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall.

STAGE

In Scott Gibson: Sledgehammer (Saturday 18 November) the Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner presents a brand new hour of darkly comedic storytelling, at Edinburgh’s Scottish Storytelling Centre, delivered in his inimitable, breathless style.

Fusing theatre, comedy and music, Learning To Fly (Friday 17 & Saturday 18 November) is the new show from James Rowland centring around the remarkable friendship he had with a scary old lady when he was an unhappy teen. Hear more at Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre.

Over at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal things are getting romantic as Pretty Woman The Musical (until Sunday 19 November) arrives to serenade you with its Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance score.

SCREEN

Living up to the Hunger Games was never going to be easy but, with franchise favourite Francis Lawrence on board as director, prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes, has made sure the odds are firmly in its favour. Viola Davis steals the show in this entertaining origin story for eventual big-bad Coriolanus Snow.

Emerald Fennell follows the Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman with twisted, entertaining satire Saltburn. Co-starring Rosamund Pike, it sees a university student from the wrong side of the tracks (Barry Keoghan) get sucked into the world of the super-rich.

The director of Carol, Todd Haynes, gives us more magnificent melodrama in the irresistible May December which pits Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore against each other in a face-off to die for. Portman plays an actress researching the controversial figure she is set to play on screen (Moore).

PODCASTS

Former Love Island colleagues and married couple Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling join forces again for podcast Murder They Wrote, where they share their passion for amateur investigation and learn more about the world’s most astonishing true crime stories.

In Radio 1 Stories – Where It’s At: A Short History Of Girlbands Mollie King aims to give girl bands the glory they deserve by charting their rise and musical influence, while highlighting the new generation that’s harnessing girl power.

Audible follows up its blockbuster addition to the Sherlock Holmes universe with a second instalment of its Moriarty audio series. Moriarty: The Silent Order sees Phil LaMarr and Dominic Monaghan return as Holmes and Moriarty, with no less than Dame Helen Mirren joining them as a ruthless blackmailer.

VISUAL ART

With its mix of household names and exciting newcomers, affordable pieces and the ethos that art is for everyone, Edinburgh Art Fair (Friday 17 to Sunday 19 November) has lots to offer both buyers and viewers, with live entertainment and art workshops adding to the fun. Edinburgh’s O2 Academy hosts.

Glasgow’s Lillie Art Gallery is getting in the festive spirit with Christmas At The Lillie Gallery (until Wednesday 20 December), an exhibition bringing together work in multiple mediums, as well as unique gift ideas.

Finally, Glasgow’s Compass Gallery kicks off its Winter Show (until Wednesday 31 January) this week with paintings, drawings, sculpture and ceramics on display. The exhibition will be expanded with new work throughout December and January.

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