AROUND TOWN

Now in its 15th year, the Edinburgh International Magic Festival, or MagicFest (until Monday 30 December) hosts the best tricksters in the business, including Kevin Quantum, Dan Bastianelli and Tricky Ricky, as they descend on one of the world’s most magical cities.

Europe’s largest indoor funfair, The IRN-BRU Carnival (Friday 20 December – Sunday 12 January), is back this Christmas season, returning to the SEC Glasgow with rides for all ages, game stalls, an inflatable play area and more.

After dazzling audiences in Zurich, Lyon and Liverpool, audiovisual show Enlightenment (Saturday 21 December – Friday 31 January) will be flooding the historic Merchants House Of Glasgow with music and images as it explores spring, summer, autumn and winter to the appropriate strains of Vivaldi’s ‘The Four Seasons’.

MUSIC

Glasgow’s OVO Hydro is hosting a couple of Scottish gems this weekend in the shape of rising indie-folk star Dylan John Thomas (Friday 20 December) and old favourites Travis (Saturday 21 December) as part of the latter’s Raze The Bar tour.

Phil Cunningham’s Christmas Songbook (Thursday 19, Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 December) is a festive fave that’s been going strong for 18 years, and it’s back at The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh for three shows. Expect modern and traditional Christmas tunes, interspersed by anecdotes aplenty.

Also treating audiences to a trio of performances is another of Scotland’s finest, Callum Beattie, (Friday 20 & Saturday 21 December) who will be at Glasgow’s iconic Barrowland Ballroom, supported by Pistol Daisys.

STAGE

Stage-to-screen-smash Wicked took us back to where it all began and you can see how that particular story ends in family panto The Wizard Of Oz (until Monday 23 December). Follow the yellow brick road at Glasgow’s SEC this weekend.

Promising a fresh, feminist reimagining of the story of Mary, Queen of Scots, Mary: A Gig Theatre Show (until Saturday 21 December) is the brainchild of up-and-coming Scottish theatre makers and musicians, and is an exciting opportunity to check out the next generation of talent.

You’ve seen her on Live At The Apollo, and heard her on podcast All Killa No Filla, now check out Rachel Fairburn (Saturday 21 December) in the flesh as she tries out some brand new material ahead of her 2025 tour. Edinburgh’s Monkey Barrel Comedy is where it’s at.

SCREEN

In select cinemas ahead of its Christmas Day BBC broadcast and later Netflix release, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is another chaotic, brilliantly realised caper from the award-winning Aardman.

Directed by Moonlight’s Barry Jenkins, Mufasa: The Lion King is the latest in Disney’s photorealistically animated remakes, acting as both a prequel and sequel to Jon Favreau’s 2019 effort. Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr join the likes of Seth Rogen, Donald Glover and Beyoncé.

Telling the remarkable true story of an all-Black, all-female battalion in WWII, Tyler Perry’s The Six Triple Eight hits Netflix this Friday. Kerry Washington, Oprah Winfrey and Susan Sarandon lead the cast.

PODCASTS

In Uncanny Christmas the popular podcast revisits a particularly chilling episode when it returns to the Scottish Highlands and Luibeilt, the site of a haunting experience for a couple of young climbers five decades ago. Presenter Danny Robins joins one of them on their nervous return.

World Of Secrets: The Bad Guru explores the dark side of the wellness industry, with the promise of profound transformation hiding a grim reality of grooming, trafficking and exploitation. Hosted by Cat McShane.

Aptly timed for the festive season, in the latest season of podcast Legacy, writer and broadcaster Afua Hirsch and Oxford history professor Peter Frankopan take a look at Charles Dickens, discussing some of his best-known works, including Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and, of course, A Christmas Carol.

VISUAL ART

Still showing at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh, Dürer To Van Dyck: Drawings From Chatsworth House (until Sunday 23 February) brings together an impressive group of around 50 Flemish, Dutch, Netherlandish and German drawings and watercolours from 1500-1700. As well as the eponymous artists, it features works by Rubens and Rembrandt.

If you’re not quite done with your Christmas shopping then Dundee’s Double Door Studios are hosting their Festive Boutique (Saturday 21, Sunday 22 & Tuesday 24 December) where you’ll be able to pick up handcrafted items from resident designers and guest artists, from jewellery, candles and ceramics, to textiles, prints and more.

And finally, Perth Art Gallery is the setting for a touring exhibition from the Royal Scottish Academy, William Gillies: Modernism And Nation (until Sunday 2 March) which takes a fresh look at the artist’s significance in the context of 20th century Scottish art.

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