Art 

Ilana Halperin
For her new exhibition, What Is Us And What Is Earth, the Glasgow-based artist has put together sculpture, drawing and photography to tackle the vastness of the natural world around us. 
Fruitmarket, Edinburgh, February–May.

Joan Eardley
The Nature Of Painting offers a look at how Eardley engaged with both the world and the artists around her. This exhibition is a way of reflecting anew on her art by setting it into a deeper cultural context. 
National Galleries Scotland: Modern Two, Edinburgh, April–June.

Design And Disability 
This pioneering show will platform the radical contributions of disabled, deaf and neurodivergent people to design and culture. Moving from the 1940s right up to today, the work on display spans three themes: visibility, tools and living.
V&A Dundee, opens in June.

Comedy

Ayoade Bamgboye
Last year’s Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe aims to fully capitalise on that success with a tour of her Swings And Roundabouts show. This London-born Nigerian stand-up has long been raising the big questions and failing to come up with any answers. But hilariously, of course. 
Touring the UK, January–May 

Stewart Lee
In his latest show, the eloquent misery-guts aka Godfather Of Modern British Comedy wonders if his form of progressive stand-up has a chance in hell of surviving in the face of the super-rich comics who peddle hate. Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf is the result of that musing.
Touring the UK, February–November. 

Two Doors Down
The hugely successful Scottish TV comedy follows in the footsteps of Still Game in bringing its low-key charms into a vast arena. With more dates having been added to the run, clearly the appetite is there to see the likes of Arabella Weir, Kieran Hodgson, Alex Norton, Doon Mackichan and Grado do their thing live.
OVO Hydro, Glasgow, September. 

Harriet Kemsley
Dating, mushrooms and embracing the chaos are among the themes of Kemsley’s new stand-up show, Floozy. Is it possible for her to enjoy things when they start to go right? 
Touring the UK, October–November.  

Dance

BalletLorent
Liv Lorent’s acclaimed company bring us a dance-theatre production of Snow White featuring seven brave miners grafting away, unaware that the queen’s quest for eternal beauty is going to come back to bite everyone. 
Dundee Rep, February; Tramway, Glasgow, March.

Boys Don’t Dance
A key work in the next Edinburgh International Children’s Festival is this piece by acclaimed Australian choreographer Marc Brew which explores the tough expectations upon boys growing up in specific cultural environments. 
Venue tbc, Edinburgh, May & June.

The Car Man
Matthew Bourne’s dance thriller loosely based on Bizet’s popular opera returns, with the setting now having shifted from a 19th-century Spanish cigarette factory to a 1950s diner in the US Midwest as a stranger wanders into town to change people’s lives forever. 
King’s Theatre, Glasgow, October; Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, November.

Film

Scream 7
Feels like an eternity since Drew Barrymore took that scary first call in a franchise which, unlike many of its characters, refuses to die (given 2026 is the Scream opener’s 30th anniversary, it actually is a lifetime ago). Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard and Neve Campbell are among those reprising their roles.
In cinemas from February.

The Bride!
Maggie Gyllenhaal is the writer-director on this monster movie which draws inspiration from various Frankenstein-based works. This one is set in 1930s Chicago and has Jessie Buckley as the corpse bride with Christian Bale and Penélope Cruz also starring. 
In cinemas from March.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
A somewhat lighter affair this with Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy and Keegan-Michael Key among the big names lending their tongues to an adventure comedy animation set in outer space.
In cinemas from April.

The Odyssey
Back to heavier matters as Christopher Nolan packs them into the summer cinemas to follow Odysseus’ dangerous journey home from the Trojan War. 
In cinemas from July.

Music

Geese

The Cameron Winter-fronted Brooklyn rockers are clearly on the verge of very big things. Enjoy their surreal brilliance before you need binoculars to see them on stage.
Touring the UK, March.

Country To Country
A three-day fiesta dedicated to all things country with Keith Urban, Zach Top and Brooks & Dunn as headliners joined by the likes of Drake Milligan, Scott McCreery and Alana Springsteen (no relation).
London, Belfast and Glasgow, Friday 13–Sunday 15 March. 

The Twilight Sad
Fans have waited six long years for a new album, and seeing those songs (as well as a bunch of oldies) played live may well be almost too much for some. Max Richter and The Cure are fans.
Touring the UK, April–June. 

Doja Cat
The Grammy-winning superstar brings her Ma Vie World Tour to Scotland on the back of a 2025 album which was dubbed by one critic as being full of mischief and gloss.
Touring the UK, May. 

Queen’s Park Spring Weekender
There’ll be a distinct edge of poignancy to this year’s weekender as the JD Twitch stage is introduced. The opening day is curated by Melting Pot while Optimo (Espacio) take control of day two.
Queen’s Park Recreation Ground, Glasgow, May.

The Cure 
In the last two Edinburgh summers, huge Murrayfield gigs by Taylor Swift, Oasis and AC/DC have occurred. This all-dayer is a little further out, geographically, and helmed by Robert Smith’s chaps with Mogwai and Slowdive among the support. Existentially, it will lie somewhere in amongst all of the above.
Touring the UK, June–August. 

Theatre

Alan Cumming 
There’ll be no escaping the Perthshire guy in 2026 what with The HighLife musical, presumably more TV, and his first full season as boss at Pitlochry which has grabbed headlines for all the right reasons. Across the year you may bump into the likes of Adura Onashile, Ian McKellen, Maureen Beattie and Frances Ruffelle around town.
Pitlochry Festival Theatre, all year long.

One Day
You’ve read the book and watched the Netflix show. Now’s your chance to see the musical version of David Nicholls’ story that revisits the lives of two friends/lovers on the same date for many years. Hankies at the ready.
Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, February–April.

Woman In Mind 
Sheridan Smith, Romesh Ranganathan and Louise Brealey make for a thrilling cast in Alan Ayckbourn’s tale of one woman’s fractured reality.
Theatre Royal, Glasgow, March.

Priscilla Queen Of The Desert 
The tagline says it all: ‘Be fierce. Be fabulous.’ And why the hell not? A sassy, bold and joyous experience is expected to be had by all as this celebration of identity and diversity struts around the stage.
King’s Theatre, Glasgow, March; Edinburgh Playhouse, April.

The Enormous Crocodile 
After three years of smash-hit UK runs, this musical version of Roald Dahl’s story about a croc who’s after the bones of kids for his dinner finally stops off in Scotland. 
King’s Theatre, Glasgow, July. 

The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie 
House Of The Dragon actress Gayle Rankin puts her own mark on the character made famous in the film by Maggie Smith. David Harrower’s adaptation cranks up the themes of love, life lessons and loyalty.
Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, November.