AROUND TOWN

Literary stars will be dropping by Edinburgh’s Muirhouse Library for free mini-book fest Paper Trails (until Thursday 26 February), in association with the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Some of the events are already booked up but tickets to see crime author Doug Johnstone and more are still available.

Promising a fun-packed fortnight of events, activities and demos for all ages, the Dundee Science Festival (Saturday 7–Sunday 22 February) returns to Dundee Science Centre and venues across the city.

And the Scotland Vegan Festival (Saturday 7 February) will be swinging by the Lagoon Leisure Centre in Paisley this weekend. Expect 80 stalls featuring delicious food and drink, clothing, gifts, charitable causes and more, plus talks and workshops including sound baths.

MUSIC

Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete’s plays host to Portland rockers The Macks (Sunday 8 February), who are six albums into their idiosyncratic musical journey, and out promoting their latest record, Bonanza, proudly described as a ‘collection of miscellaneous rock’.

At Glasgow’s Saint Luke’s, American singer-songwriter Glaive (Friday 6 February) will be swinging by to promote his third album, Y’all. Released late last year, it’s a confessional record which takes his hyper-pop sound into more dance-driven terrain.

Glasgow’s own Mercury Music Prize nominee corto.alto (aka multi-instrumentalist Liam Shortall) is out on tour this week. You can catch him at MacArts in Galashiels (Sunday 8 February) and Canvas in Dundee (Wednesday 11 February).

STAGE

Your favourite stars from the hit BBC show will be shimmying their way back into the spotlight in Strictly Come Dancing: The Live Tour (Saturday 7 & Sunday 8 February), which stops off at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro. Expect the likes of Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, George Clarke, Lewis Cope, Vicky Pattison, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and more.

Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre is the setting for a stand-up show from Taskmaster, talk show and podcast favourite Chris Ramsey (Sunday 8 February). His new show, Here, Man!, is a chance for Chris to get out of the house and back on the road with the encouragement of his wife and partner-in-comedy, Rosie.

Also bringing the laughs is 2024’s winner of the So You Think You’re Funny? Award, Alana Jackson (Thursday 5–Saturday 7 February), who'll be serving up Last Orders in her new show at Citizens Theatre. She'll be armed with tales of being raised in Glasgow, working in London and living somewhere in between.

The Olivier Award-winning Showstopper! The Improvised Musical (Friday 6 & Saturday 7 February) is heading to Glasgow's Citizens Theatre. Each night, a brand new musical is created based on audience suggestions.

SCREEN

The Maze Runner’s Dylan O’Brien is the star of two must-see movies this week, with the release of award-winning indie comedy Twinless and Sam Raimi’s madcap survival thriller Send Help, in which O’Brien and his work colleague, played by Rachel McAdams, face off and swap roles on a deserted island.

The brainchild of Silents Synced, REM X Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr (Thursday 5 & Sunday 8 February) pairs the classic 1924 comedy with the REM albums Monster and Adventures In Hi-Fi in what promises to be a unique cinematic experience. Catch it at Edinburgh’s Cameo.

If you missed the recent release of ace action sequel Sisu: Road To Revenge (Saturday 7 February), why not catch up and pair it with its predecessor, Sisu, in a fun double-bill of deadly revenge, courtesy of Edinburgh’s Filmhouse.

PODCASTS

If you’re currently enjoying the return of TV’s The Apprentice then The Apprentice: Unfinished Business goes behind the scenes of each episode, with host Angela Scanlon analysing those tasks and tactics in detail.

In investigative podcast Ransom Man, journalist Jenny Kleeman delves into one of the world’s most shocking hacks, which saw a Finnish psychotherapy service suffer a data breach which placed the nation’s darkest secrets in deeply untrustworthy hands.

Video interview series Run With Mo joins Olympian Sir Mo Farah as he teams up with celebrities for a run and chat about their careers and fitness habits. Guests include Arsène Wenger, Jimmy Carr, Jill Scott and KSI.

VISUAL ARTS

Opening this weekend at Dundee Contemporary Arts, We Contain Multitudes (Saturday 7 February–Sunday 26 April) is a major new group show featuring work by Andrew Gannon, Nnena Kalu, Daisy Lafarge and Jo Longhurst.

Edinburgh’s Fruitmarket is hosting an exhibition of video performance from David Sherry (Saturday 7–Sunday 15 February). ‘Sublime review of wrongness’ is a selection of Sherry’s videos including several new films, giving viewers the opportunity to explore and make connections with his work over three decades of practice.

And finally, Scaredy Cat (until Tuesday 31 March) at Edinburgh’s Out Of The Blue Drill Hall is a new riso comic and exhibition from Cat Gordon on the theme of self-doubt, queer identity, acceptance, and learning to love and live.

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