AROUND TOWN

The Enchanted Forest (until Sunday 2 November) returns to Pitlochry this week with new show, Luminara, an immersive outdoor experience which reconnects technology with nature as you move through its illuminated forest trail.

Back for its 7th year and encompassing more than 60 venues, Glasgow Cocktail Week (until Wednesday 8 October) is a city-wide event offering exclusive access to drinks, parties, masterclasses, trails, secret pop-ups and more.

Edinburgh’s Inverleith Park will be hosting the Water Lantern Festival (Saturday 4 October), a magical event making its UK debut after impressing in New York, LA and Toronto. Thousands of illuminated lanterns will create a sparkling spectacle, while there will be musical performances, activities and food.

MUSIC

She’s worked with Portishead’s Geoff Barrow and Sleaford Mods, now Billy Nomates (Friday 3 October), aka Victoria Ann ‘Tor’ Maries, will be bringing her post-punk sound to Glasgow’s SWG3 with her latest record Metalhorse.

Pop rockers Welly (Friday 3 October) released their debut studio album, Big In The Suburbs, earlier this year and they’ll be swinging by Edinburgh’s Cabaret Voltaire to promote it this weekend.

At The Queen’s Hall A Night For MAP – Medical Aid For Palestinians (Saturday 4 October) gathers some of Scotland’s best musicians for a fundraising gig to help those suffering under siege in Gaza. It features Kathryn Joseph, Juliette Lemoine, Jacob Alon, Alexi Murdoch with Aidan O’Rourke, and Dean Owens.

STAGE

Also at The Queen’s Hall this weekend are comedians Elis James and John Robins with producer Dave Masterman in tow. Elis & John – That Feels Significant: Live! (Friday 3 October) brings their popular podcast to the stage with all the features and fun you’d expect.

Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre is the setting for HER (Thursday 2 & Friday 3 October), a play about the damaging effects of gender equality in which two teens reconnect at high school. Written by Jennifer Adam and directed by Steve Small, it asks how can you be the change you want to see when you feel like the world is against you?

In Mark Watson: Before It Overtakes Us (Sunday 5 October), the acclaimed stand-up and former Taskmaster star ponders the uncertain future facing humanity, while considering more trivial matters like the state of the UK sausage industry. Catch him at The Stand, Glasgow.

SCREEN

A couple of potential awards contenders hit cinemas this week. A House Of Dynamite is the masterful new thriller from Kathryn Bigelow in which the US security services scramble to avert nuclear catastrophe, while Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine follows wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr (aptly played by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson) as he grapples his way to the top and struggles with addiction.

The Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival (until Sunday 19 October) is back for its 12th edition in the titular city, while also heading out on a UK tour. Films include Away, Queens, The 47 and Undercover.

Glasgow Film Theatre will be marking Black History Month with a season of films including Us, Gone Too Far! and Losing Ground. This week, it’s cult classic The Wiz (Monday 6 October), Quincy Jones and Charlie Smalls’ adaptation of the Broadway musical, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.

PODCASTS

Dubbed the new Baby Reindeer, in genre-bending podcast Wisecrack true-crime producer Jodi Tovay tells the story of stand-up comedian Edd Hedges, who returns to his hometown for a comedy gig before things take a sinister turn.

In The Observer podcast We Have Notes, Liv Little and Miranda Sawyer give their verdict on what’s new in culture, from arthouse cinema to reality TV, pop music, gallery openings and social media trends.

Irish actress Amybeth McNulty (Stranger Things) is your host for Crime Next Door: When A Catfish Kills, a tale of social media deceit and blackmail in which teenage girls are duped by someone pretending to be one of them.

VISUAL ART

Opening this weekend at Edinburgh’s National Gallery, David Wilkie | Drawings (Saturday 4 October – Sunday 8 February) combines ideas for paintings and Wilkie’s later drawings which feature watercolour and chalk, and stand up as powerful, independent works of art.

Check out the next generation of creatives and inspire your kids to create their own art with Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum’s display of award-winning artwork from their Art Competition For Young People 2025 (until Friday 31 October).

And finally, Perthshire Illustrated (Friday 3 October – Monday 8 December) explores how the landscapes of Perthshire have been interpreted by artists from the late 18th-Century until the present day. Featuring works by the likes of Horatio McCulloch, Katsushika Hokusai and JD Fergusson.