AROUND TOWN

With Halloween nearly upon us, things are getting seriously spooky, and chief among the celebrations is Paisley Halloween Festival (Friday 25 & Saturday 26 October), now in its 10th year, which features a parade, stage, street performances and a funfair.

Upping the fright factor is this year’s Ghosts Of Glamis (Friday 25 – Thursday 31 October) at Glamis Castle, which offers terrifying tales and ghostly encounters for over 14s as psart of their Halloween tours, and child friendly storytelling sessions for younger visitors.

Edinburgh institution The Pitt have an entertaining evening in-store with their Pitt Your Wits Quiz Night (Friday 25 October). Test your general knowledge mettle in a quiz featuring game show fun, mental music bingo and more, plus live performances and DJ sets from local legends, alongside some impressive prizes.

MUSIC

He was the surprise winner of Best Hip Hop / Rap / Grime Act at this year’s Brits, and here’s your chance to check out the excellent, enigmatic CASISDEAD (Saturday 26 & Sunday 27 October) as he takes to the stages at Glasgow’s Queen Margaret Union and Edinburgh’s The Caves this weekend.

If, like so many, you’ve been feeling nostalgic for the noughties then one of the biggest alternative bands of the era, Canadian rockers Sum 41 (Sunday 27 October), will be heading to Glasgow to bring down the house at the massive OVO Hydro.

And if you’re looking for some new music, Leith Depot have a trio of up-and-comers for you in the shape of Kiki Annette + Wyn Oran + James Low (Friday 25 October). Expect an intimate evening of heartfelt lyrics, beautiful vocals and melancholy folk tunes.

STAGE

Comedy duo Creepy Boys (Saturday 26 October) are throwing a 13th birthday party for themselves and you’re invited. Featuring games, gifts and possibly Satan, it’s a show for fans of My Super Sweet 16, The Oh, Hello Show, and the terrifying twins from The Shining.

The acclaimed Pitlochry Festival Theatre production of Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire (until Saturday 9 November) has just kicked off a two-week run at The Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh. It tells the powerful story of Blanche Dubois and her abusive brother-in-law Stanley.

Meanwhile, The Glee Club in Glasgow plays host to the Desi Central Comedy Show (Sunday 27 October), bringing together a line-up of top comics including Tommy Sandhu, Omar Badawy, Ajay Rose and Richard Blackwood.

SCREEN

Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore are the stars of Spanish movie maestro Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language feature, The Room Next Door, which tackles the challenging topic of the right to die, with exquisite sensitivity.

Winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, Mati Diop’s superb documentary Dahomey takes a characterful, compelling look at the repatriation of stolen African treasures.

Getting a theatrical release from Friday ahead of its arrival on Netflix, Emilia Perez is a transformational, cartel-themed musical from A Prophet director Jacques Audiard. Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Karla Sofía Gascón star.

PODCASTS

Popular paranormal podcast Uncanny is really in its element at this time of year. It has been making the most of the spookiest of seasons by counting down to Halloween, with Danny Robins delivering daily bite-sized nuggets of terror all through October.

Reframing midlife as a time for positive change, Begin Again With Davina McCall finds the presenter sharing stories of growth and rediscovery, tips for spicing up your life, and speaking to celebrity guests like Fearne Cotton about their experience of getting older.

Launching this week, Up In Smoke is a dark mystery thriller taking the shape of a true crime style podcast. Set in an English village, a teenage boy goes missing following a devastating fire, unearthing secrets and lies aplenty. Adam Buxton and Mei Mac star.

VISUAL ART

Closing this weekend at Edinburgh’s Royal Scottish Academy is exhibition An Irish Impressionist: Lavery On Location (until Sunday 27 October) which follows the work of Belfast born artist Sir John Lavery on his travels from Scotland to New York via Paris and Morocco.

Celebrating its sixth year, the Art Car Boot Sale (Saturday 26 & Sunday 27 October) will be pulling up at Glasgow’s Tramway for a bumper edition of its contemporary art showcase. Meet creators in person as they sell their artwork from cars, vans, bikes and more, with prices to suit all.

And finally, still showing at Dundee Contemporary Arts is ‘Every Seed Is Awakened’, the first Scottish solo exhibition from Peruvian artist Claudia Martínez Garay (until Sunday 17 November), bringing together existing works with three new commissions, two of which were created during a DCA residency.

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