AROUND TOWN

Eat & Drink Scotland (Friday 26 – Monday 29 May) will be getting your tastebuds tingling when it returns to the SEC Glasgow for a mouth-watering celebration of the latest trends in modern cuisine and mixology. Foodies can expect plenty of inspiration as they experience awesome flavours, soak up demonstrations and browse local produce.

At the quirkier end of the spectrum, dog lovers will be delighted by Dachshund Day (Sunday 28 May) which sees Thirlestane Castle in Lauder surrender itself to all things canine. It’s a fun day out featuring a doggy walk around the park, fancy dress, classes, racing and agility courses, with plenty of food and drink options too.

If you’re looking for some family fun then you won’t do better than this year’s Edinburgh International Children’s Festival (Saturday 27 May – Sunday 4 June) which kicks off this weekend. It brings the best in kids’ theatre and dance to the city, from local talent to international artists, and there are plenty of free activities to boot.

MUSIC

The former One Direction star Harry Styles has cemented his status as a solo pop icon with Grammy and Brit Award wins. He’ll be wowing crowds in Edinburgh when his Harry Styles: Love On Tour (Friday 26 & Saturday 27 May) hits the city’s BT Murrayfield Stadium. Expect tracks from last year’s smash hit album Harry’s House and some older favourites.

The esteemed Dutch composer and conductor André Rieu (Friday 26 & Saturday 27 May) has been on a mission to bring classical music into the mainstream and, judging by his success, it’s clearly working. He’ll be leading his waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra in a pair of stirring performances at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro this weekend.

New monthly meetup Counter Sessions (Friday 26 May) brings folks together every last Friday of the month in shared musical appreciation. Shining a spotlight on the city’s creative talent, this friendly Counter Edinburgh event features saxophonist Theo Jobst, though is sure to have a few other surprises up its sleeve.

STAGE

Featuring rousing new versions of Runrig’s best-loved songs, new musical The Stamping Ground (until Saturday 27 May) has been described as a ‘big show with a huge heart’. It tells the story of a couple who return to the Highlands looking for a fresh start and find the area has been taken over by tourism.

Now showing at Theatre Royal Glasgow is Stephen Daldry’s radical and award-winning take on the classic JB Priestley thriller An Inspector Calls (until Saturday 27 May) which has already been seen by more than four million people worldwide. If you haven’t already caught it, then do so pronto.

Comedy lovers who like to stay ahead of the curve will want to hotfoot it along to one of two shows from rising star Chloe Petts (Saturday 27 & Sunday 28 May) who is bringing her debut show Transience to The Stand in Glasgow and Edinburgh this weekend. She’s already supported Ed Gamble, now hear her extended thoughts on living in the moment, darts and her (non-romantic) love for men.

SCREEN

The explosively enjoyable WWII actioner Sisu sees a grizzled Finn (brilliantly played by Jorma Tommila) take on a Nazi platoon led by a menacing Aksel Hennie. It’s a riot of imaginative and ultra-violent executions that should have the strong-stomached amongst you in stitches.

Paul Schrader’s latest meditation on masculinity following First Reformed and The Card Counter is the riveting, Joel Edgerton-led Master Gardener. Edgerton plays the titular horticulturist, a meticulous man with a deeply disturbing past who tends to Sigourney Weaver’s garden in more ways than one.

UK audiences have had to wait a few months for it, but case-of-the-week crime drama Poker Face is finally upon us. Starring the peerless Natasha Lyonne and created by Knives Out’s Rian Johnson, it follows a casino worker as she applies her lie-detecting skills to a number of mysteries. All episodes are available via Sky Max from Friday.

PODCASTS

Dan Schreiber of No Such Thing As A Fish fame is out to create a global community of like minded oddballs in new podcast We Can Be Weirdos. In it he takes a respectful if gently comic look at some bonkers theories and pursuits, speaking to a Nessie hunter and a maverick neuroscientist and encouraging listeners to get involved.

In Shrink The Box actor-comedian Ben Bailey Smith and psychotherapist Sasha Bates put their favourite fictional characters under the microscope, analysing why their behaviour causes them so much drama. Amongst those whose actions have been scrutinised are Succession’s Shiv Roy and Better Call Saul’s Jimmy McGill.

People Who Knew Me is a ten-part mystery drama from the makers of Bad Sisters. Starring Rosamund Pike and Hugh Laurie, it tells the story of a woman who uses 9/11 to fake her own death and who is forced to confront her past and the lies of her present when she’s diagnosed with cancer.

VISUAL ART

When The Apple Ripens: Peter Howson At 65 (Saturday 27 May – Sunday 1 October) is a major retrospective of one of Scotland’s leading figurative painters at Edinburgh’s City Art Centre. It brings together around 100 works spanning the artist’s long career and includes his first self-portrait in 15 years, painted especially for the exhibition.

Now showing at the Scottish National Gallery’s Modern Two in Edinburgh is Decades: The Art Of Change 1900-1980 (until Sunday 7 January) which guides visitors on a fascinating journey through 80 years of art. It covers a period of dramatic change that takes in the birth of the motorcar and dawn of the space race and includes work by Matisse, Derain, Mondrian and more.

A Collector’s Eye (until Saturday 27 May) brings together two private collections belonging to Professor Donald Eccleston and David Lockhart as it investigates the relationship between gallery, artist and collector. Check it out at The Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh.

Sign up to receive this column, complete with additional offers and gig news, delivered to your inbox every Thursday.