AROUND TOWN 

Author: Evie Glen 

If you didn’t catch Martin O’Connor’s retelling of the poetic hoaxer James Macpherson’s Ossian epics at the Fringe, you have the chance to see Through The Shortbread Tin in the ever-more appropriate setting of Stirling Castle this Friday 11 September. O’Connor recites Macpherson’s dubious translations of the third-century Scottish bard by way of Scottish and Gaelic songs and his own musings on the shortbread tin image of Scotland.

Elsewhere, People Skate Glasgow are a community of rollerskaters who host weekly rhythm skate meet-ups where skaters learn dances and improvise to music. It sounds like the kind of exercise you don’t realise until the next morning, so if you fancy joining them, head to The Pyramid At Anderston on Saturday 12 September for an all-day skate and workshop.

MUSIC

Author: Danny Munro 

Ms Ray is a London-based singer-songwriter responsible for one of the most promising alt-pop projects of the year thus far. Her well-received second EP, Melt, was released on Scenic Route Records in March, on which Ray glides between pop, soul and synth, teaming up with former labelmate Nourished By Time on the triumphant lead single, ‘Miss You’. There are still (very reasonably priced) tickets available for Ms Ray’s appearance at The Hug And Pint this Saturday 12 September. If you fancy making a night of it, stroll around the corner to The Berkeley Suite where NTS resident Peach is returning for her all-night set at the iconic West End haunt.

Sticking in Glasgow, as the capital has not been short on coverage in recent weeks, local hip hop collective Makongo are throwing a party to celebrate the release of their latest EP, VISA (Very Important Sonic Activism). From 5pm on Sunday 13 September, Makongo will be taking over McNeill’s, with an evening of live performances, talks and panels pencilled in at the Southside bar. Authentic African food has also been promised, making a ticket for the launch a very tempting offer at just £12.

STAGE 

Author: Rachel Morrell

Saturday sees the return of When We Were Young (12 September), a tale of Ned culture and the ‘team’ mentality  of gang members as they navigate 1990s Glasgow, the ‘murder capital of Europe’. The homegrown production is starting a Scotland-wide tour after a triumphant Fringe run, where it received six five-star reviews and a Gold Fringe Theatre Award.

There are laughs aplenty thanks to Paisley Comedy Festival (until Sunday 13 September), including The Stand favourite Connor Burns with his searingly cheeky wit, the iconic Susan Calman and a stellar line-up of Scottish comedy talent well worth a watch.

SCREEN 

Author: Kevin Fullerton

Many might suggest that Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger is the final milking of the Gallagher brother’s rapidly drying nostalgia teat, but I certainly wouldn’t be one of them. As someone who proudly purchased a bootleg bucket hat on my way to their gig at Murrayfield, I reckon this document of the biggest reunion the world has ever seen will make a large subsection of the population weep at the sight of two Mancunian tosspots burying the hatchet. 

For a golden age of a very different sort, John Ford’s The Searchers is showing in 70mm at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse. Featuring a career-best performance from John Wayne, the downbeat western offers a wholly ambivalent view of Manifest Destiny. If you think tales of gunslingers aren’t for you, this intellectually charged study of the American Dream and its consequences might change your mind.

Let’s round things off with a spot of silliness, with Brian de Palma’s manic thriller Raising Cain (Monday 14 September). Screening as part of The Old Hairdresser’s Trash Cinema evening, this was a breakout role for John Lithgow, who chews the scenery as the child psychologist from hell. It’s big, brash and a little bit troubling. Classic de Palma, then. 

EAT & DRINK 

Author: Ailsa Sheldon

The List’s pizza tiplist is a hotly contested one, so there’s a new entrant to investigate in Edinburgh: Mr Woodfire, which opened on Merchant Street last week. It’s the bricks-and-mortar chapter for the popular blue pizza van on Lauriston Place, recently renamed Little Woodfire. I’ll be stopping by for the Affumicata, topped with potatoes, smoked mozzarella and artichokes.

There’s a new reason to head south of the river in Glasgow. Vera opens on Nithsdale Road in Strathbungo on Thursday 10 September, adding another independent to one of the city’s liveliest food neighbourhoods. Chef Zak Young, formerly of Unalome and Cail Bruich, focuses on seasonal cooking and Scottish produce with an aim to create ‘the kind of restaurant its team would want at the end of their own street’. The linguine with Arbroath smokie and horseradish sounds particularly tempting.

Also opening this weekend, Glasgow gets its first dedicated gourmet popcorn shop. POP lands at 713 Great Western Road on Friday 11 September, serving freshly popped, hand-finished popcorn in flavours ranging from caramel and chocolate to mature cheddar, truffle and protein. There’s Italian-style soft serve, speciality matcha and coffee too. It’s a family affair: founder Maya Brown started experimenting with flavours with her daughters at home, before turning their popcorn obsession into a business.

VISUAL ART 

Author: Greg Thomas

Autumn is here, which in Glasgow means we have half a year of perpetual twilight ahead of us. If you want to shake off the September blues, head to iota in the west end before Saturday 19 September to catch Toby Messenger: Plein Soul, featuring cardboard cars, household appliances and other such talismans of these here modern times.

The artist’s sculptures are immediately recognisable. They are ramshackle and comic in a manner reminiscent of Kurt Schwitters’s huge junk assemblages. There is also something like a post-apocalyptic melancholy to them, as if they were pieced together from the memories of a tribe elder in some Mad Max version of the near future: legendary half-forgotten forms from a collapsed civilisation.

Speaking of collapsing civilisations, Glasgow Life and Creative Scotland have had a whip round to buy up the archive of the defunct CCA, providing a slender lifeline to the memory of a civic culture once grandly dubbed ‘The Glasgow Miracle.’ But how on earth were things allowed to get to this point in the first place?

THE HOT SEAT - Movern Cunningham

They’re a member of the hip community cinema collective Leith Kino, the local cinema coordinator of Whale Arts, and an all-round good egg of Edinburgh’s creative scene. So, what’s Morvern Cunningham up to this weekend?

I'm all about supporting the freelance, grassroots and community-based stuff in culture, so first up, I'll be making a beeline to the Gather exhibition opening at St Margaret's House on Friday 11 September. Featuring artwork by participants across eight community-embedded hubs in Edinburgh, there's sure to be something for everyone at the show which runs until Saturday 26 September. (Note: en route you could also check out the Sandra George exhibition at the City Art Centre.) 

Next up is some daytime dancing at Portobello Town Hall on Saturday as we Dance The Pain Away with DJs from She Bang Rave Unit. As the promo states, show the b****rds they can't get us down. On Sunday 13 September, I heartedly recommend you take a trip to Montrose to check out the LandxSea Film Festival, in particular Jeanie Findlay's shocking and pertinent new documentary, All Rivers Spill Their Stories To The Sea, getting its Scottish premiere at the festival and on tour thereafter.  

Check Leith Kino’s listings here; find out more about Whale Arts here.

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