The List Issue 767

FRONT

The

My

FEATURES

EAT DRINK SHOP

GOING OUT

STAYING IN

(ISOBEL MCARTHUR), DAVID REISS (LEWIS GRIBBEN), STEPHANIE GIBSON (CORA BISSETT), ANDY GOTTS (NICOLA BENEDETTI)

You can’t say it’s been a dull year. While there was a lot to be angry or sad about it (war in Ukraine, climate woes, cost-of-living crisis, the seemingly endless revolving door of No 10, Wordle), thankfully the diverse people who make, create and facilitate culture in this country continue to be a source of pride and joy.

This issue is our chance to celebrate the 100-plus people (there are a few double acts in there) who are thriving in our galleries, cinemas, theatres, comedy clubs, restaurants and shops, as well as those we’ve loved to listen to, watch or read. We won’t claim that the Hot 100 is perfect (‘why is so-andso number 26 when they really should be at 21?’ etc) but as a barometer for what’s exciting about Scottish culture (whether it’s art created by newbies or veterans), we believe we’ve got it largely spot on.

While you go and have a good argument about our list, there’s also plenty of events indoors and out which we’re covering here. Given that we can all hit the streets at Christmas and New Year, we give you a lowdown on all the happenings across the country with a focus on Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, while we take a glimpse at January festivals Celtic Connections and Burns & Beyond.

We also have a peek inside an abandoned toy shop in Perth, chat to Aidan Moffat about sex diaries, and speak with Kirsty Logan on definitions of the term ‘witch’. You want more names: how about Bret Easton Ellis, Fela Kuti, James Yorkston, Billie Piper, Clare Grogan, Bernat Klein, Laura Poitras and, of course, Santa Claus.

Brian Donaldson EDITOR

CONTRIBUTORS

PUBLISHING

CEO Sheri Friers Editor

Brian Donaldson Art Director Seonaid Rafferty Designer Carys Tennant Sub Editors Paul McLean Megan Merino

Writers

Becca Inglis, Brian Donaldson, Brian James O’Sullivan, Chris Boyd, Claire

Sawers, David Kirkwood, Eddie Harrison, Emma Simmonds, Fiona Shepherd, Gareth K Vile, James Mottram, Jay Richardson, Jay Thundercliffe, Jayne Atkinson, Jo Laidlaw, Kelly Apter, Kevin Fullerton, Leah Bauer, Lucy Ribchester, Mark Fisher, Megan Merino, Miranda Heggie, Murray Robertson, Neil Cooper, Paul Dale, Rachel Ashenden, Rachel Cronin, Seonaid Rafferty, Sheri Friers, Suzy Pope

MOUTHPIECE

frontMy first experience of panto was at the King’s Theatre in Glasgow. I was five years old and mesmerised, mainly by Gerard Kelly. I don’t remember much about what he did but I know it was magical, and as the curtain came down, Kelly locked eyes with me and gave me a big thumbs-up. It was just for me, and I’ve never forgotten the glee that small act unlocked in me. You see, I thought he had never done that before. I thought I was his pal, to the exclusion of everyone else in that theatre. From that moment on, I was hooked. I saw as many pantos as I could, but I always returned to the King’s and to Kelly. He was the yardstick against whom I measured all panto experiences.

Years on, working as an actor, my love for panto had not waned, and I tried to bring the spirit of Gerard Kelly’s performances to every production. I even lovingly borrowed his famous neologism, ‘compe-mi-tition’. In one production, I was bold enough to presume I could write, direct, compose and musically direct the panto, and I thought I’d throw myself into the role of dame, too. Needless to say, this wasn’t panto’s finest hour, but the artform, like Shakespeare, is robust. No amount of mediocre pantos will ever kill the medium: it survives much worse onslaughts up and down the country, year on year, in productions which may as well remain nameless. Panto audiences are the best in the business. Houses packed full of families and friends, all ready for a laugh. They know the deal, from years of experience, and even if they don’t, a good

panto will hold their hand and show them the way, so that by the end, even newcomers will be on their feet, singing and dancing, booing the baddie and cheering the goodie. Done properly, a panto deftly weaves its spell to appear broad, simple and even naive, when in fact it is anything but. A great panto is subtle, complex and nuanced, creating humour for all ages, stories for people from all backgrounds, and music that sets every toe tapping. There’s no doubt that Scotland leads the way in pushing the boundaries of what panto can be and producing the most up-to-the-minute productions out there, with an increasing number of opportunities for actors of colour, chances to have the space to question gender roles, and to ask what messages our fairytales really have for us. Scottish panto won’t shy away from completely revising a narrative to present a better, more inclusive message for its audiences. This year I have the honour of playing Maw Goose in Stirling, in a production which (perhaps for the first time in a major panto) counts a disabled actor among its leading cast. Panto is the place where diversity and inclusion should be front and centre because it’s where theatre’s biggest and most diverse audience is. Finally, people from all backgrounds get to see themselves represented on our stages. Panto holds onto tradition and moves with the times. The rest is . . . behind us.  Brido Hingwy stars as Maw Goose at Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling, until Saturday 31 December.

In this series of articles, we turn the focus back on ourselves by asking folk at The List about cultural artefacts that touch their heart and soul. This time around, Jayne Atkinson tells us about those things which . . .

Made me cry: Almost missing out on Sam Fender’s St James’ Park gig had me near tears. Luckily managed to snap up tickets in the end so the office was spared my moaning.

Made me angry: Ticketmaster. This has been a recurring feeling when trying to lock down tickets for upcoming gigs and they throw me out of the queue (see above Sam Fender trauma). I’m still trying to figure out what their vendetta is against me.

Made me sad: There’s something about listening to your favourite albums on vinyl. This month I’ve had Frightened Rabbit’s The Midnight Organ Fight on repeat. Apart from the obvious emotion behind so many of Scott’s lyrics, the album is incredibly nostalgic to me.

Made me think: I saw Six last month and, apart from inspiring me to start my own girl band (name tbd), it made me realise how misogynistic many classic musicals are. As a fan of the theatre, I love this new era of musical theatre that challenges those traditional narratives.

Made me think twice: The ABBA Voyage concert. It gives you a glimpse into what gigs in the future could look like: do real people ever need to be present? A bit too Black Mirror for me.

Brian James O’Sullivan (aka Brido Hingwy) sings the praises of that artform known as panto and the role it can play in promoting diversity and inclusion

playLIST

This month’s extra special playlist is a celebration of the brightest Scottish musical talent in 2022, as featured in our Hot 100

Discover tracks by the likes of Bemz, Fergus McCreadie, Andrew Wasylyk, Rebecca Vasmant, Kathryn Joseph, Medicine Cabinet and many more

Scan and listen as you read:

my new hobby

With the aid of endorphins and rock ballads, Chris Boyd has gone from running virgin to marathon man

Running is boring and painful. Or at least that’s what I’d surmised from trying to avoid all sports for the best part of four decades. However, a growing patch of bad mental, physical and financial health had left me with no choice but to grit my teeth and head out one winter morning with the words ‘couch to 5k’ rattling away at the back of my mind.

As I racked up the miles (playlist of 80s rock ballads ringing in my ears), the stresses of the day were replaced with an addictive form of masochism; one which I can only liken to the exhausted endorphin rush that comes after a dodgy curry has finally left your system. Week in, week out, I began to wonder just how far I could run without requiring medical attention: a recent half-marathon resulted in me collapsing face first into Longniddry beach.

So, if you see me sweating away at snail’s pace down your road, why not give me a wave or, better still, join me for a jog. I can’t promise it won’t be painful but it certainly won’t be boring. 

Chris Boyd is an arts publicist at The Corner Shop agency in Edinburgh. Help him to run the Edinburgh Marathon for St Columba’s Hospice Care, justgiving.com/fundraising/chris-boyd-legs-it

THE OLD TWITTER

The tweet-pocalypse is nigh. Blue birds are falling from the calumny-drenched sky. Spam accounts are rising from the dead, hawking Viagra supplements and alt-right fantasies in their zombie-like gurgles. As foretold in the Book Of Revelations, ‘thy social platforms will cease when the Musk-faced man slithers from the Tesla dimension’. The old Twitter may have been a hate-spewing monolith, but at least it was our hate-spewing monolith.

NFTS

Do you cream your joggies while poring over terms like ‘blockchain’ and ‘NFTs’? Then you’ll love the latest NFT collection from The Mint Club, which gives you the opportunity to use actual money for a jumped-up JPEG featuring pieces of Cubist art. After that, we recommend investing in a make-believe mansion in the Metaverse, before perishing from real-life starvation as you paw at your imaginary riches.

Bring It Back Get It Gone

The time has come to reflect on this past year and decide who made a major impact on Scotland’s cultural landscape. From actors to artists, writers to restaurateurs, and playwrights to pop stars, we run down our top 100. There were plenty of strong candidates who didn’t quite make the cut, but we believe the following century proves that even in the face of several obstacles, our nation’s arts and culture is as vibrant as it’s ever been. So, who is our number 1? Let the countdown commence . . .

Writers: Becca Inglis, Brian Donaldson, Claire Sawers, Eddie Harrison, Fiona Shepherd, Gareth K Vile, Jay Richardson, Jay Thundercliffe, Jo Laidlaw, Kelly Apter, Kevin Fullerton, Lucy Ribchester, Megan Merino, Miranda Heggie, Murray Robertson, Rachel Ashenden, Seonaid Rafferty, Sheri Friers, Suzy Pope

100

PAOLO NUTINI

The Paisley favourite made his long-awaited return with new album Last Night In The Bittersweet, a throbbingly atmospheric mix of psych-rock, experimental electronics and trademark soulful ballads. His headline slot at TRNSMT was a triumphant homecoming, followed up by selling out a ve-night run at the Hydro. (SR)

99

STEVEN MCNICOLL & BARNABY POWER

Revisiting Tom McGrath’s Laurel And Hardy with the same cast and crew that created a beloved production two decades ago, McNicoll and Power’s double act embodied the easy friendship and instinctive comedic timing that made the cinematic duo so popular. (GKV)

98 ASTA PETKUNAITE

Artist and designer Petkunaite founded Pascal & Co vintage shop and with it a community of local fashion enthusiasts who adore her hand-picked pieces and original creations. The shop celebrated its one-year anniversary in September. (MM)

97 MATT JACKSON & MARZENA BRODZIAK

Their wine bar Spry has ourished and the paint has just dried on Ante, Jackson and Brodziak’s new coffee/lunch/brunch spot downstairs. It shares Spry’s pared-back aesthetic, with simple Scandi-inspired dishes like porridge and softboiled eggs to set you up for the day. (JL)

role-playing games-scene for years now, working to dismantle the old ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ reputation and create inclusive spaces in which to explore socio-political ideas. This year their rst games book, released, along with an exhibition of artwork at Dundee’s Keiller Centre. (LR)

Belonging, the follow-up to her nature writing debut. Part memoir and part love letter to the

wild, it was a striking re ection on home, told through the migratory patterns of birds, hill walks and family tales. (BI)

PICTURE: ALAN MCCREDIE

PICTURE: CAMERON BRISBANE

94

KATE DICKIE

After roles in Peaky Blinders, Game Of Thrones and Our Ladies, East Kilbride’s finest was all over our screens again. She joined David Tennant and Stanley Tucci in BBC One thriller Inside Man, played raven-haired Elizabet Ingram in horror flick Raven’s Hollow, and was Halldóra The Pict in Robert Eggers’ Viking adventure, The Northman. (CS)

93

PAUL BLACK

This comedian and social media star has entertained us on stage and online with his TikTok sketches and stand-up material. A sellout Fringe run and being a judge at this year’s SAY Award were just a few other strings to his bow. (MM)

92 CHAO-YING RAO

Glasgow-based multidisciplinary artist ChaoYing Rao’s non-stop performance schedule included Sexquisite Presents: Impurity, a cabaret show inspired by sex worker history from the Bishopsgate Institute archives. In a joint exhibition, Skin Flicks, she also presented new visual work alongside MV Brown which interrogated the fetishisation of Asian women. (RA)

91

ERIN ARMSTRONG

Both a teacher and Shetland TV star, Armstrong excelled as Lena Zavaroni in Lena. Capturing the child star’s vulnerability as well as her remarkable talent, Armstrong essayed a character who was an early victim of television’s fame trap, while revealing her own qualities. (GKV)

90 GAIL SNEDDON

A talented choreographer, director and video artist, Sneddon has co-created many a fine work with the likes of Claire Cunningham and Cora Bissett. But her site-specific dancetheatre piece SAVAGE, performed by Dance North Youth Company in Findhorn, was a phenomenal five-star smasher. (KA)

89 RICHARD BROWN

Testimony to the power of stand-up that doesn’t feel the need to appease or peopleplease, Brown’s comedy is dark, opinionated and misanthropic, yet principled. His latest Edinburgh Fringe hour, Horror Show, was an entertaining, disdain-flecked grimace of setting the world to rights. (JR)

88 AINSLIE HENDERSON & WILL ANDERSON

Edinburgh animators Ainslie Henderson and Will Anderson took the coveted Powell & Pressburger award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Their project, A Cat Called Dom, made innovative use of animation and a semi-documentary approach to a tricky narrative about family grief and the improbable influence of a cartoon cat. (EH)

HOT 100

87

JONATHAN MORTON

With Morton at the helm, Scottish Ensemble is one of Scotland’s most dynamic music collectives. This year, its passion for collaboration resulted in 50 string musicians from across Europe coming together at Barrowlands, plus tours to the USA, across Scotland with a visual art exhibition, and joining forces with a dance company in Sweden. (KA)

86

SEN VIET

Sen Viet (London’s rst vegan Vietnamese restaurant) opened a second venue in Edinburgh’s Tollcross. It takes extra effort to pack a punch in plant-based food, but Sen Viet’s ability to combine the crisp, spicy, sour and sweet avours of Vietnamese cuisine with silken tofu and wheat protein is an inspired move. (SP)

85

STEPHEN BUCHANAN & STUART MCPHERSON

These acclaimed Scottish stand-ups have been having a blast with their What’sTheScript? podcast in which they guess the plot of lms they haven’t seen, while in their day jobs they both appeared at Monkey Barrel during the Edinburgh Fringe. (BD)

84 EVER DUNDAS

Literary ction and horror writer Dundas published her debut sci- work, HellSans, which paints a dark picture of how governments treat the disabled. She also co-founded The Inklusion Guide which aims to open up accessibility at literary events, both for audiences and speakers. (BD)

83 GREG ESPLIN

As a leading actor and co-director of TrainspottingLive, Esplin enjoyed a breakout tour across the UK. His iteration of the tragic junkie Tommy is far darker than the one portrayed in the lm version and restores the character to those harrowing depths he plumbed in Irvine Welsh’s novel. (EH)

82

ETHAN LOCH

Seventeen-year-old pianist Loch won the keyboard nal of BBC Young Musician Of The Year. Blind since birth, Loch would explore the piano for hours as a toddler, and since then has performed globally, including at festivals in Italy, Poland and Belgium. (MH)

81

RACHEL DUNS

Saxophonist Duns is the latest creative contender to emerge from the Royal Conservatoire Of Scotland’s storming jazz course. Blazing a trail as an all-too-rare female instrumentalist bandleader, she was named Rising Star at this year’s Scottish Jazz Awards before she had released any recorded music. (FS) Jazz Awards before she had released any

PICTURE: GERAINT LEWIS

80 ANDREA BAKER

Mezzo soprano Baker formed one quarter of the cast of art film OMOS. Inspired by historical events, it featured two dancers, a poet and a singer (Baker) confronting Scotland’s racist past with extraordinary acts of performance. At the climax, Baker is utterly spellbinding, majestic and unlike anything you’ll have seen before. (LR)

79 LVRA

Edinburgh-bred, London-based Rachel Lu, aka LVRA (pronounced ‘loo-rah’) started the year as the SAY Award’s inaugural Sound Of Young Scotland pick, blitzed the summer festivals (including an appearance at Connect) and ended it by releasing her new single ‘Look’ on Eastern Margins, a label spotlighting East and Southeast Asian musicians. (FS)

78

ROBERT FLORENCE

Scotland’s comedy goliath stretched his musical muscles this year as the star of Bissett’s barnstorming adaptation of Peter Mullan’s film. Chuck in the continued excellence of his surrealist gaming show presented alongside Ryan Macleod, and this has been a bumper year for Rab fans. (KF)

77 LISA WILLIAMS

As founder of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association, Williams has been organising events promoting Caribbean culture and anti-racism for some time. Her Edinburgh Black History Walks are a revelation, exposing the structures of enslavement that kept the city’s New Town afloat, while also celebrating prominent Black Edinburghers and anti-racist activists from history. (LR)

76 CAT ANDERSON

Pursuing owner Anderson’s mission to give people a ‘killer wardrobe without killing the planet’, Treen opened its Stockbridge doors in 2021. Since then, pop-ups in St James Quarter and work with the Smart Works charity have helped push Treen’s sustainable brands into the mainstream. (MM)

100 PICTURE: STUART WALKER

PICTURE: WASHINGTON GWANDE

75 HOLYROOD DISTILLERY

The young distilling team’s refreshing approach to their craft continues to break boundaries. This year has seen new gin, vodka and rum joining their small-batch whisky expressions, while their courtyard bar is going from strength to strength, quickly becoming a summer mainstay. (JL)

74

TILDA SWINTON

Swinton started the year with the release of Memoria, the haunting English language debut from Apichatpong Weerasethakul, before starring in the most unconventional blockbuster of the summer, Three Thousand Years Of Longing. As per usual, she remains the art queen of the world, maybe even the universe. (KF)

73 ZINNIA OBERSKI

Oberski’s website describes her as a performer, creator and a wild circus artist. In a tiny hall at Summerhall, Oberski’s intense solo show Dreams Of The Small Gods was a fearless work of art that won rave notices and made innovative use of not only a trapeze, but her own naked body. (EH)

72

NEIL BUTLER

As director of Dandelion, Butler continued his journey as an innovator in the world of largescale events. Containing a wealth of music, food and discussions, this community-focused spectacular centred on ideas of environmental preservation and regeneration. (KF)

71

LARAH BROSS

Founded in 2017 in Portobello, there are now four Bross Bagels venues in Edinburgh, a UK-wide delivery service and plans to expand beyond the capital. Bross’ passion for food, social presence and desire to entertain have put, and kept, Bross Bagels firmly on the map. (SF)

70 MARK NELSON

After parting ways with his agent, the underrated Nelson has struck out on his own, releasing an acclaimed debut comedy special on YouTube and becoming one of the inner coterie of acts associated with Adam Rowe and Dan Nightingale’s Have A Word podcast. Instinctively dark and sardonic, Nelson is refining his style while uprooting his career. (JR)

69 JOHN BYRNE

With A Big Adventure the appropriate name for his retrospective exhibition at Kelvingrove, and the Tron’s production of a new musical play, Underwood Lane, Byrne has entered his 80s with signature gusto, remaining relevant while becoming a modern Scottish icon. (GKV)

68 SADIQ ALI

Circus artist Ali’s ground-breaking piece, The Chosen Haram, used Chinese pole to explore the internal conflicts caused by growing up

PICTURE: GLEN MCCARTY

PICTURE: MIHAELA BODLOVIC

67 66

67

MICHAEL PEDERSEN

Portobello poet Pedersen brought out tender memoir Boy Friends in tribute to his beloved friend Scott Hutchison and toured it around Europe and America. Back home, he hosted a Book Festival event with showbiz pals Shirley Manson and Charlotte Church and said farewell (for now?) to Neu! Reekie! with a big bash at Bellfield Brewery. (CS)

66 DEVIKA PONNAMBALAM

Ponnambalam’s debut novel I Am Not Your Eve is a feminist masterpiece, taking in Polynesian mythology and colonialism in its tale of Paul Gauguin’s child-bride, Teha’amana. It took Ponnambalam 17 years to write and was beautifully published by indie Bluemoose. (LR)

65 COLIN HINDS

With so many changes afoot in the Scotch whisky industry, the time feels right for a whisky bar mixing quality with informality. Hinds’ Tipsy Midgie blends irreverence, interest and deep knowledge to create a spot valued by aficionados, newcomers, tourists and locals alike. (JL)

64

IONA FYFE

The Scots Trad Musician Of The Year and Scots Language Speaker Of The Year built on her 2021 honours as a passionate advocate for recognition of her native tongue and ballad tradition by leading a successful campaign to have Scots listed as an official language on Spotify. She also played her first shows in the US this year. (FS)

63 LEYLA JOSEPHINE

The Prestwick-based performance poet, theatre maker and screenwriter produced her first poetry anthology, In Public/In Private. Published in October, it was accompanied by a UK and Ireland tour, while her first foray into short-film direction, Groom, led to a Scottish BAFTA nomination. (KA)

PICTURE: GRAHAM CLARK

PICTURE: EUAN ANDERSON

PETER SCHAUFUSS

Having danced with, and run, major companies around the world, Danish-born Schaufuss opened Edinburgh Festival Ballet & School in 2019. Emerging from the pandemic, he prompted queues around the block at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe when he cast Sir Ian McKellen in his dance/theatre version of Hamlet. (KA)

61

MEDICINE CABINET

Formed in Edinburgh and now based in Glasgow, audacious indie quintet Medicine Cabinet held their nerve through lockdown, built a live reputation as one of Scotland’s most characterful new bands and finally released their debut single, ‘The Signs’, just in time for their TRNSMT appearance this summer. Alex Kapranos is a fan. (FS)

60

AL THOMPSON

With Unique Events, Thompson has worked tirelessly to put on some of Scotland's best events and festivals over the past three decades. After a couple of difficult years, he and his team (alongside Assembly) have pulled out all the stops to deliver Edinburgh's Hogmanay and Edinburgh’s Christmas. (SF)

59

DOUGLAS GORDON

Dundee Contemporary Arts hosted the UK’s premiere of the Scottish artist’s major film installation, k.364. Shown across two huge screens, Gordon’s affecting piece follows the train journey of two Israeli musicians of Polish heritage travelling from Germany to Poland. (RA)

58

MARLI SIU

Hot on the heels of her Scottish BAFTA win for Best Film Actress in 2021, Siu scored the same coveted nomination again this year for her role in Our Ladies. She also co-starred as the witty, headstrong Nell in Dolly Alderton’s brilliantly relatable Everything I Know About Love. (SR)

57

JAY LAFFERTY

Recipient of a Chortle Award nomination for Best Compere, Lafferty made her Edinburgh Fringe debut in the Children’s section with The Song Of Fergus And Kate. For the grown-ups, she was a regular host of The Stand’s Bona Fide night and helmed Late ‘n’ Live during August. (BD)

56

STUART STRATFORD

Under the musical direction of Stratford, Scottish Opera has seen the year out with a bang. Stellar productions of Don Giovanni and Candide were followed by the fiery, flamencoinfused Ainadamar. A fabulous showcase of myriad art forms, it sizzled with all the heat of a sultry Spanish summer. (MH)

55

JAMES MCAVOY

Proving that his dynamism is as powerful on stage as on screen, McAvoy’s portrayal of Cyrano De Bergerac drove a dynamic dramaturgy with a ferocious performance that thrillingly captured the long-nosed hero’s rage and romantic sensitivity. (GKV)

54

JENNY NIVEN

As if co-founding Edinburgh’s first poetry festival Push The Boat Out (a Creative Edinburgh award winner) wasn’t enough, Niven is also executive producer of Dandelion, a programme of hundreds of events that explore our relationship with nature and art. Her leadership has resulted in edible gardens and art installations sprouting across the country. (BI)

53

LIZ LOCHHEAD

The NTS’ revival of her poetic, Scots-infused Medea reminded audiences of Lochhead’s ability to respect and update classical texts, while her win at the Scots Language Awards for Writer Of The Year emphasises her continued cultural importance as playwright, poet and advocate. (GKV)

52

KATHRYN JOSEPH

With haunting pianos and lyrics fraught with regret, Joseph’s latest album for you who are the wronged welcomed us back into her beautiful melancholic world. It’s her most complete work to date, a beautiful, precious, heart-wrenching series of tracks that deserved its SAY Award nomination. (KF)

51

DANIELLE JAM

If you’re a parent you may know her as a stalwart on CBeebies’ Molly And Mack, but Jam showed her acting versatility this autumn in an exquisite, nuanced and emotionally complicated performance as the poetic Ellen in James IV: Queen Of The Fight. (LR)

PICTURE: MIHAELA BODLOVIC

JAY CAPPERAULD

One of the most exciting voices in classical music today, composer and saxophonist Capperauld writes powerful and emotive music tackling subjects as wide ranging as true crime, seances, religion and mental health. Also a passionate educator, he’s facilitated multi-ability engagement experiences with Scotland’s top orchestras. (MH)

BRIAN BAGLOW

As someone who worked on the original Grand Auto, Baglow was part of Scotland’s push to become a gaming powerhouse. Founder and director of the Scottish Games Network, this year he launched Scottish Games Week, the first event of its kind. (MR)

KATIE PATERSON

As well as opening her debut solo show, Requiem, there were major milestones for Paterson’s visionary project, Future Library. In 2114, 100 unread and unpublished books written across 100 years by internationally renowned authors will be printed. The silent room in the new public library in Oslo, which safely stores the manuscripts, opened this year. (RA)

47 ARUSA QURESHI & HALINA RIFAI

AMPLIFI, a concert series created by Qureshi and Rifai, platformed the diversity of Scottish musical talent and placed undervalued acts in the spotlight. From the homebrew beats of Bemz to the sugar rush of AMUNDA, these Queen’s Hall gigs also scooped a Creative Edinburgh award along the way. (KF)

46 ANDY CANNON

Cannon’s children’s version of Macbeth, Is This A Dagger?, was a tour de force of Scottish storytelling, and one of our Edinburgh Fringe highlights. Single-handedly showing you need nothing more than conviction and imagination to tell a fiendishly complex story, Cannon carries the torch for a proud tradition. (LR)

45 ANDREW WASYLYK

Wasylyk’s SAY Award-nominated Balgay Hill: Morning In Magnolia mined romanticism from a Dundee park, while his newest release, Hearing The Water Before Seeing The Falls, revels in wonder at the natural world. A soak in Wasylyk’s transcendent tunes has made the anxiety fuel of 2022 a little more bearable. (KF)

44 ALAN BISSETT

Downing voddy and affecting his best Falkirk twang one final time, Alan Bissett injected a much-needed working-class Scottish voice into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, bringing his

PICTURE: JAMES BENNETT

PICTURE: SANDY BUTLER

43 BEE ASHA SINGH

Aside from performing at numerous festivals with her hard-hitting poems and songs, Singh’s Spit It Out Project (of which she’s co-director) gave us the Aye Festival which was shortlisted for a couple of Creative Edinburgh Awards for their focus on inclusion and community. (MM)

42 ROBERTA HALL-MCCARRON

A premises switcharoo resulted in newcomer Eleanore moving into The Little Chartroom’s former tiny space on Leith Walk. Meanwhile TLC’s larger premises on Bonnington Road allowed for something of an exhale, creating a more relaxed, refined dining experience, better matching Hall-McCarron’s always exemplary cooking. (JL)

41 DAVID TENNANT

A busy year for Tennant as the tenth Time Lord was also unveiled as the 14th (confused? Try not to be) while he conjured up a scary storm at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre as a professor seduced by Nazism in CP Taylor’s Good. He squeezed in being a vicar who makes some bad decisions in BBC’s Inside Man. (BD)

40 ALYCIA PIRMOHAMED

Canadian-born Pirmohamed spent her year lifting up other writers, co-editing two anthologies (one of Asian-American women poets and another of queer poetry) and continuing her work as co-founder of the Scottish BPOC Writers Network. Her debut poetry collection, Another Way To Split Water, was also published. (BI)

39 LARRY DEAN

Dean’s personal life seldom appears far from chaos, but such problems are grist to his mill with his show Fudnut deservedly scooping him a second Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination. Maturing as a storyteller, the likeably daft Glaswegian is also gently playing with the form, literally dancing through his pain and self-recrimination. (JR)

38 FARAH SALEH

Edinburgh-based Palestinian choreographer Saleh has gained acclaim and attention this year for her work exploring the refugee and migrant experience. Among other projects, she presented the thought-provoking PASTinuous at Dance International Glasgow in March, and celebratory A Wee Journey at Edinburgh International Festival. (LR)

37

MARK COUSINS

Filmmaker and cinema historian Cousins leaned into the world of art with a debut exhibition at Edinburgh’s Fruitmarket which celebrated both a glacier in Switzerland and Scottish artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham. And as a passionate cineaste, Cousins was prominent in the campaign to rescue Edinburgh’s Filmhouse. (BD)

36

DEAN BANKS

In a year of empire building, Banks firmly established his team at The Pompadour. He also opened Dulse, a laid-back bistro celebration of Scottish seafood that’s quietly making a name for itself as a place equally good for a couple of oysters and a beer as a full blowout. (JL)

35

KRYSTY WILSON-CAIRNS

Glaswegian Wilson-Cairns had cache to burn after an Oscar nomination for co-writing WWI epic 1917 work on Edgar Wright’s stylish Soho. She’s still in demand, adapting Charles Graeber’s best-selling medical thriller Nurse, with Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain starring. (EH)

34

BRIAN COX

The end of 2021 featured the shattering climax of completed 2022 announcing he’ll play JS Bach in a Trevor Nunn-directed play. In between, he produced a Fringe production, She/Her, was interviewed by the First Minister at the Edinburgh Book Festival and helmed a Channel 5 documentary series, How The Other Half Live. (BD)

33

KEVIN BRIDGES

We know the Clydebank comedian is never short of words, but in 2022 he served up even more than usual. Not only did The Overdue Catch-Up show sell out 16 nights at Glasgow’s Hydro, Bridges’ debut novel, The Black Dog, hinted at a hitherto untapped talent for characterisation and pathos. (KA)

32

NOEL JORDAN

Edinburgh International Children’s Festival was back on glorious live-action form this year, helmed by its director Jordan. Tackling subjects from grief and mental health to neurodiversity, through dance, theatre, music and even live acrobatic painting, the press were unanimous on its triumph. (LR)

PICTURE: AMY SINEAD PHOTOGRAPHY

31 CHARLOTTE MCLEAN

Dancer and choreographer Mclean first found her feet in the world of Highland dancing, before turning her attention to contemporary dance. At the Fringe she combined both worlds to create the powerful, critically acclaimed And, a work in which she laid herself raw personally as well as digging deep politically. (KA)

30

GRAEME MACRAE BURNET

Longlisted for the Booker Prize, the Kilmarnock writer’s Case Study featured a woman seeking out a psychotherapist whom she believed to be responsible for her sister’s death. Judges hailed the tale for being ‘forensic, elusive and mordantly funny’. (BD)

29

RONA MUNRO

The fourth instalment of Munro’s chronicles of Scottish royal history arrived with James IV: Queen Of The Fight. The playwright chose to balance the King’s narrative with that of the ‘two Moorish lasses’ who came to his court in 1504, and in doing so created an ensemble piece with Shakespearean intricacy and flair. (LR)

28

SUSIE MCCABE

Looking completely at home supporting Kevin Bridges on his recent arena tour, McCabe has joined the UK’s top rank of storytelling comedians, raising her profile with appearances on Frankie Boyle’s New World Order, Have I Got News For You and even Question Time (JR)

27

REBECCA VASMANT

The producer and DJ’s debut album, With Love From Glasgow, secured Vasmant a spot on this year’s SAY Award Longlist, while she progressed further with numerous festival appearances joined by her new jazz ensemble. (MM)

26

HANNAH LAVERY

Lavery was already a tour de force in the Scottish literature scene, and she has now penned her much anticipated debut poetry collection, Blood Salt Spring. That’s on top of being named Edinburgh Makar in 2021. (BI)

25 DAVID MARTIN

As the founder and director of Hidden Door, Martin spearheaded the transformation of Edinburgh’s former Royal High School from a derelict building to an artistic hub (one day it will be Scotland’s National Centre For Music) with another vibrant festival of music, art, theatre, film, dance and spoken word. (MM)

HOT 100

PICTURE: GREG MCVEAN

GRAEME CHEEVERS

It takes lots of self-confidence to open a restaurant and tell everyone you’re going for a Michelin star. Some might call it gallus. Yet Glaswegian Cheevers (with plenty of Michelin experience) brought home the star earlier this year within eight months of opening his Unalome in Finnieston. (JT)

23

ALAN CUMMING

Not only did our very own Hollywood icon take fresh strides with the dance/theatre production of Burn which played the Edinburgh International Festival before touring Scotland and the US, he was even gifted his very own bagel, a tasty vegan treat created by Bross Bagels. Its name? The Holesome Cumming. (BD)

22 FERN BRADY

A standout appearance on Taskmaster has cemented Bathgate-born Brady’s status as a rising star. From the moment she shared her autism diagnosis on social media, she’s become a compelling representative for neurodivergence, with her acclaimed stand-up show Autistic Bikini Queen bringing Brady her biggest gigs to date. (JR)

21 LEWIS GRIBBEN

After popping up in various minor roles since co-starring in 2019 Edinburgh Film Festival opener Get Duked!, Gribben scored his first lead in Channel 4’s darkly comic Somewhere Boy. His gloriously awkward portrayal of outsider Danny marked him out as one to watch. (SR)

20 HANNA TUULIKKI & TOMMY PERMAN

This bat-loving duo executed a sonic and performance project called Echo In The Dark which culminated in a series of silent raves. In collaboration with Arbroath’s Hospitalfield, they gathered public recordings of bat calls to create a set of new dance tracks. (RA)

19

JENNI FAGAN

Fagan followed up the ‘haunted panorama’ of 2021’s Luckenbooth with Hex, a fictionalised take on the tragic true story of Geillis Duncan, who was convicted as part of the North Berwick witch trials of 1591. The book arrived as the ongoing Witches Of Scotland campaign gained pace in clearing innocent victims’ names. (BD)

18

SUZIE MWANZA & SHIRLEY MCPHERSON

Mwanza and Mcpherson’s high-calibre banter, pop-culture savvy and in-depth discussion on Black issues has made their weekly podcast Black Scot Pod a must-listen. Started during lockdown, it hit its stride this year thanks to its consistently intelligent, regularly hilarious patter. (KF)

17 JACK LOWDEN

The Dunkirk star has been prominent on our televisions of late, opposite Gary Oldman in spy drama Slow Horses, but it was his role as war poet Siegfried Sassoon in Terence Davies’ film drama Benediction that won him a BAFTA Scotland nomination. (EH)

16 PAUL & CHRIS CHARALAMBOUS

Following years of near-stardom with Cail Bruich, the Charalambous brothers’ wee empire has fully bloomed. After opening their wine bar Brett, then bagging a Michelin star in 2021 (retained this year) at Cail Bruich with head chef Lorna McNee, they revitalised Epicures in Hyndland and opened Shucks earlier this year. (JT)

15

CHRISTOPHER HAMPSON

Scottish Ballet’s artistic director continues to lead with astute air and vision. This year, the company staged Kenneth MacMillan’s hot and steamy TheScandalAtMayerling, commissioned Jess & Morgs’ ground-breaking Coppélia, and scooped Best Dance Film for Starstruck at the 2022 National Dance Awards. (KA)

14

CORA BISSETT

Bissett proved the pandemic hadn’t blunted her directorial edge when she helped turn Peter Mullan’s 1998 lm Orphans into a stage smash. Witty, outrageous and tear-jerking, this National Theatre Of Scotland production is the latest in a string of theatrical triumphs under Bissett’s belt. (KA)

13

NICK STEWART

No stranger to this list, Sneaky Pete’s head honcho has continued to lead Edinburgh’s independent music scene through the toughest of times. Aside from giving bands and DJs of the future a platform to perform, Sneaky Pete’s also took over the incredible warehouse space in the Fruitmarket to bring us the Installation series. (MM)

12

PAUL HIGGINS

Between TheMeaningOfZong and This IsMemorialDevice (a special residency at the Edinburgh Book Festival), Paul Higgins‘ performances demonstrate the potential of theatre to combine rich characterisation and an urgent commentary on contemporary issues, whether through the legacy of slavery or ( ctional) Scottish bands. (GKV)

11 ANDREW FLEMING-BROWN

No resting on laurels for the founder and managing director of SWG3.

In addition to securing funding to further develop the former Customs & Excise bonded warehouse and environs into a cultural district with support for local artists, Fleming-Brown commissioned Bodyheat, a quirky renewable energy system to store heat generated by the venue’s sweaty clubbers. (FS)

10

ADURA ONASHILE

Onashile has been making waves as an actor, director and writer for some time now, but no one who saw her performance as Medea in the NTS production at the Edinburgh International Festival will ever forget it. (LR)

9

DOUGLAS STUART

Following a Booker Prize-winning debut novel can’t be easy, but Stuart handled that pressure with literary aplomb, as YoungMungo raked in the plaudits and earned him a key gig at the Edinburgh Book Festival where he was interviewed by Val McDermid. Next up is his own adaptation of ShuggieBain for the BBC. (BD)

8

MARJOLEIN ROBERTSON

This Shetland-born comedian is on the up, from delivering a successful Fringe run with her show ThankGodFishDon’tHaveHands to being a BBC New Comedy Award nalist. Throw in a Scots Speaker Of The Year Award for good measure and you can begin to understand the splash she’s made in 2022. (MM)

that began in September.

‘This is the film I’ve wanted to make for a long time,’ says Whittle. ‘I arrived in the UK the year Stephen Lawrence was murdered, and that always stayed with me. I remember when Sheku Bayoh lost his life, how that shook me even further, and for a long time I wanted to find some way to really speak of these ground-breaking moments that shake you to your core.’

With Whittle’s film, tapestry and sculptural output acclaimed in Scotland and elsewhere, a major overview of her work is set to be held in Edinburgh at the Scottish National Gallery Of Modern Art during 2023. ‘It's the biggest show I've ever done. It’s absolutely terrifying, but I’m so excited, because you don’t often get to see a full spectrum of your work together.’

This is vindication for Whittle’s advocacy of the Black experience through her art. ‘I’ve been doing work about decolonial practices and abolition for a really long time,’ she says, ‘and I have really noticed the conversation change from when I first started making this work. People were like, why are you talking about this, and said that no one would be interested. Now, I’ve really seen the conversation move on, and I think a greater sense of self-reflection is possible. So I am optimistic. I think we have to just hold on to hope and really think about these ideas in a very loving and critical way.’ (Neil Cooper)

CHARLOTTE WELLS

Once a regular customer of Edinburgh’s Cineworld, thanks to her Unlimited card, writer and director Charlotte Wells enjoyed a homecoming to remember in 2022. She brought her acclaimed to the Edinburgh International Film Festival, fresh from winning a top jury prize at Critics Week in Cannes. With Barry Jenkins of the Oscar-winning Moonlight as one of the was a personal and critically adored opening film for EIFF, a sensitive drama that proved a darling of the festival circuit worldwide, picking up 16 nominations in this year’s British

Creating an intimate, yet fully realised drama set in the 90s, Wells drew on her own experience of parenthood to capture the story of a daughter, Sophie (Frankie Corio), on a Turkish resort holiday with her father, Calum (Paul Mescal), reflected on decades after the finally made its way into cinemas in November and suggests great things are ahead from a talent who previously only

Having grown up in Scotland, Wells honed her craft at film school in New York, a city in which she now lives. Those who saw Blue Christmas will already have some understanding of how her unique skill has developed. With an enviable way with actors and showcasing a selection of artfully put Wells at the forefront of new and developing Scottish talent with a powerful big-screen

PICTURE: EMMA MCINTYRE

PICTURE: ERIKA STEVENSON

5 BEMZ

Bemz may have been in bed when he replied to our Zoom call, but he didn’t have a restful day planned. Instead, his schedule was crammed with interviews from nosey journos like me. He’s the busiest man in Scottish rap for good reason, gaining plaudits for his Scottish Album Of The Year-longlisted EP M4 and prepping for a massive headliner show at SWG3 next April.

But his defining moment in 2022, selling out King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, may prove to be a watershed for Scottish rap, illustrating an enthusiastic fanbase for the genre north of the border. ‘I’ve put blood, sweat and tears in this year, but selling out King Tut’s in May was something else,’ he says. ‘A lot of work led to that, and a lot of blessings. It’s one of those moments I’ve always wanted, ever since I found out you get a special bottle of whisky for selling out Tut’s. I don’t even like whisky, but it’s on the mantelpiece.’

A rare Glengoyne wasn’t the only highlight of Bemz’s year. He energised the midday slot at TRNSMT with a performance worthy of a headliner, joined The Snuts on the Main Stage, and dropped the party banger ‘Zidane’, which became the track of the summer for anyone lucky enough to hear it.

The stage seems set for Bemz to graduate to the big leagues in 2023, but funds for a full album remain a pipedream. ‘I’ve got a project in the works. It really should be an album, but I can’t afford to record it or promote it like an album. I’m hoping that after I drop this, it opens a lot of people’s eyes to how diverse my sound is. Maybe then I get some funding behind me and actually create a full body of work.’

That someone of Bemz’s calibre can’t get funding for an album is a wake-up call for Scottish arts bodies and record labels to recognise his unique talents. Until that time inevitably comes, he’s always welcome on our pages. A regular ‘Bemz In Bed’ feature, perhaps? (Kevin Fullerton)

To the music industry masses clustered round the tables at this year’s Mercury Prize ceremony, 25-year-old Fergus McCreadie may have been an unfamiliar name. As the traditional token jazz nominee, he was the rank outsider to scoop the prestigious award for his album Forest Floor But in his native Scotland, particularly his adopted home city of Glasgow, the prodigiously talented pianist has been a mainstay of the grassroots jazz scene for a number of years, first emerging as a dexterous proposition while still a student on Professor Tommy Smith’s fabulously fertile jazz course at the Royal Conservatoire Of Scotland, before reaching the 2018 BBC Young Musician Of The Year final.

McCreadie, originally from Dollar, formed his own trio with David Bowden on bass and Stephen Henderson on drums, as well as providing calm yet brilliant backing in a number of Glasgow’s clamorous young jazz ensembles. His previous albums, Turas (2018) and Cairn (2021), showcased his elegantly realised fusion of haunting Celtic folk tradition and technically dazzling jazz practise.

Everything came together on his evocative third album, Forest Floor, recorded over three days in summer 2021 and released in April this year. OK, it didn’t trounce the odds to win the Mercury Prize but, two evenings later, McCreadie scored a double whammy, being named as Instrumentalist Of The Year at the Jazz FM Awards and lifting the Scottish Album Of The Year Award, the first jazz artist to do so.

(Fiona Shepherd)

PICTURE: ANDY LOW

ISOBEL MCARTHUR

Tampering with the classics can be a risky business, but Isobel McArthur’s subversive take on Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice has garnered West End success and awards glory. Gareth K Vile catches up with the playwright and learns more about

aving won the Best Comedy Play at Pride And , Isobel McArthur brought the show back to Scotland for a triumphant reminder that her take on Jane Austen (and the heritage industry that appears to have taken ownership of her work) manages to capture that spirit of the author’s wit

McArthur herself recognises the importance of Scotland in the creation of this production. ‘It was really wonderful to bring it back to Scotland,’ she says. ‘The anxiety a few years ago on my part was that this was written for Glasgow: how will people in Leeds, Oxford or Newcastle react to it? Will they understand our sense of human, our cadence, and the bits of Scots language? But having performed across the country and in the West End, I had almost forgotten that what Scots find funny is not just gags, or the brilliant Austen stuff that is very relatable, but they back it politically as a transgressive gesture. To hear the text in Scottish accents, to puncture the starchiness of the Austen legacy with party rings, Viennettas and pineapple hedgehogs are things that Scottish audiences celebrate far more than anywhere

Pride And Prejudice* (*Sort such a distinctive take on Austen. While McArthur respects the author, she’s not afraid to foreground the excluded characters and challenge conventional ideas about the novels. ‘Glasgow is an influence; thinking about those audiences and my family and friends in the city, if I had said do you want to come to see a Jane Austen, they immediately would have said no! I knew it needed to be something that my own aunties needed to be willing to listen to. So, it needed pop music and karaoke, told by the servants, to undercut any snobbery, while using the emotional heft to keep the stakes alive.’ Against this, many popular versions of Austen feel staid and, ironically, out of sympathy with the novel’s tone. ‘The film adaptations are totally humourless,’ she adds. ‘That is baffling to me as it is a very funny book. And it’s

McArthur emerged with theatre company Blood Of The Young, who embraced a DIY ethic and a desire to energise moribund dramaturgy with humour and innovation, and her direction of Pride And Prejudice speaks to an idealism that simultaneously adores theatre but is unwilling to conform to predictable processes. Avoiding the heritage route and adorning the story with familiar musical numbers that relate the characters to contemporary emotional tangles, McArthur and her collaborators appear to have found an expression of feminist performance that shares the lively playfulness of the ceilidh plays.

PICTURES: MIHAELA BODLOVIC

2 NICOLA BENEDETTI

Scottish violin virtuoso Nicola Benedetti is no stranger to success in her music career, but she’s just taken on her biggest challenge yet. She tells Kelly Apter about her mission as the new director of Edinburgh International Festival

Since winning the grand finale of BBC Young Musician in 2004, there’s scarcely been a year when Nicola Benedetti wouldn’t automatically qualify for Hot 100 status. So busy is the violinist, touring the world, recording number-one albums and being a passionate advocate for music education, it seemed impossible we could expect anything more from the Irvine-born virtuoso. Then came the surprise announcement that in October 2022, Benedetti would become the first woman and Scottish-born director of Edinburgh International Festival.

Having been approached unexpectedly by the EIF to gauge her interest in applying, Benedetti was grateful for a long recruitment period to give her time to adjust. ‘It happened very organically,’ she says. ‘The process was very thorough and lengthy, which for me was a gift as it gave me plenty of time to really imagine occupying the role, the kind of work it would be and the kind of offering I felt I could bring to what’s already an incredible organisation.’

A quick glance at Benedetti’s off-stage work tells you all you need to know about her priorities for the Festival. Fuelled by a desire to ensure music (and culture generally) is accessible to all, she currently works closely with children’s charity Sistema Scotland, while her own Foundation has given creative opportunities to thousands of people across the world.

‘My mission is to provide the deepest possible experience for the maximum number of people through great art,’ says Benedetti. ‘I believe that if the environment is welcoming, open-hearted and open-armed, and you’re able to communicate clearly the depths of experience it’s possible for anyone to have with those particular presentations, then that’s a wonderful additive to provide for people in the grand mix of what they experience in life. No, it’s not something you’re going to do every night of the week but as a special occasion it can be life-changing on an emotional level and on a fundamental human level.’

When The List asked outgoing EIF director Fergus Linehan what he would write on a note left on the desk for Benedetti, he said ‘there’s more flexibility than you think’: how does she feel about that?

‘Actually some of the aspects of the role that have been most terrifying have been precisely that: the amount of freedom that is there,’ says Benedetti with a laugh. ‘When we have finite parameters, that’s often quite a calming thing for a human being because we like structures within which we have a number of freedoms. But yes, the risk and flexibility is both a source of trepidation and responsibility but also a source of huge enjoyment and excitement in preparing for next year and following years.’

PICTURE: CRAIG GIBSON

PICTURE: FRANZ GALO

HOT 100

NCUTI GATWA

Taking the top spot in this year’s Hot 100 is award-winning actor Ncuti Gatwa, known for playing Eric in Sex Education and being Jodie Whittaker’s successor in Doctor Who. He spoke to Megan Merino about a childhood in Edinburgh, becoming the new Time Lord and his obsession with Greta Gerwig

You may know him as the gregarious Eric Effiong in Netflix’s Sex Education or perhaps as the next incarnation of the legendary Time Lord, but Ncuti Gatwa is also a proud Scot, with his performing roots deeply embedded in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Fife.

‘My dad was studying at Edinburgh University so I grew up in Black Avenue, which was like accommodation for international families because we had just come from Rwanda.’ But it was a move to Fife at the age of 14 that started Gatwa’s love affair with performing. ‘My drama teacher at Dunfermline High School was like, you really need to consider going to the Royal Conservatoire. And she gave me David Tennant’s Hamlet and said “watch this. This is an actor.” I was like “oh my god”.’ What, then, could be more full circle than him stepping into his shoes as the next Doctor Who?

In September, the BBC broke the news that Gatwa would be taking on this iconic role, making him the first ever Black actor (and fourth Scot) to do so in the show’s 59-year history. ‘I’ve known since about February so it's been tricky keeping this under wraps: I have a very big mouth!’ he said on the red carpet following the announcement. ‘But it's a true honour. This role is an institution. It means a lot to so many people, including myself. It makes everyone feel seen as well.’

Reflecting on the casting process, Gatwa recalls ‘prepping for the role of the Doctor and watching all the episodes again and watching Russell T Davies and David [Tennant]’s work. I was overcome with the need to get the job! I was like “I want to work with Russell". His writing is so clever. I just feel very honoured that he saw something in me that he likes. He’s going to take me to the universe, around all the stars and galaxies.’

Gatwa may be over the moon now, but the road to get here was rough. While relentlessly attending auditions in London, Gatwa found himself homeless for several months before one booking would change his life forever. ‘It was turbulent, you know? But I feel so grateful that Sex Education came into my life.’ A month after its release in 2019, the first season had been streamed over 40 million times, shooting its stars to international fame overnight. ‘In this streaming age, a show drops across 150 countries in a second so it took a long time to figure out what the hell was going on in my life. I’d be in Tesco and someone would ask for a selfie and I’d have no idea why!’

Three seasons in, he still has a lot of love for Sex Education and Eric, a character he’s lifted with side-splitting one-liners such as ‘you detty pig’. But how does he find returning to Moordale High? ‘Playing a teenager, especially as a 30-year-old man, is getting trickier as the days go on, let me tell you,’ he cackles. ‘But it’s lovely to return to that cast. They are like my children.’

Among these co-stars is Emma Mackey who will appear alongside Gatwa in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Barbie. ‘I remember the casting director telling me “Greta’s seen your tape and she really likes it”. Well, that wasn’t good enough’, he deadpans. ‘No stone must be left unturned! So I did about ten other takes and was like “SEND THEM ALL TO GRETA!” His tenacity paid off and he now describes Gerwig as ‘a creative kindred spirit’.

As Gatwa finds himself on the brink of A-list stardom, his strong grasp of what’s important shows grace and conviction. ‘It’s just about learning to be really grateful,’ he insists. ‘And also to take the work seriously but not yourself seriously. It’s an amazing job that we get to do but it is just a job. I’m slowly learning how to take it in my stride.’

PAY A VISIT TO JOHNNIE WALKER PRINCES STREET FOR THE ULTIMATE FESTIVE FEELS

The Christmas countdown is on and your planning should be well under way for the festivities. Whether you’re a local or planning a day out in Scotland’s capital, a visit to Johnnie Walker Princes Street is an absolute must.

Lighting up the heart of Edinburgh’s West End with a new festive projection, guests can find something for everyone across Johnnie Walker Princes Street’s eight floors. Including immersive tours, rooftop bars and a state-of-the-art retail store, the venue has welcomed over 345,000 guests since opening and recently achieved VisitScotland’s coveted ‘Five Star Attraction’ accreditation. Here’s a look at what’s in store:

Tours & experiences

Enjoy the immersive 90-minute Journey of Flavour tour (£28), where personal flavour preferences are mapped with drinks tailored to each individual’s palate, with non-alcoholic options available. Or consider some of the wider whisky experiences such as the Whisky Maker’s Cellar or the Johnnie Walker History Adventure. A brand new ‘Drams & Brews’ whisky and coffee pairing experience will also be available throughout the season, featuring locally sourced cold brew coffee matched with exciting whiskies from across Scotland.

Festive Projection

All through December Johnnie Walker Princes Street’s building façade will be transformed via a stunning animated festive projection. Once the sun sets, guests and passersby can marvel at the scene featuring giant presents, an advent calendar, whisky highballs and plenty more besides.

Food & drink

Visit the 1820 Bar, offering everything from crafted cocktails with a festive twist to your favourite dram matched with locally-sourced dishes – best enjoyed with epic views of Edinburgh Castle and the city’s busiest street. Or, explore over 150 special bottles and one of a kind cask editions in the Explorers’ Bothy Bar – perfect for those looking to expand their palette and try new flavours.

Christmas shopping

As the largest Johnnie Walker retail store in the world, Johnnie Walker Princes Street stocks an unrivalled collection of both blended and single malt whiskies to suit all taste and budgets, as well as all the glassware and kit required to create the perfect serve at home. The ultimate destination to shop for dram lovers, the selection varies from personalised engraved bottles, to gift sets and exclusive blends.

To book your Johnnie Walker experience, and for more information, visit www.johnniewalkerprincesstreet.com

eat drink shop

COBURG HOUSE

It’s fair to say we’re entering the height of shopping season. But if you favour local artisans over busy shopping centres, head to the home of independent artists at Edinburgh’s Coburg House this December. Their annual Winter Exhibition (until Sunday 18 December) displays a range of sculptures, metalwork, contemporary art and jewellery, while special Open Studio events (Friday 2 December, 6–9pm; Saturday 3 & Sunday 4 December, 10am–5pm) give visitors a glimpse behind the scenes as they wander through residents’ work spaces in the heart of Leith. Whether you’re buying for wearers, admirers or displayers of art, there’s a perfect gift for everyone.

(Megan Merino)

 Coburg House, Coburg Street, Edinburgh.

PICTURE: SHANNON TOFTS

expectationsplate

While there’s no doubt it’s a challenging time for the hospitality industry, here at List Towers we prefer celebrating the resilience of our brilliant chefs, restaurateurs and bar owners to wallowing in gloom and doom. So, we’ve dusted off our crystal balls and hit up a few soothsaying industry pals for some eating-out predictions for the good ship 2023.

Expect a touch of nostalgia, says Scott Fraser of trends forecasters The Food People. ‘When times are tough, we generally see a return to nostalgic comfort food; the hugs on a plate that feel good rather than looking good for the ‘Gram. Think ice-cream floats and steaming plates of pasta: we predict Italian cooking will be huge this year.’ Fraser reckons the cost of energy will also see the emergence of lots of raw and no-cook recipes (ceviche, tartare, charcuterie boards), with a focus on simple dishes that showcase sourcing. ‘Try The Palmerston in Edinburgh to see this in action,’ he says.

As the cost-of-living black clouds loom over all of us and 2022 limps to a not-unwelcome demise, Jo Laidlaw gets the lowdown from industry insiders on how the current climate will impact our eating and drinking habits next year

Travel and food journalist Ailsa Sheldon has seen chefs championing local ingredients and making more sustainable choices as she travels around Scotland. ‘That isn’t new, but customers are paying more attention,’ she says. ‘I predict venison and local seafood will take up more room on menus, with less beef and fewer imported ingredients like those huge king prawns; we’d rather have a couple of langoustine and really enjoy them.’

Jonathan Trew of 5pm.co.uk believes a focus on costs means nose-to-tail eating will go more mainstream, unleashing greater creativity in kitchens, with lesser-known cuts of meat and cheaper varieties of fish worked more intensively so they go further for less money. ‘I suspect we’ll see more focused menus that cut waste, as well as more places specialising in one key ingredient,’ says Trew.

Customers are looking for more bang for their buck in general, and Nicola Moir from Glasgow creative agency Atomic10 says it’s all about the experience.

‘We crave experiences; a continuing trend for 2023 will be collaborations and takeovers which are great ways to try new cuisines on your home turf.’ Moir picks out The Wilder Kitchen’s supper clubs and popups at The Gate pub in the city’s East End as ones to look out for.

Trew agrees, pointing out that as our high streets continue to change, there will be an acceleration in the move to use new spaces for restaurants. ‘Look out for music and entertainment venues rubbing shoulders with restaurants and bars on places like Princes Street, more food markets such as The Pitt and reimagining of the traditional shopping-mall fast-food courtyard: just look at the St James Quarter to see how perceptions are changing.’

Sheldon believes that over the next 12 months, we’ll eat out less but want it to mean more. ‘Drinks-wise, I think 2023 will be all about whisky; the influx of younger talent starting distilleries and changing things up is so exciting,’ she says. ‘Actually, that’s a perfect metaphor: we’re going to take our time, be more mindful, explore complex flavours with friends and experience some fantastic new skills, both behind the bar and behind the pass.’

Previous page: The Palmerston, Scott Fraser; this page (from top): The Pitt, Ailsa Sheldon, Jonathan Trew, Nicola Moir

EAT

street food

MERCHANT CHIPPY

One of Glasgow’s best. Unassuming and old school in its stylings, always busy (and thus always fresh), with sea bass, salmon, trout and sole on the menu as well as pastas and other classics. That said, you’d be hard pushed to see beyond a haddock supper that’s straight out of the fryer and very keenly priced.

SWADISH

BY AJAY KUMAR

Modern Indian cuisine that looks to fine dining for its aesthetic and Scotland’s larder for produce, with suggested wine pairings. We’re talking roasted Glenfeshie pigeon with Indian five-spice and ginger, paired with a glass of primitivo from Puglia; or a roe deer korma with a Burgundian pinot noir.

SANTA LUCIA

Be it the gorgeous whiff of truffle as you crunch open an arancino, the tricky interplay of mushrooms and chestnuts in a tagliatelle dish, or the glossy egg and salty slices of guanciale pork in their carbonara, Santa Lucia is a spacious and elegant two-tier restaurant that confidently picks classics from all over Italy and executes them with confidence.

SINGL-END

The in-house bakery drives this thriving brunch spot that looks into the square of the Italian Centre. Rugged slices of altamura (Italian durum bread) are the base for posh French toast with fried banana and coffee mascarpone, or a croque monsieur that also has nduja and caramelised onion if you want even more decadence. There’s lots of generously portioned riffs on baked and poached eggs too.

MAMASAN

Pan-Asian delights aplenty in this trendy spot where cocktails and clubby vibes define the evening service. A rack of lamb in a Malaysian yellow curry packs a funky punch and the many vegetarian options include spiced tomato pho with a labneh-stuffed courgette. It’s global, playful and packed with interesting flavours.

Following the opening of Broken Clock on Broughton Street and The Pastry Section’s new operation on Great Junction Street in September, Edinburgh’s independent bakery scene shows no sign of settling down. In addition to their Stockbridge store, November saw the opening of a second Kilted Donut, this time in the Grassmarket: good news for fancy doughnut fans in the Old Town. Brand new micro-bakery Hobz opened on Leith Walk in October after a series of successful stints as a pop-up at the police box on Leith Walk.

A little further afield, Green Bite vegan bakery and café started hawking 100% plant-based bakes and coffees on Inverleith Row. Perhaps bucking the trend of pop-up to permanent, Morningside’s Salt Café opened A Pinch Of Salt at the police box in Tollcross, serving their house-blend espresso and bakes fresh from the café. In November, iconic sourdough slingers Twelve Triangles opened their first branch outside of Edinburgh, in the pretty Borders town of Melrose.

Glasgow isn’t immune to the bakery and coffee-shop shuffle either, with Big Bear bakery opening a second branch in the West End. Much-loved brunch spot Scran closed its doors in Dennistoun back in September, but worry not: they’re about to open a new site on London Road. Finally, in non-baked-goods-related news, upmarket gastropub The Loveable Rogue has taken up the former Beat By Nico premises in Dennistoun which closed last month; here’s hoping the lobster mac’n’cheese is on the menu.

side dishes

Suzy Pope reports on the latest news and openings as the growth in independent bakeries continues apace

We choose a street and tell you where to eat. David Kirkwood takes a stroll along Ingram Street in Glasgow, finding everything from traditional British classics to playful pan-Asian treats

Twelve Triangles

RESTAURANT ROYÂ

One cuisine that has generally passed Glasgow by is Middle Eastern. Despite the mezze-style offerings from the likes of Iran, Turkey and Lebanon growing in popularity in recent years, they haven’t hit menus in the city in any big way. About the only stalwart of Persian-inspired food in town is Paradise at Kelvinbridge, with the family’s younger generation who run that venue now taking the reins at Royâ.

This attractive corner tenement facing the King’s Theatre will always draw an in-out crowd grabbing a speedy pre-show meal. For something more leisurely (a pace this place suits), don’t visit until the curtain goes up across the road. Inside, Royâ wears a Persian theme lightly, while feeling a bit luxurious with its dark woods, moody deep blue walls and decorative cornicing blinged up in gold.

The menu splits into mixed mezze dishes, grilled meaty options such as kebabs, and pideh (Middle Eastern flatbreads with various toppings). It’s an enticing selection, the sort that rewards revisits to pick up on missed-out options. This is tapas-style dining, with food coming as and when ready, and it’s a pleasing production line to be on the receiving end of. Mezze options include vibrant, herby tabbouleh, nicely spiced and shredded chicken shawarma and deconstructed dolma of rice topped with vine leaves. The Iranian kebab torsh is herby lamb marinated in pomegranate molasses and walnut paste, charcoal-tinged, served with flatbread and pickles. Breads feature the delicious Royâ naan cake, a fluffier version of standard naans, great for plunging into their addictive baba ghanoush dip of creamy aubergine, full of mesmerising smokiness.

A handful of desserts, including a baklava ice-cream sandwich and pastry cigars with nuts and chocolate, can’t quite reach the heights of savoury dishes. There’s also a compact, distinct bar area for those wanting just a snack to accompany their drinking.

(Jay Thundercliffe)

n 59 Elmbank Street, Glasgow, royarestaurant.co.uk

RESTAURANT THE TOLLHOUSE

Perched on the Water Of Leith’s banks at Canonmills, the warm glow of The Tollhouse restaurant is undeniably appealing on Edinburgh’s dark autumnal nights. From the outside, it looks fairly compact, but inside, the lofty ceiling and walls of glass make it feel as vast as a warehouse. During the day, there’s a view of the water, the riverside terrace being perfect for a predinner tipple (with heaters for winter). Acclaimed chef Stuart Muir (of Dine fame) has taken the helm at this architecturally impressive spot, offering a thoughtful menu celebrating Scotland’s natural larder.

Crab salad is a light and refreshing start with the sharp tang of green apple cutting straight to the taste buds, while smoked duck breast comes perfectly presented with twists of watercress and a fruity blood orange gel. The Tollhouse have their own wee smokehouse outside, so anything smoked on the menu is worth checking out.

For mains, venison loin is perfectly rose-pink in the centre. Pickled blackberries add an innovative tartness to complement the meat and the crisp crunch of kale is a welcome textural addition. Despite the danger of blandness with some white fish, halibut here flakes nicely with bacon, and fried salsify adds depth. Desserts don’t disappoint either, with a rich chocolate ganache sticking pleasingly to the roof of the mouth while the zip of mango and passionfruit cuts through the cheesecake.

Overall, presentation is beautiful, dishes are balanced and the interior is certainly something to talk about. Given the grand changes that have taken place to transform this venue into a destination restaurant, we can probably all stop talking about the fact that it used to be a public toilet. (Suzy Pope)

n 50 Brandon Terrace, Edinburgh, tollhouse.scot

DRINK UP

In our regular drinks column, Kevin Fullerton tries a few tasty beverages and lets you know exactly what he thinks of them. This issue we need Kevin to talk about . . . rum

‘R

um, rum, rum for my tum, tum, tum.’ I sing these words merrily every time I encounter a bottle of rum, whether peering at it on supermarket shelves or dancing around my local pub, staring bar staff square in the eyes to help maximise their enjoyment of my simple rhyme. And so it was with delight that I undertook this taste test of three rums bottled in Scotland. Please anticipate a tum-tum rating for every bottle reviewed this month. It won’t happen again and it’s probably ill-advised now.

First up is 8 Track, a spiced rum which, as it isn’t very good, we’ll breeze by as quickly as we can. Its label boasts a smorgasbord of flavours, but my palate could only detect the medicinal stupor of pure alcohol. Not a rum of subtlety then, and one that’ll leave your throat in tatters if you drink it straight. Tum-tum rating: 3/10

Less desperate to court the hipster demographic is Edinburgh Rum, which has packaging so loaded with thistles and tartan that you half expect it to develop vocal cords and scream ‘och aye the noo’ in an offensive Shrekkish accent. Although designed to reel in punters at the Duty Free, this is a high-quality blend. Snort me up Scotty, as they probably said at a Star Trek wrap party, because this smells heavenly, a delicate dance of caramel and vanilla that translates seamlessly into a luscious taste. Thanks for sending a full bottle, Edinburgh Rum, because I’ll happily savour this masterpiece. Tum-tum rating: 8/10

Finally, say hello to RonCabezon, a double-distilled botanical rum featuring bottle art so intricately designed that it could be hung in a gallery. Smoky and muscular, it’s a less obvious peoplepleaser than Edinburgh Rum but its taste screams a distillation process fashioned with precision and care. Cabezon is the cool kid of this trio and, while it may appear aloof at first glance, it’ll soon take off its sunglasses to reveal the hunk underneath the smoulder. Did it sound a bit like I fancied a bottle of rum there? Yes, yes it did. Tum-tum rating: 9/10

BAR FILES

I think my favourite boozer in town has got to be The Clutha. I remember getting sneaked in there and the Victoria Bar next door when I was about 12 years old to play the open-mic nights, watching all the other players (who could actually play) and thinking ‘wow, this is what I want to be doing’. They must have been thinking ‘who’s this annoying little kid and why’s he in the bar?’ But I have a lot of great memories there and it set me on a good footing for pursuing a career in music. Whenever I’m back in Glasgow, I always pop in for a few jars.

Murdo Mitchell supports Luke La Volpe at SWG3, Glasgow, Tuesday 6 December, and Dylan John Thomas at Barrowland, Glasgow, Wednesday 7 & Thursday 8 December; his single Lies is out now on Icons Creating Evil Art.

LAYING IT ON

Tucked away inside Edinburgh’s Waverley Market, just a stone’s throw from Princes Street, is an 11,000 square foot commercial space resembling retail heaven: a market boasting women-led businesses offering everything from ceramics and flowers to books and vintage clothing. This newly opened pop-up is the latest home of Egg & Co.

Since its launch in 2014, Egg & Co’s digital community has grown to over 70,000 across Facebook and Instagram, thanks to the dynamism of its founder Kylie Reid. ‘I was part of a [virtual] group in Glasgow, a small group of women who just shared recommendations, and so when I came to Edinburgh, I figured there would be something similar here,’ Reid recalls. When she realised no such thing had made it to the capital, Edinburgh Gossip Girls (now abbreviated to ‘egg’) was born.

‘I do love personal recommendations, it just saves so much time and legwork. Within months we grew to 5000 people, and businesses were starting to approach me to say “can we work with you?” The wheels in my brain started turning, but it was the death of my dad that was the final push to thinking “you know what? I’m gonna make this a business”.’

This began with the ‘egg card’, which tapped into local business networks to give users access to exclusive events and offers (‘we sold 1000 cards within about an hour and the website crashed!’). Now Egg & Co has evolved into a multichannel networking hub that transcends the digital space, with events about topics from menopause to make-up, and pop-up shops where local artisans can share their creations.

‘While I love online, it’s the offline element that just gives me a buzz,’ Reid admits. ‘I love events and had always thought about a physical home for Egg.’ So imagine her delight when a prime spot became available on George Street at the beginning of 2022. ‘It was the worst time to do anything like that. But I think what worked about the space was that it was colourful, independent, female-led, and it was good news about Edinburgh’s high street.’

Despite its temporary nature, Egg’s first pop-up was a success for both Reid and the local retailers who filled it. ‘Many of them have now gone on and opened up their own shops. We became like an incubator and gave them confidence to go and do their own thing. We’re here now in a much bigger space than George Street, but it’s obviously a very different venue. We just need to try and bring more people in because we stand here and watch them flying up the escalator!’

Egg & Co’s Christmas pop-up runs until Friday 23 December (Tuesday–Sunday, 10am–6pm), featuring an array of local businesses including Fruit Salad Flowers, Boozy Book Club, Torn Vintage, Missa & Kissa and Ruby Glow sex toys. ‘It’s important to just try and keep it evolving and have stuff to talk about,’ adds Reid. ‘There’s no denying it’s a challenging time for retail. But we’re definitely trying to be a positive light in that.’

Egg & Co, Unit 14–22, Waverley Market, Edinburgh, weareegg.co.uk

Kylie

Reid

talks to Megan Merino about the creation of Egg & Co and its role in championing local women-led businesses

THE LINE

Kylie Reid (left) and Fruit Salad Flowers (right)

what’s in the bag?

This issue we bring you a very special edition of What’s In The Bag? featuring the King Of Christmas himself. No, not Michael Bublé, sorry, but Santa K Claus aka Kris Kringle who let us stare intently inside his almighty sack. Let the fun commence . . .

£10,000 FOR JOE LYCETT

Most people don’t know this, but Joe and I celebrated Pride together once and he said I was the ‘Zaddy’ to his Mummy. When I saw he shredded his own money to call out David Beckham and defend LGBTQ+ rights, I immediately had the elves start putting the torn dosh back together so I could give it back to him this Christmas. But before I knew it, he announced it was all a ruse! Thankfully we have plenty of Monopoly games in need of fake cash.

A COPY OF GARTH MARENGHI’S TERRORTOME FOR NISH KUMAR

After catching up with last month’s magazine (it’s my go-to toilet material . . . for reading not wiping!), I learned that Nish Kumar has a soft spot for horror-writer extraordinaire Garth Marenghi. I was struggling to find a gift for him this year after the bread roll I gave him a few years ago didn’t go down too well. I thought I’d play it safe with a copy of TerrorTome. It may teach Nish a thing or two about writing.

AN MP’S JOB DESCRIPTION ADDRESSED TO MATT HANCOCK

You weren’t supposed to see that! Moving swiftly on . . .

By Jen Byrne

CARROTS FOR GRETA THUNBERG

I can’t express how difficult it’s been to keep these away from my reindeer. They do love a nibble on my carrot. But I’m keeping this extra special pack in my bag for Greta as I hear they’re her favourite food! No wonder those eyes can spot bullpat a mile off. Watch out Matt Hancock!

A GLITTERBALL-SHAPED FLASHLIGHT FOR STRICTLY’S TYLER WEST

I may not look like a man who has hips for rumba, but I’d love to dispel that myth if Strictly were so gracious to ask me on. Anyway, seeing DJ Tyler West lay bare his obsession with torches was as endearing as his final Soul Train inspired salsa. Hopefully this will be a nice addition to his collection.

AN INDEPENDENT CINEMA FOR EDINBURGH

I used to love a trip to the Filmhouse. My top film picks include Christmas Evil, Krampus and Black Christmas, and do you really think they’ll be screening those at Cineworld? Those movies may paint me in a bad light, but we’re all allowed a dark side. Besides, there’s nothing like a murderous threat to keep children off the naughty list.

shop talk

Leah Bauer checks out a trio of shopping experiences in our retail column

OUT OF THE BLUE CHRISTMAS ARTS MARKET

On the first and second Saturdays of December, Leith’s Out Of The Blue is organising a Christmas Arts Market, perfect to pick up charming festive gifts. While you wander the hall, you’ll find photography, jewellery, soft furnishings and textiles which you can purchase directly from more than 100 local artists.

n 36 Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh, outoftheblue. org.uk

BY JEN BYRNE

Made exclusively from vintage and reclaimed textiles, slow-fashion designer Jen Byrne (recently nominated for a Creative Edinburgh award) crafts

items made to last; fully personalised pieces of clothing that reflect your style while reducing textile waste. All pieces are lovingly made by Byrne, from pattern drafting and grading to sewing.

n Online at byjenbyrne.com

ARTFUL

Bringing together the varied works of 25 Scottish artisans, Artful at Callendar House in Falkirk is on until Sunday 15 January. Shop for beautiful ceramics by Ceri White and Sarah Koetsier, urban inspired jewellery by Edinburghbased artist Michele Daykin, or textiles by Alloabased Taffled Threads.

n Callendar House, Falkirk, falkirkleisureandculture. org/whats-on/artful

DISCOVER

IT ALL STARTS WITH FOUR LITTLE WORDS HEVERLEE

WHAT FOLLOWS IN 2023 WITH HEVERLEE

An Autumn to remember with the Heverlee Mixer events across Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee, where we celebrated each city’s emerging DJ talent in partnership with two of Scotland’s best independent radio stations, EHFM at Ooh Mami in Edinburgh & Clyde Built at Stereo in Glasgow and Hunter S Thompson in Dundee, all enjoyed with ice cold pints of Heverlee Premium Pilsner Lager, poured and skimmed to perfection.

If you didn’t get a chance to check out a Heverlee Mixer this year, keep an eye out on our socials to see what other events we have coming in the new year to #discoverwhatfollows

going out

CELTIC CONNECTIONS

Glasgow will soon be alive with the sounds of celtic music, as roots acts from across the globe entertain city concert-goers across two months. There’s Moroccan-French quartet Bab L’Bluz, Mali’s Trio Da Kali, India’s Nakul Krishnamurthy, America’s Lee Fields, and Australia’s Charm Of Finches. But there’s also a heap of top talent from these shores including Kitti, Isla Ratcliff, Anna Meredith, Siobhan Miller (pictured), Westward The Light, Kim Edgar, and allconquering hero Fergus McCreadie. (Brian Donaldson) n Various venues, Glasgow, Thursday 19 January–Sunday 5 February.

MAKING W

Celtic rockers Tide Lines kick off 2023 by topping the bill at Final Fling, a new addition to Edinburgh’s Hogmanay. Frontman Robert Robertson talks to Fiona Shepherd about the excitement of getting back to live gigs, headlining an all-Scottish New Year’s Day knees-up and the quirks of recording on an island

Robert Robertson is not big on New Year resolutions (or none that he will admit to anyway) but for the first time in almost three years, he can look back with thanks and forward with optimism. ‘2022 has been absolutely brilliant, back to what life should be like as a full-time musician, writing and recording and gigging,’ he says. ‘It’s really exciting to be starting a new year with a real plan of what’s about to happen, unlike the last couple where it’s still been going into the unknown a wee bit.’

His band Tide Lines will hit 2023 running by headlining Final Fling, a new New Year’s Day concert in Princes Street Gardens to round off Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations. Their stirring Celtic rock is set to blow cobwebs away alongside fellow flingers Elephant Sessions and Hamish Hawk, in a reflection of the band members’ usual Highland New Year where first

footing on January 1st is traditionally a bigger deal than Hogmanay partying.

‘You would relax and toast the New Year but Hogmanay was never a particularly wild night,’ says Robertson. ‘Even as a wee kid, we’d be out visiting or folks would come to visit the house and I would always give a song. Music has always been a massive part of our New Year celebrations.’

Since picking up accordion as his first instrument, Robertson’s Hogmanay has taken a professional turn, involving ceilidh gigs in his native Fort William and larger shows when he started university in Glasgow. There, he formed Tide Lines in 2016 with fellow Highland expats (guitarist Alasdair Turner, keyboard player Ross Wilson and drummer Fergus Munro).

The quartet quickly carved a niche as a next-generation Runrig with emotional Celtic anthems such as ‘Far Side Of The World’ and ‘The Young And The Restless’,

hogmanay highs AVES

PET SHOP BOYS

A greatest hits set from the Pet Shop Boys is no oversell. The synth-pop duo have churned out a treasure trove of subversive smashes, from the rousing chant-a-long ‘Go West’ to the anthemic ‘It’s A Sin’. Expect a show with as much spectacle as their larger-than-life tunes demand. n Princes Street Gardens, Saturday 31 December.

custom-ready to rock festivals and arenas. However, in 2022 the quartet went back to their rural roots on their Town Hall tour of Scotland, playing smaller venues in more remote communities as a sort of post-lockdown reset.

The group also spent much of the year recording their forthcoming third album back on Wilson’s native Mull. An Ocean Full Of Islands, due for release in February, is so titled after the view from their studio which they set up in an old Baptist church in the Atlantic-facing Bunessan Bay.

‘It’s a stunning location,’ says Robertson. ‘You can’t help but be influenced by the elements and conditions, and also the local community, many of whom are Ross’ family. You’re halfway through recording a vocal take and there will be a knock on the door and it will be somebody popping in for a cup of tea or asking if they can borrow your ladders. So you get this really bizarre recording experience, which would just never happen in a studio in Glasgow or Edinburgh where logistics and finances would be a big part of the decisions. Up there, we’re not under any particular time constraints.’

Tide

SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR

Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s comeback continues with the Night Afore Disco Party, in which the hyphenated popstar will perform a handful of her infectious hits. She’ll unleash classics like ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’, ‘Groovejet’ and plenty from her Kitchen Disco era. n Princes Street Gardens, Friday 30 December.

HAMISH HAWK

Hamish Hawk has been quietly dominating the Scottish indie scene for a while, thanks in no small part to his expert songwriting and distinctively theatrical vocals. Accessible but off-kilter, Edinburgh’s favourite son is a unique proposition in rock. n Princes Street Gardens, Sunday 1 January.

Lines play Final Fling, Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, Sunday 1 January; An Ocean Full Of Islands is released on Tide Lines Music, Friday 24 February.

Kevin Fullerton reckons these grade-A acts joining Tide Lines for Edinburgh’s three-day Hogmanay blowout will start 2023 with a bang

take a FESTIVE LETTER

The season to be jolly is upon us, so here’s our ultimate A-Z guide to just some of the fun happening around Scotland this Christmas and Hogmanay. From snow queens to sleeping beauties, and horror to Holly, Kevin Fullerton rounds up all the events aiming to give you a tinsel-tasselled festive time

ABBAMANIA’S CHRISTMAS PARTY

How ABBA’s association with the festive season began is anyone’s guess, but there are various opportunities to belt out ‘Take A Chance On Me’ across Scotland in December. ABBAMANIA is our top pick. They’ll deliver your ‘Mamma Mia’ fix with aplomb when hitting a venue near you.

n Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, Friday 16 December; Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Thursday 22 December.

BALLET

This agile adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen is a real delight and viewed as the gateway to other ballets with good reason. Whether you’re a newbie to the form or a seasoned pirouette enjoyer, this is a decadent Christmas cracker.

n Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, until Saturday 10 December; Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Wednesday 14 December–Sunday 8 January.

CABARET

Leith Christmas Cabaret, to be precise. Featuring Susy K, Phil Herrin, Roche, Ellen Highwater and hosted by Izjus Garry, this infectiously fun event at Leith Arches is a showcase for the best in Edinburgh talent, whether you’re looking for great comedy, finely tuned songwriting or divine drag.

n Leith Arches, Edinburgh, Friday 9 December.

PREVIEWS

PICTURE: RYAN BUCHANAN

From top: Pet Shop Boys, Last Christmas, Swing Into Christmas, Mogwai

DMP HOLIDAY HORROR-A-THON

Ding dong merrily you’ve died. Prepare for a blood-drenched trio of slasher films at the Cameo this Christmas, featuring Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), Christmas Evil (1980) and Deadly Games (1989), plus a bonus screening of a concert from horror’s finest composer, GOBLIN.

n Cameo Picturehouse, Edinburgh, Saturday 10 December.

ELF: THE MUSICAL

The gratingly cheerful elf is back, and this time he can hold a tune. Elf: The Musical is a glitzy heartwarming tale of belonging, crammed with vibrant musical numbers. If you don’t leave this show filled with Christmas spirit, you probably don’t have a soul.

n SECC, Glasgow, Saturday 10 & Sunday 11 December.

FESTIVE CLASSICS

The Queen’s Hall’s Swing Into Christmas features recreations of tracks from the likes of Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra.

Led by a 28-piece orchestra, expect lush arrangements of classics like ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’ and ‘Let’s Face The Music And Dance’.

n Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Wednesday 21 December.

GIN AND SING

Last Christmas I gave you my heart, and three decades later a Hollywood studio made a film about it starring the Mother Of Dragons. Reexperience the Wham-crammed Last Christmas at Òran Mór in an event which includes free gin and an enthusiastic invite to sing along with George Michael’s timeless tunes

n Òran Mór, Glasgow, Sunday 4 December.

HOLLY AT CHRISTMAS

Do the songs of Buddy Holly count as Christmassy? We’re not sure but, as Holly At Christmas shows, his 1950s rock’n’roll makes for a fun evening. This Buddy tribute act will hand out mince pies and mulled wine while they play a number of the jitter rock king’s classic pop tunes

n Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline, Thursday 15 December.

IDLEWILD

Idlewild will be continuing their Remote Part tour with a duo of gigs in Aberdeen and Glasgow this month. They’ll perform that classic album from 2002 in full, alongside bangers from their back catalogue like ‘Roseability’, ‘When I Argue I See Shapes’ and ‘Everyone Says You’re So Fragile’. n OGV Podium, Aberdeen, Tuesday 20 December; O2 Academy Glasgow, Wednesday 21 December.

JUPITER CHRISTMAS FAIR

The classy environs of Jupiter Artland will be awash with festive crafts when it holds its annual Christmas fair. You’ll be able to buy unique gifts, meet Santa, drink mulled wine, and pet a menagerie of donkeys. The usual fare, then, but in a beautiful location.

n Jupiter Artland, Wilkieston, Saturday 3 & Sunday 4 December.

KIDS' SHOWS

This particular kids’ show is The Night Before Christmas, a Children’s Classic Concert featuring the RSNO, RSNO Children’s Chorus and The Manor School Of Ballet as they tell the tale of Owen, a young lad who’s forgotten to write his letter to Santa. Bless. n Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Sunday 4 December; Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Saturday 10 December.

PICTURE: ANDY ROSS

LOST MAP’S CHRISTMAS HUMBUG!

The scrappy record label Lost Map are back with a festive showcase of great music. Included in the lineup are the likes of John Peel favourites Ballboy, post-punkers Martha, and psych-pop outfit Fell. A night with Lost Map is one to remember, so this comes highly recommended.

 Summerhall, Edinburgh, Saturday 17 December.

MOGWAI

Mogwai will be pumping you down for the festive season with their usual blend of intense shoegaze epics. They’ll hit venues across Scotland, regaling audiences with their frolicsome festive classic ‘Like Herod’. Will Aidan Moffat make a cameo dressed as Santa Claus again? Here’s hoping.

PET SHOP BOYS

The Pet Shop Boys are an inspired choice for a Hogmanay knees-up. Fireworks in the distance, Neil Tennant jigging next to Chris Lowe’s era-defining synths, ‘Always On My Mind’ chanted by a rapturous crowd: expect a memorable night.

 Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, Saturday 31 December.

QBB

Honestly, we couldn’t find any events beginning with the letter Q. So, for this entry we recommend you play a game of brinksmanship with Type 2 diabetes by consuming as many mince pies as humanly possible in one glorious sitting.



Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Wednesday 21 December; Barrowland, Glasgow, Thursday 22 & Friday 23 December.

NIGHT MARKET

Glasgow’s edition of the Night Market will showcase Scotland’s best makers, as well as luscious food and drink. Taking place across two evenings, each night will feature completely different stalls, so, if you’ve got the time, you can experience 60 traders in total.

 Cottiers Theatre, Glasgow, Wednesday 7 & Thursday 8 December.

RAN MÓR’S HOGMANAY

Take it from us, Hogmanay at Òran Mór is a delight. Beneath the elaborate fresco painted by none other than Alasdair Gray, you’ll be treated to a four-course meal, a live band blasting out Scottish classics and plenty of chances to ceilidh the night away.

 Òran Mór, Glasgow, Saturday 31 December.

RSNO AT THE MOVIES

That enduring Christmas classic The Snowman is being screened across Scotland, with a live orchestral score and narration from the film’s star Aled Jones. This is the deluxe way to watch a staple of the festive season.

 Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Saturday 17 December; Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Sunday 18 December.

SUMMERHALL CHRISTMAS MARKET

Summerhall’s annual event will be stocked with makers and craftspeople at both indoor and outdoor stalls, as well as a variety of food options and entertainment. If you’re looking for a unique gift, or fancy something for yourself, this is a relaxed way to find something special.

 Summerhall, Edinburgh, Saturday 3 December.

PREVIEWS

PICTURE: MARK SENIOR

Aled Jones (and from left, clockwise), Glasgow Night Market, The Snow Queen, Doctor Who: Worlds Of Wonder, ABBAMANIA, Elf: The Musical

PICTURE: DUNCAN MCGLYNN

PREVIEWS

THE TARDIS

You’ll be able to see it at Doctor Who: Worlds Of Wonder at the National Museum Of Scotland. It’s crammed with enough memorabilia to make a Whovian plot a heist on the place, as well as an exploration of the science lying behind the long-running show.

n Doctor Who: Worlds Of Wonder, National Museum Of Scotland, Edinburgh, Friday 9 December–Sunday 1 May.

UB

No entry for this one, so why not stay indoors and admire the slowly wilting beauty of the fir tree in your living room?

VIVALDI'S FOUR SEASONS AT CHRISTMAS

A cosy evening of classical music performed by candlelight at Edinburgh’s St Mary’s Cathedral. Piccadilly Sinfonietta will perform Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, as well as works from Chopin, Pachelbel and Corelli.

n St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh, Sunday 11 December.

WINTERFEST

Dundee’s annual WinterFest celebrations are only a few years old, but it’s already established itself as a boutique alternative to Edinburgh or Glasgow’s larger offerings. It’s got everything you’d expect from a winter fair, including a Bavarian bar, a big wheel, markets and a fun festive atmosphere.

n Slessor Gardens, Dundee, until Sunday 1 January.

MAS

By that we mean Xmas Day. Nothing’s on, so put your feet up, have an argument with the relative you despise the most, and watch Morecambe & Wise for the 100th time. Bliss.

YA WEE SLEEPING BEAUTY II

This Fife show has the potential to be a fun night for all the family with a sequel featuring Billy Mack as Dame Bev Park Expect plenty of nods to classic panto traditions.

n Kings Theatre, Kirkcaldy, until Sunday 15 January.

ZZZZZ

After indulging in some of the above, we recommend catching up on your kip and refreshing yourself for 2023 when we’ll have to experience the chaos of the festive season all over again.

Media partners

Ya Wee Sleeping Beauty II, Summerhall Christmas Market (right)

featuri :

KAREN MATHESON ¯ EDDI READER ¯ JOHN MCCUSKER ¯ KRIS DREVER

IAN CARR ¯ KEVIN MCGUIRE ¯ THE SONGBOOK BRASS ENSEMBLE

Christmas Phil Cunningham’s

The landscape is really scary. The stakes could not be higher

What was the seed for this film? It was always a Nan piece. All of my films focus on an individual who’s causing trouble. So Nan was the way in for me; and the fact that it is ongoing [the protests against the Sacklers] was appealing. I make films, generally, where some part of them unfolds in the present tense. I’m not a biographer, and if there hadn’t been this strong, palpable driving force to it, I don’t think I’d have been the right filmmaker for it.

Were you worried about going up against the Sacklers? I think the risks were real. When Nan and [campaign group] PAIN started doing these protests, all the museums didn’t say a word. The Sacklers have an army of lawyers, they hire private investigators to intimidate you. And I think Nan faced potential career harm. So I think those risks are real. I’m aware of the risks. But if Nan can stand up to them, I’ll stand with her.

The Sacklers’ company Purdue Pharma manufactured OxyContin, which destroyed many lives due to its addictive properties. But how responsible were the doctors prescribing it? They were lied to and were bought in many cases. They were sent on weekend vacations. They would track who were the big sellers, so if they found a doctor that seemed to be prescribing a lot, they would focus on that doctor to make more money. It’s an obscene portrait of American capitalism. Complete criminality in terms of how they lied about the addictive properties. But Nan would say this: some people need painkillers. Doctors should be able to prescribe painkillers. The mismarketing and profiteering is the crime here.

This story is very much ongoing, with the V&A Museum recently cutting ties with the Sacklers. Do you want to see more of that? I hope it’s more universal than just about the Sacklers. With all my films, I want people to be moved emotionally, but then also maybe to see what in their universe they can do to change things. If you don’t think the status quo

do

is something that you support, then what can you

to change it?

Documentarian Laura Poitras has already tackled heavyweight subjects like National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden (in 2014’s Oscar-winner Citizenfour) and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (in 2016’s Risk). James Mottram caught up with Poitras to talk about her Golden Lion-winning new film, All The Beauty And The Bloodshed. It follows iconic artist Nan Goldin as she campaigns for galleries and museums to cut ties with wealthy benefactors, the Sacklers, manufacturers of highly controversial painkiller OxyContin

No. Every year, more people are dying. This last year is the highest and it keeps going up. Hopefully, the film could maybe help destigmatise and shift the blame towards the pharmaceutical industry. Nan, by being open about her own experience, hopefully can destigmatise others to seek help if they need it.

What about your earlier subjects? How strange must it be for Edward Snowden to be in Russia during the conflict with Ukraine? Ed is in exile. I’m very glad he’s not in a US prison . . . I can promise you, that’s a much worse place to be. I don’t apologise for any aggression of any country . . . if that’s Russia or the US. I guess what I’ve tried to do with my work is expose the US empire.

What about Assange? Right now, Assange is in Belmarsh Prison and the lack of outcry from journalists is staggering. The biggest threat to journalism right now is Assange’s case. The fact that the US is trying to extradite him . . . if that happens, it means any journalist anywhere in the world is vulnerable to US extradition for doing journalism, and that’s really staggering. So the landscape is really scary. The stakes could not be higher. I’ll be honest, it also impacts me; I’m vulnerable, I could be charged with the Espionage Act. The US government could charge me with that for the work I did exposing the NSA surveillance programmes. So the threat is real.

THEATRE 3 TO SEE . . . CHRISTMAS SHOWS

As argued passionately elsewhere in this issue, there’s absolutely a place for traditional panto at Christmas time. But there’s surely also room for something a little bit different for audiences who don’t want to get involved in slagging off opposing cities or heckling the baddies. An Edinburgh Christmas Carol (Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, until Saturday 31 December) is one such show as it merges two capital cities bringing Scrooge and Greyfriars Bobby together with Dickens’ tale given a spin by Tony Cownie.

Adapted by Janys Chambers, Peter Pan And Wendy (Pitlochry Festival Theatre, until Friday 23 December) has all the magical elements of JM Barrie’s epic original as bedtime stories come true for the Darling children. All the usual crew are present and correct: the Lost Boys, Tinkerbell, Captain Hook, and a rather loud crocodile.

Penned by Lewis Hetherington with music from Michael John McCarthy, RedRidingHood (Tramway, Glasgow, Friday 9–Friday 23 December) has our titular star taking on a seemingly impossible task: bringing back festive cheer while saving her gran from a wolf who is big as well as bad. (Brian Donaldson)

Is there any sign of the opioid crisis relenting in the US?

All The Beauty And The Bloodshed is in cinemas from Friday 27 January.

An Edinburgh Christmas Carol

PICTURE: COURTESY OF NAN GOLDIN

PICTURE: COURTESY OF NAN GOLDIN

There was much to be said about Alan Cumming’s solo turn in the 2022 Edinburgh International Festival. In the guise of Robert Burns, the actor took to the King’s Theatre stage in moody monochrome. He was backed by enormous video projections, accompanied by the edgy sounds of Anna Meredith and put through his dance-theatre paces by choreographers Steven Hoggett and Vicki Manderson. The show, which was called Burn rather than Burns (the Ayrshire poet was a singular talent), presented the Scottish icon as a womanising maverick who was constantly on his uppers.

Not everyone liked it, but even its enthusiasts (I was one) were left with an awkward question: why? What was the point of dedicating National Theatre Of Scotland resources to this story? Whatever you thought of the actor’s dance moves, Tim Lutkin’s lights rippling over the auditorium or Ana Inés Jabares-Pita’s austere design, and however watchable you found the whole thing, it was hard to argue that Burn had anything to say that hadn’t been said already.

In interviews, Cumming said he wanted to get to the man behind the smiling image staring out from every shortbread tin. That would be a laudable aim if our impression of the poet wasn’t already vexed. As national heroes go, Robert Burns is an awkward fit. He was a mason, a social climber, a father of illegitimate children, and a man who nearly joined the Jamaican slave trade. He was also a radical who expressed egalitarian sentiments in the voice of the ordinary citizen, not

to mention writing a mean love song. The former Makar Liz Lochhead has called him both a ‘great poet’ and a ‘sex pest’ who could teach Donald Trump a thing or two about lockerroom talk. His poetry stands up, she argued, saying the real problem was the ‘prurient sentimentalising of him’ at longwinded Burns suppers. Perhaps his weakness, like his strength, is he can be all things to all people.

um s ic • m u s ci • TWISTS AND BURNS

Revelling in its own contradictions, Scotland can’t resist championing such figures. A man described by the journalist Stuart Kelly, with eyebrows raised, as ‘a bit of a rascal, a little roguish, a naughty roister-doisterer’ seems to suit a nation torn between romanticism and irreverence. We love the way he is at once brilliant and disreputable.

For these reasons, the question of how to celebrate Burns remains unresolved. Should it be with an ‘immersive theatrical party experience’ called Le Haggis as part of the Big Burns Supper in Dumfries? Should it be by presenting him as a modern-day social-media star, ‘gifted, passionate and flawed’, as it is in upcoming musical Burns? Or should it be with folkinfluenced acts such as The Twilight Sad and Kinnaris Quintet at Edinburgh’s Burns & Beyond? There are no wrong answers.

Big Burns Supper, Loreburn Hall, Dumfries, Friday 13–Sunday 22 January; Burns, Edinburgh Playhouse, Friday 20 & Saturday 21 January; Burns & Beyond, Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, Thursday 26–Sunday 29 January.

As Burns Night approaches, Mark Fisher ponders how to explain the maverick appeal of the Ayrshire poet

Le Haggis

PICTURE: MURDO MACLEOD

FUTURE

SOUND

Our column celebrating music to watch continues with Glasgow-based Canadian songwriter LT Leif. With a debut album on the way, Leif talks to Fiona Shepherd about collaboration, the DIY ethic and knowing exactly how they want their music to feel

From the plains of Canada via the forests of Finland and glaciers of Iceland to the hipster hub of Glasgow’s trendy Southside, LT Leif has found artistic inspiration in many (northern) environments, and is now poised to release their debut ‘solo with friends’ album on a label based on a small Scottish island. ‘I love the idea that even if you are having this isolated solo journey, there’s still a whole network of people who are somehow present in your life,’ says Leif. They were born and bred in Calgary, Alberta, a city of two million nestled between the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and prairies of the Midwest. ‘It’s an interesting place because it’s so far from other big cities in Canada,’ states Leif. ‘But there is also this counterpoint that people have a strong connection to the landscape. In the direction of the prairies, it’s quite subdued, with flat open plains and really beautiful skies.’

Calgary is traditionally more oil and farming than arts and crafts but the self-taught musician found community in the city’s close-knit DIY music scene. ‘I do cherish the rough edge,’ says Leif. ‘For a long time I was happiest when I was playing in at least three bands.’

However, Calgary has not been home for some time. Leif moved first to Finland to study for an MA in Visual Culture Curation In Contemporary Art or, as they describe it, a ‘wacky open-ended arts degree’ which, for Leif, involved ‘a lot of time out in the woods foraging. I feel they have a different way of relating to nature in Finland which is quite integrated with everyday society.’ Next, there was a brief foray to Iceland to take part in a collaborative music project and then to

Scotland to record a split 12-inch EP for Edinburgh label Song, By Toad with fellow Canadians Dana Gavanski, Woodpigeon and Foonyap.

‘It was a really nice way to be introduced to Scotland because I got dropped in the middle of a scene where people were welcoming and excited to meet you. When I got off that plane, I did feel that I could live there but it definitely felt like a pipe dream. Then everything came together as I was finishing my degree; a lot of things lined up, relationships developed here that were important to me, and I didn’t feel ready to go back to Canada.’

Leif’s musical relationships form the cast list for Come Back To Me, But Lightly, their diverse, accomplished, beguiling debut album for Eigg-based Lost Map Records, featuring contributions by Bill Wells, Faith Eliott and members of Woodpigeon and eagleowl. ‘I’ve always chosen the people I work with based on how they feel rather than how they play,’ says Leif. ‘I value lo-fi DIY aesthetics but they can be a way of hiding or not making decisions. This time I was working with a pop producer, people who are highly skilled and had really good equipment. I feel like I came into my confidence. It’s not like I knew exactly what I wanted it to sound like but I knew exactly how I wanted it to feel.’

LT Leif plays Glad Café, Glasgow, Thursday 1 December, and Lost Map’s Christmas Humbug, Summerhall, Edinburgh, Saturday 17 December; Come Back To Me, But Lightly is released by Lost Map on Friday 27 January.

LEADING LIGHT

Micheal Ward’s star is firmly on the rise. Upon taking the lead in Sam Mendes' new film, he tells James Mottram about his footballing prowess, working with national treasures and fighting racism

'Bro, it was insane to be working with these people,’ says Micheal Ward, reeling off a list of his co-stars in Empire Of Light, the new film from director Sam Mendes: we’re talking the likes of Olivia Colman, Colin Firth and Toby Jones here. ‘These people are national treasures,’ he adds. ‘To be a part of that, for me, is such a blessing.’ Yet the 25 year-old Jamaican-British actor is there entirely on merit. He’s already featured in TV show Top Boy, won the BAFTA Rising Star Award, and starred in films like BlueStory, TheOldGuard and Steve McQueen’s LoversRock.

In EmpireOfLight, he plays Stephen, a young man living in a British seaside town in 1980 who gets a job in a local independent cinema run by Firth’s Mr Ellis. There, he befriends Hilary (Colman), the deputy manager who suffers from bouts of depression (a character based partly on Mendes’ own mother). ‘In those moments, I really felt a connection with Sam, what he witnessed. I've never witnessed mental-health issues like that so it was good to understand and learn about it. Any opportunity to learn a lot more is always a great opportunity.’

The film also sees Stephen confronted with varying degrees of racism, from violent National Front louts to a hate-filled customer. The latter was a particularly difficult scene to film, says Ward. ‘It’s so slow and menacing,’ he says. ‘I felt like in that moment, this is a lot of what my people used to go through.’ Ward, who grew up in Hackney and Romford after his family

moved from Jamaica when he was four, thankfully hasn’t endured what his character goes through. ‘If that happened to me now, it’d be like, “Whoa!” That’s not something I’m used to. Someone like Stephen, he’s used to it.’

That said, he’s not naïve enough to think that racism has been eliminated in Britain. Far from it. ‘It’s still here, still present. All we can do is just keep trying to progress in a positive manner. Every single day we do that together, it’s going to make progress; whether it’s in ten years, 20 years, 100 years.’ He pauses. ‘Even a Black man playing a Black role . . . before they used to have people doing blackface. And seeing Black stories being told a lot more; Black leads in films like Empire Of Light, playing with amazing actors like Colin Firth and Olivia Colman . . . it’s a beautiful thing.’

Ward is next up in Thea Sharrock’s The Beautiful Game, co-starring Bill Nighy, a story about the Homeless World Cup, a real-life football tournament that aims to tackle homelessness. An avid Arsenal fan, Ward was a keen footballer in his youth. ‘Maybe I would have been in, like, a League Two team or something. I wouldn’t be higher up. I played a lot but it never looked like it was going to be something where I could be one of the greatest.’ He smiles. ‘I'm not saying that’s how it looks for acting. But that is something I aspire to.’

Empire Of Light is in cinemas from Monday 9 January.

PREVIEWS

•ydemoc comedy•

ART RACHEL MACLEAN

Creative spawn of Jo Spence, Judy Chicago and Cindy Sherman, Rachel Maclean has got to be one of the most exciting artists currently working in Scotland. Summoning the digital ghosts of the more complex manga warrior girls, Maclean uses film, photography and sculpture to meticulously craft fantasy worlds, bolstered by green screen, video special effects and electronic soundtrack. Her visions are bright, neon and deeply appealing but undercut by unsettling themes about identity, race, class, gender, nationalism and now commercialism. To paraphrase Captain Hitsugaya in the influential anime Bleach, her works are ‘like fireworks; they climb, they shine, they try not to disappear’.

COMEDY MY COMEDY HERO Micky Overman on Kristen Wiig

Whenever you’re feeling a bit low and you need a pick-me-up, do what I do: watch Kristen Wiig sketches on YouTube. You won’t regret it. Watch her improvise songs on the spot with Fred Armisen, flirt with Seth Meyers or, perhaps my all-time favourite, impersonate Liza Minnelli trying to turn off a lamp. She’s amazing. So versatile, so fearless and so incredibly silly: it’s everything I wish I could be and more.

Her talent seems limitless. She dominated SNL for the seven years she was on it, and after that, just when I thought I couldn’t love her any more, she wrote the movie Bridesmaids, a female-led ensemble comedy for the big screen and one of my favourite movies of all time. The scene where the other bridesmaids continually confuse random wedding guests for Wiig’s partner can make me cry laughing just thinking about it.

There is a warmth and timelessness to her characters that radiates off the screen. Her physicality, precision and timing are unmatched. Perhaps it seems strange for a stand-up comedian to pick someone who doesn’t perform stand-up, but she was the first comedian I felt a true connection to. Before I saw Wiig, I thought performing comedy was ‘not for me’, and she opened my eyes to the fact that women could be any type of funny they wanted to be. If that doesn’t make her a hero, I don’t know what would.

n

Mimi On Perth High Street is actually a follow-on piece and noticeable for being the first project by Jupiter Artland’s off-site free learning programmes arm Jupiter +. It started life in 2021 as ‘upside mimi mimi down’, a permanent commission now sitting in the grounds of the West Lothian sculpture park. Reimagining her fantasy worlds on an architectural scale, the piece took the form of an abandoned high-street shop sited within woodland. Within this space, the upside-down universe of cartoon princess Mimi revealed itself. Maclean has now reconceived this artwork for Perth High Street, creating a wholly immersive experience. More than an exercise in community engagement to meet local funder expectations, this is an expansion of the original Jupiter Artland project over three floors of an old shop. It’s funny, weird and disturbing, and Perth is lucky to house it. (Paul Dale)

n Jupiter+ Perth until Saturday 28 January.

mimi

Monkey Barrel Comedy, Edinburgh, Saturday 17 December.

ilm• 5 STARS

fil m lif• m •

Noah Baumbach adapts challenging source material with apparent ease in an 80s-set black comedy. Emma Simmonds hails White Noise as absurd, gloriously silly and extremely funny

'Out of some persistent sense of large-scale ruin, we keep inventing hope,’ remarks a gobsmacked professor in the latest from Noah Baumbach, the writer-director behind Marriage Story and The Squid And The Whale. The human condition comes under scrutiny and existential angst abounds, but there’s also a lot of fun to be had in this satirical and spectacularly silly film.

Taking the form of an apocalyptic black comedy, White Noise is a pretty close adaptation of Don DeLillo’s eighth novel (his 1985 breakout after years on the literary fringes) that manages to make room for Baumbach’s own humour and domestic concerns. If you’ve ever struggled to shield your kids from bad news, this is the film for you. Adam Driver stars as Jack Gladney, a lecturer in Hitler Studies at the College-on-the-Hill, who teams tinted blue aviators and bold prints with a sweeping black cape: he is essentially a campus rock star. In a scene which wonderfully sends up pretentious academics, we see Jack using his clout and dramatic flair to help pal Murray (Don Cheadle) establish himself as an Elvis expert during a dazzling joint lecture (‘Elvis is my Hitler,’ Murray tells Jack to win him round).

Jack is mostly sorted in his homelife too; he’s loved up with his current wife Babette (Baumbach’s partner Greta Gerwig) who is a fitness instructor to seniors, and their large, blended family of affectionate and slightly know-it-all squabblers. The couple’s fragile sense of security goes out the window when they find themselves displaced by an ‘airborne toxic event’, which their son Heinrich (Sam Nivola) seems to

know more about than anyone. Meanwhile, Babette’s eldest daughter Denise (Raffey Cassidy) is more concerned about the mysterious pills her mother has been popping and her consequent forgetfulness.

Driver sports a look of mildly alarmed bemusement throughout, which fits the material like a glove, with an endearingly scatty Gerwig making a welcome return to acting with her first lead role since 2016. Both actors are operating at enough of a remove to make the absurdism pop, as if their characters can’t quite believe it all either. Set in the proximity of the novel’s mid-80s publication, White Noise riffs on America's Cold War paranoia and increasing prescription-drug dependency. Yet, coming post-pandemic and in a time of perma-crisis, it also resonates strongly with our renewed sense of societal panic. Baumbach has said that he was inspired to create it because he ‘wanted to make a movie as crazy as the world appears to me right now’.

White Noise is an extremely funny film that’s constantly reinventing itself in playful ways: from its montage of movie car crashes to flirtations with the sci-fi, horror and conspiracy genres. It even throws in a musical sequence, while the farcical nature of the family’s predicament has something of a National Lampoon’s Vacation-style adventure about it. Baumbach had his work cut out adapting the challenging source material and bringing such disparate influences together but, in the end, he makes it look easy.

White Noise is in cinemas from Friday 2 December and on Netflix from Friday 30 December.

film of the issue

FILM TORI AND LOKITA

(Directed by Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne) lllll

In Tori And Lokita, movie maestros Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne expose injustice as only they know how: through a naturalistically relayed story, full of insightful details that’s devastating in its credibility. Set in the brothers’ native Belgium, it shines a light on an asylum system which fails to protect or show adequate compassion to the world’s most vulnerable people.

The film follows two African children, the teenage Lokita (Joely Mbundu) and younger Tori (Pablo Schils), who have bonded on the dangerous journey to Europe and are attempting to pass themselves off as siblings in order to stay together. They are being exploited by their employer, Betim (Alban Ukaj), a chef who uses them to peddle drugs alongside their work in his restaurant, and by a trafficker, Firmin (Marc Zinga), who smuggled them into the country. This is essential, sobering stuff that’s lifted from the mire of its subject matter by the heartfelt work of its astonishing young performers who will have you hanging on every twist and turn of Tori and Lokita’s enormously suspenseful story. With immigration remaining an incendiary issue, this feels like a hugely important film, one which reminds us of the human beings at the centre of that storm. (Emma Simmonds)

n In cinemas from Friday 2 December.

THEATRE THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ

(Directed by Johnny McKnight) lllll

Both Johnny McKnight’s script and the enthusiastic ensemble performances seem to speak of a sincere delight at the return of the Tron’s pantomime. Whether inserting a sharp Glaswegian wit into the banter (Òran Mór and rival theatres are victims of cheeky asides) or peppering the show with popular cultural references, McKnight’s trademark contemporary sensibility is balanced by a respect for the traditions of this seasonal show.

McKnight is predictably commanding as Dorothy, with musical numbers revelling in disco pastiche and broad humour while the plot holds together even as the action wanders through a series of imaginative takes on pantomime routines. While McKnight established his reputation through an unashamedly subversive take on the form, The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz compromises with the more immediate dynamism of the old-school panto, emerging as an all-ages show that neither patronises younger audience members nor ignores mature but largely tasteful material.

Although McKnight’s Dorothy drives the show through an easy rapport and a knowing humour that mocks the budget and theatrical output of this past year, its cast switch roles with dexterity and lend the production an extra level of levity and fun. Tyler Collins, through a gangling physicality and precise comedic timing, is a superb scarecrow, and Julie Wilson Nimmo’s Glinda excels at pomposity.

L Frank Baum’s creation is a familiar Christmas story, but avoids many of the Yuletide clichés, suiting the more complex gender-play that McKnight enjoys, and would be lost in a more direct pantomime dame and leading-man scenario. Much is familiar, but the production never loses either its innocence or playfulness. Avoiding the predictable routines that pad out other Christmas stage shows, The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz manages to provide both the panache of pantomime and a modern, warm-hearted comedy. This is a montage of mayhem, melody and,

most importantly, magic. (Gareth K Vile) n Tron Theatre, Glasgow, until Sunday 8 January.

PICTURE: CHRISTINE PLENUS

•tra•tra art•

art of the issue

Marking the centenary of his birth, Bernat Klein: Design In Colour celebrates the work of a trailblazing Borders-based textile designer. Rachel Ashenden finds an exhibition that not only explores the Serbian-born artist’s creative ethos but also his fascinating personal journey

art

Constantly pushing his craft into new and uncharted directions across a 60-year career, Bernat Klein was a pioneer of modernist textile design. Born in Yugoslavia (in the part that is now Serbia) in 1922, Klein was displaced by the Second World War. At the age of 30, he set up a textile business in Galashiels. The National Museum Of Scotland has pulled off the difficult task of capturing Klein’s multitude of visions through an exhibition selected from a vast archival collection which was acquired 12 years ago. Brimming with colour, passion and innovation, Bernat Klein: Design In Colour radiates a homely warmth.

From the glimpse NMS offers us of Klein’s archive, we gain insight into his unyielding dedication to finding the perfect colour palette; this borders on obsessive in the best possible way. From the catwalk to carpets, perhaps the most Instagrammable part of the exhibition are the blue, brown and green sample boards from his colour box. These are taken from what Klein referred to as a ‘5000-piece colour dictionary’ and served to assist him in the process of balancing colours in his designs. Of the same ilk, a rather eccentrically detailed ‘Personal Colour Guide’ is available to view in a nearby glass vitrine. Its premise is that individuals should adhere to a palette which compliments their eyes when choosing clothing, rather than aimlessly following the latest fashions.

Curiously, one of the most engrossing aspects of the exhibition isn’t an object from this archive at all. It’s an informative video about High Sunderland, Klein’s incredible family home in the Scottish Borders, which he shared with Margaret Klein, his business partner, collaborator and wife. The modernist glass and timber house marks an unusual relinquishment of creative power for Klein, having commissioned architect Peter Womersley to design it in the 1950s. However, Klein’s personal and professional identity still permeates the light-filled space, as well as the great influence of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Most notably, we see Klein’s fruitful and deep connection with the surrounding Scottish landscape and its colour which changes with the seasons, as if its purpose was only to inform his design.

Beyond colour theory, this exhibition interestingly touches on the hypocrisy of the notoriously anti-Semitic Coco Chanel, who used Klein’s cloth throughout the 1960s. The pair never met and a label describes how Klein suspected this was the result of his Jewish heritage. Surrounded by a treasure trove of mood-lifting objects, it’s perhaps easy to neglect the nuances of Klein’s personal and physical journeys alongside his professional development. So, do spend time digesting the biographical timeline at the beginning of the exhibition which really sets the scene for such triumph.

Bernat Klein: Design In Colour, National Museum Of Scotland, Edinburgh, until Sunday 23 April.

PICTURE: © CROWN

PREVIEW OF 2023

One way of putting an often traumatic 2022 behind us is to get out there and immerse yourselves in the finest live entertainment next year has to offer. Here is just a sample of the delights ahead

ART HOME IS NOT A PLACE

Photographer and writer Johny Pitts, and poet Roger Robinson travelled all across the UK (literally taking in Land’s End and John O’Groats) to try and find the answer to one question: ‘what is Black Britain?’ Their resulting project explores people, geography and the notion of home.

n Stills, Edinburgh, Thursday 9 March–Saturday 10 June.

BEYOND THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS

From cocktail dresses to punk fetishes, black has been used to mean very different things when it comes to clothing. This major exhibition explores the fashion, race, gender, culture and political issues revolving around the colour black, with a focus on contemporary Black British designers.

n National Museum Of Scotland, Edinburgh, Saturday 1 July–Sunday 29 October.

THE TREMBLING MUSEUM

Filmmaker and scholar Manthia Diawara, and art historian and curator Terri Geis are collaborating with The Hunterian to create an exhibition that showcases and reinterprets its collection of African art.

n The Hunterian, Glasgow, Friday 1 December–Sunday 5 May 2024.

COMEDY

CATHERINE COHEN

The Edinburgh Best Newcomer winner of 2019 and a Netflix star for her live work hits the UK for her debut solo tour. Come For Me is a musical and comedic exploration into a woman entering her fourth decade as a woman online and in love, and now inspired to romanticise the prospect of freezing her eggs.

n Glasgow Glee, Thursday 9 February.

TIM HEIDECKER

Dubbed ‘the poet laureate of delusional assholes’, the man who some will know as one half of Tim & Eric launches his No Bullshit tour, an anti-comedy character affair that will enrage and entrance in more or less equal measure.

n The Garage, Glasgow, Tuesday 28 March.

GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL

After 2021’s dip back into the waters, the 2022 event has an all-guns-blazin’ feel about it. Among those rolling up for some live action are Frankie Boyle, Chloe Petts, Ardal O’Hanlon, Suzie Ruffell, Dana Alexander, John Kearns, Kwame Asante, Maisie Adam, Phil Wang, and Susie McCabe. This year also ushers in the Sir Billy Connolly Spirit Of Glasgow award.

n Various venues, Glasgow, Wednesday 15 March–Sunday 2 April.

Self Esteem (and bottom from left), Catherine Cohen, Home Is Not A Place

PICTURE:

© JOHNY PITTS

PICTURE: GAELLE BERI

DANCE

PEAKY BLINDERS: THE REDEMPTION OF THOMAS SHELBY

Written by its TV creator Steven Knight with plot developments and character insights not included on the small screen, Rambert takes on the often brutal story of Tommy Shelby. n Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Tuesday 28 February–Saturday 4 March.

ANTON & GIOVANNI

With Him & Me, Strictly pair Du Beke and Penrice join forces for an extravaganza of ballroom, jive and probably some jokes. n Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Friday 7 July; King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Monday 10 July.

FILM

GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL

The 19th edition of the Glasgow Film Festival arrives in a year when arguably more focus will be placed on it given the (hopefully temporary) demise of the festival over in Edinburgh. Announced so far is a focus on Spanish cinema, a celebration of the documentary work of Lee Grant who was a victim of the US government’s communist witch-hunt of the 1950s, and In The Driving Seat, a series featuring stories of women on journeys of selfdiscovery in movies such as Bonnie And Clyde, The Piano and Roman Holiday n Various venues, Glasgow, Wednesday 1–Sunday 12 March.

OPPENHEIMER

You may have been seduced already by a brief trailer as Christopher Nolan’s singular style is being wielded for a true story, that of the man who helped develop the atom bomb. Cillian Murphy stars with excellent back-up from Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr. n In cinemas from Friday 21 July.

BARBIE

Released on the same day but something of a contrast is Greta Gerwig’s story about the doll who leaves Barbieland to investigate the real world. Margot Robbie is Barbie and Ryan Gosling is Ken in a film its director frets could be a ‘career ender’.

n In cinemas from Friday 21 July.

THE COLOR PURPLE

Alice Walker’s book which was made into a classic movie in 1985 is given the musical treatment for Christmas. Directed by Blitz Bazawule, this version is based on the Tony Award-winning musical. n In cinemas from Wednesday 20 December.

MUSIC SELF ESTEEM

AKA Rotherham’s Rebecca Lucy Taylor whose 2021 release Prioritise Pleasure was declared album of the year by both The Guardian and The Sunday Times and went on to be nominated for a Mercury Prize. Prepare for a stirring live experience.

n Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Sunday 5 March; Barrowland, Glasgow, Monday 6 March.

SCOTTISH OPERA: CARMEN

Bizet’s tale of lust, jealousy and life on the fringes gets an updating as the curtain-closer on Scottish Opera’s 60th season. Nixon In China director John Fulljames is at the directorial helm.

n Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Friday 12–Saturday 20 May; Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Friday 9–Saturday 17 June.

HIDDEN DOOR

The capital’s multi-arts extravaganza gets cooking next summer with a maze of rooms on Dalkeith Road being innovatively utlised for art, music, dance, and spoken-word events.

n Scottish Widows complex, Edinburgh, Wednesday 31 May–Sunday 4 June.

TRNSMT

Another top-drawer line-up for the weekender that is perhaps slowly making people forget about T In The Park. Pulp, Sam Fender, Kasabian, The 1975, Brooke Combe, and Royal Blood are among the acts confirmed so far.

n Glasgow Green, Friday 7–Sunday 9 July.

THEATRE KIDNAPPED

From Isobel McArthur and Michael John McCarthy comes a retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novella, spinning the adventure yarn as a coming-of-age romcom with 20th-century pop music driving the narrative.

n Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Wednesday 5–Saturday 8 April; Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Tuesday 11–Saturday 22 April.

DRACULA: MINA’S RECKONING

Another work from the literary canon is given a reboot as Bram Stoker’s blood-curdling tale relocates to a psychiatric hospital in Aberdeenshire and features an all-female and non-binary cast.

n Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Wednesday 13–Saturday 16 September; Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Wednesday 11–Saturday 14 October.

Tim Heidecker, Kidnapped (left)

PICTURE: JAMES CHAPELARD

PICTURE: ANDREW LEVY

staying in

I HATE SUZIE TOO

Very little went right for former TV star Suzie Pickles (Billie Piper) in the first batch of I Hate Suzie, so why should anyone think it will be any different second time around?

With her life having fallen apart, Suzie returns to her first love: entertaining the public. But is a Saturday-night TV dance competition the right way to go about it?

You know Suzie: if there’s a wrong way to do things she’ll find it, resulting in a mix of hilarity and tragedy. (Brian Donaldson)

n Sky Atlantic, Tuesday 20–Thursday 22 December.

friend in need

For Tony Curran, coming back to Scotland always feels special. The Glasgow-born actor has lived in LA for years, enjoying a fruitful career in shows like Ray Donovan, Sons Of Anarchy and the recent Bryan Cranston vehicle Your Honor. But he’s also returned to home soil for films like Calibre and Robert The Bruce drama Outlaw King. ‘Yeah, I love it,’ he grins when we speak over Zoom. ‘Because normally I don’t have to put on a daft [foreign] accent. I’ve just got my own daft accent!’

That distinct Scottish burr is being put to the test in BBC drama Mayflies, the anticipated adaptation of Andrew O’Hagan’s devastating novel about male friendship. Shot around Scotland, with Daphne director Peter Mackie Burns at the helm, Curran plays the terminally ill Tully, who asks his long-standing friend Jimmy (Line Of Duty star Martin Compston) to do the seemingly impossible: arrange for him to go to a clinic in Switzerland and end his life.

Given how emotionally raw the subject matter is, Curran was helped by speaking to O’Hagan about the real person Tully was based on. But the actor looked inward as well. ‘The loss that I’ve had in my life, my father, other family members that have died, friends that have died . . . I tapped into that,’ he reveals. ‘I did go to a hypnotherapist quite a few times too. I just wanted to unearth some stuff and tap into some emotional areas of my life that maybe I haven’t tapped into before. And whenever I did go in those sessions, I would probably end up just weeping quite a lot.’

Raising the topic of assisted dying, the show confirmed Curran’s own thoughts on this very divisive subject: for many, it offers a merciful release. ‘If I think one of my family members had to look after me for a good part of their life . . . I know there’s love and compassion and empathy involved in that. But if I was just sitting there and I can’t feel anything, I’d rather be gone frankly.’

Mayflies also flashes back to Tully and Jimmy’s youth, when they bonded over movies and music, which vividly brought Curran’s thoughts round to his own childhood.

‘We had a snooker table in the attic, table-tennis table in the driveway, and everybody was at my house, having sandwiches, lemonade, Irn-Bru, all summer long. I was like 15, 16. And sometimes when everybody had to go home at 11pm, I’d start crying: “I don’t want it to end!” So I guess in some ways there’s a bit of Tully in there as well, with Jimmy (Martin’s character) always over at Tully’s place.’

At 52, Curran may be 14 years older than Compston, but they make for credible contemporaries in Mayflies, as if they’ve known each other for years. He’s full of praise for his younger co-star, believing it’s ‘one of the best things I’ve ever seen him do’. He hopes audiences will feel the same. ‘Maybe if everybody watches us, they’ll see an honesty and a gritty realism between these characters in the show that comes from somewhere deep.’

Mayflies is on BBC Scotland and BBC One in late December.

Male friendship and mortality lie at the heart of Mayflies, a TV adaptation of Andrew O’Hagan’s heartbreaking novel. Starring in the lead role, Tony Curran tells James Mottram how he prepared himself for the show’s emotional and controversial storyline

PICTURE: ANDREW JACKSON/CURSE THESE EYES

PREVIEWS

Festive TV

From real-life courtroom dramas to Dickens reinvented, those small screens in your home will have plenty reasons to be overheating during the Christmas chill. Brian Donaldson unwraps the upcoming telly treats and finds two seasonal slices of Nish Kumar

This festive TV year will be partly unrecognisable from smallscreen Christmases past. We’ve long since given up on a new Sherlock batch being launched over the holiday period, but also not happening this year are a Doctor Who special and, for obvious reasons, a televised Queen’s Speech. No doubt a big audience will be tuning in, once the sprouts have been peeled, to see how the new guy does with his inaugural address to the nation. For Yuletide nostalgics everywhere, there’s no doubt a Bond movie or Elf or Vicar Of Dibley Xmas edition on a streaming service near you.

Most of the reliable big-hitters around Christmas now come in the form of children’s story adaptations. So, there’s a film of David Walliams’ Gangsta Granny Strikes Again (CBBC, Saturday 10 December) starring Sheridan Smith, Flavio and Walliams himself, while Julia Donaldson is coming as close to a festive staple these days, with The Smeds And The Smoos landing on BBC One. The Amazing Maurice (Sky Cinema, Friday 16 December) by the late Terry Pratchett features voices from the likes of Emilia Clarke, Hugh Laurie, Himesh Patel and Gemma Arterton. Another animated BBC treat to look out for is The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse, featuring the drawings of its original author, Charlie Mackesy. Actors lending their voice boxes for this include Idris Elba, Tom Hollander and Gabriel Byrne.

Other festive-focused delights include Miriam’s Dickensian Christmas (Channel 4, Thursday 22 December) as the sweary Margoyles explores all things Charles-shaped, Celebrity Lego Masters At Christmas (Channel 4, Friday 23 December) featuring Nish Kumar, Alex Horne, Sophie-Ellis Bextor and Sophie Duker, and Stacey Solomon’s Crafty Christmas (BBC One, Thursday 15 December). There’s also an inevitable raft of seasonal comedy specials, including Bad Education (BBC Three, Thursday 15 December), The Last Leg (Channel 4, Friday 23 December) and BBC One’s Ghosts. Turning Dickens on his head is Christmas Carole on Sky Max starring Suranne Jones as an outspoken, Scrooge-like entrepreneur being haunted by various spectres across time played by the likes of Jo Brand, ‘Morecambe & Wise’, and (yes, he’s getting everywhere) Nish Kumar.

The festive TV schedules don’t always twinkle with fairy lights and bristle with tinsel so there are some hard-hitting dramas afoot too, headed up by Litvinenko (ITVX, Thursday 15 December) as David Tennant plays the Russian dissident who was poisoned in London in 2006, while Netflix goes spy-drama crazy with both Treason (Netflix, Monday 26 December) and The Recruit (Netflix, Friday 16 December). But, let’s face it, the real draw of this coming holiday season is Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama (Channel 4, Tuesday 20 & Wednesday 21 December) with Michael Sheen as Coleen Rooney’s barrister David Sherborne and Natalia Tena playing Rebekah Vardy. A fun Christmas game is to guess in which minute someone first mentions ‘Wagatha Christie’.

BOOKS KIRSTY LOGAN

In her new novel, Kirsty Logan questions our perceptions of what we define as a witch. Becca Inglis talks with the author about gender fluidity, absent mothers and the process of othering

Kirsty Logan’s latest novel may be titled Now She Is Witch, but the question of who exactly practises witchcraft remains ambiguous. Does herbalism or performing magic spells make you a witch? Is a vengeful woman a witch or one who lives alone? Are witches good or bad? What, if anything, is a witch?

‘I don’t think the book answers the question,’ says Logan. ‘For a long time, the narrative was that witches are evil, they eat babies, they make pacts with the devil. Then there was this backlash: it’s misogyny under a different name, an attack on traditional healing and midwives. I think both of these are too simplistic.’ Today the witch is a feminist icon, inspiring the slogan ‘we are the daughters of the witches they couldn’t burn’. But is this image of rebellious heroism always accurate? Logan thinks not. ‘Why does a witch have to be this innocent midwife healer who would never hurt anyone?’ she says. ‘What I wanted to say in this book is what if they’re not evil? What if they’re not innocent either?’

Logan compulsively disrupts such binaries. In her earlier novels The Gracekeepers and TheGloaming, mermaids treading land and water were allegories for fluid genders and sexualities. ‘Growing up, I didn’t have the word “queer”,’ says Logan. ‘Mermaids, selkies and werewolves appealed to me because they exist in two worlds.’ Mermaids appear like Easter eggs throughout Now She Is Witch, while a non-binary romance signals the joy of inhabiting grey areas.

Another fairytale theme Logan reprises is absent mothers. Some characters grapple with their inability to become a mother at all. ‘Isn’t it strange that the first book I wrote since becoming a parent is about someone who can’t biologically be one? A lot of that came from my wife and I. We wanted to give birth to one child each but that was not our path. It made me think about what that meant. Obviously to us, it meant nothing. But some people at that time, maybe even at this time, would see one of us as a more true woman.’ Protagonist Lux doesn’t menstruate, which, in the book’s medieval setting, could mark her as a witch. ‘Witch is completely “other”. It’s not woman. It’s not mother,’ says Logan. ‘I think that’s why we’re coming to these narratives so much at the moment. We’re looking at this process of othering. Why do we other people? Who gets othered? What happens when they are othered? A huge amount of atrocities throughout history have happened because someone decided another group is not fully human.’  Now She Is Witch is

BINGE FEST

Our alphabetical column on viewing marathons reaches L

Given the sheer number of streaming services hosting League Of Gentlemen (NOW/BritBox/Prime/ITV Hub), it’s surely impossible to avoid the comings and goings and general oddities within the village of Royston Vasey. The creators (Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and nonacting member Jeremy Dyson) have all gone on to other acting and writing successes (Sherlock, Inside No 9 and GhostStories for three). But for some, they will always be the men whose dark imaginations dreamed up characters such as ‘local’ shopkeepers Tubbs and Edward, the urine-supping Dentons, nostalgia-drenched muso Les McQueen, and ‘special stuff’-producing butcher Hilary Briss.

Somewhat on the other end of the comedy-drama scale is Love (Netflix), Judd Apatow’s sweetly compulsive series starring Paul Rust and Gillian Jacobs about a couple’s faltering romance and their inability to have complete trust in each other. Lasting three seasons, it also propelled beloved Fringe comic Claudia O’Doherty into the Hollywood stratosphere. (Brian Donaldson) 

Other L binges: Life On Earth (BBC iPlayer), Locked Up (All 4), Ladhood (BBC iPlayer).

published by Harvill Secker on Thursday 12 January.

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alb u sm • bla u ms

•

Despite the world-weariness of his lyrics, there’s a restless energy about Aidan Moffat. Calling him to discuss the instrumental album he’s releasing under the pseudonym Nyx Nótt should be straightforward, and yet a conversation with Arab Strap’s frontman is a treasure trove of countless creative threads and tangents. The most intriguing of which is the mention of a spiritual sequel to his criminally underheard spoken-word album, I Can Hear Your Heart

‘I’ve got this album that I haven’t released yet and I don’t know if I should do it. It might be a step too far,’ he tells us. ‘I Can Hear Your Heart was all about me. It was about a point in my life when I was utterly perplexed and drinking too much, and there was a lot of sex in it. But these days I’m a middle-aged man with two children and a partner. The only way to write about sex . . . well, I wrote down this dream diary. I’ve been tinkering away with it and I don’t know if anyone should hear it. Does anyone want to hear what goes on in a middle-aged man’s mind when he’s asleep?’

It’s a question that Moffat must have toyed with before in a career which has partly charted his sexual id from youthful nihilism to reluctant monogamy. Yet his latest project as Nyx Nótt, titled Themes From, feels like a break from his usual preoccupations, tying together a series of instrumental pieces with the loose theme of channel surfing. ‘The idea was that I’d make an album of 90-second tracks, about 20 of them, designed as wee theme tunes. But it just wasn’t very satisfying.’ The kernels of

these ideas, though, proved rich enough to develop into a full album with track names like ‘Docudrama’, ‘Hardboiled’ and, because it wouldn’t be a Moffat project without some sauce, ‘Porno’. ‘I stuck with the themes idea because it was a nice way to tie them together. They’re a bit of a blank canvas for people to enjoy, so I try not to put too much emphasis on the details and things.’

The result is a diverse and exhilarating series of tunes which lie somewhere between his own now defunct found-sound project L Pierre and the calming ambience of Andrew Wasylyk. It’s also worlds apart from the constant stream of collaborations Moffat is best known for, shifting his creative process to something more personal and specific. ‘I suppose it’s a more private process, you’ve only got yourself to please. In a sense it’s a more intimate album than when I’ve worked with someone else.’

His drive to experiment is what makes Moffat’s career so compelling. Whether you’re wrapping your lugs around his solo projects, his collaborations with Scottish music’s finest talent, or as one half of Arab Strap, he’s always evolving. ‘The music industry is completely different now. You get older but you keep learning and I think that’s the key. Always keep a curious mind and always be excited to try new things.’

Themes From is released by Melodic Records on Friday 2 December.

As Aidan Moffat prepares to launch his second album as alter ego Nyx Nótt, Kevin Fullerton chats to this thrillingly filthy frontman about instrumental albums and sex-drenched dream diaries. Strap yourselves in . .

new things ” PREVIEWS

“

PREVIEWS

FIRST WRITES

In this Q&A, we throw some questions about ‘firsts’ at debut authors. For our festive issue, we feature Charlotte Vassell, author of The Other Half, in which Detective Caius Beauchamp investigates murder in a world of staggering wealth

What’s the first book you remember reading as a child? The first book I ever really chose to read for pleasure was Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone. We were on holiday and my mum put it in my bag in case I got bored. I read it twice that week. Before that book, I didn’t enjoy reading so it opened a whole new world up for me.

What was the book you read that made you decide to be a writer? There are so many, but Bridget Jones’ Diary had a very profound effect on me. It is so very funny and perfectly observed. I read it as a teenager and decided that I wanted to live in a poky flat in London and piss about with a gaggle of friends. And I did! I re-read it recently and it’s still so sharp.

What’s your favourite first line in a book? ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife’ from Pride And Prejudice

Which debut publication had the most profound effect on you? Queenie came out just before I began writing The Other Half. It’s such a beautifully written, funny and yet bittersweet book. Candice Carty-Williams gave me the confidence that I could also write characters that shared my heritage.

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up on a writing day? I have small children so it’s always making their breakfast. Before children, I would have rolled out of bed and started working again straight away, remembering to eat at some point.

What’s the first thing you do when you’ve stopped writing for the day? I write until I’m so tired that I have to go to bed.

In a parallel universe where you’re the tyrant leader of a dystopian civilisation, what’s the first book you’d burn? Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. The world doesn’t need that. I’d be a thoughtful tyrant.

What’s the first piece of advice you’d offer to an aspiring novelist? Read.

The Other Half is published by Faber on Thursday 19 January.

GAMES THE CALLISTO PROTOCOL

Traditionally, survival horror games are set on Earth (see progenitor Alone In The Dark, and cultural touchstones Silent Hill and Resident Evil) but in 2008 Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey decided to buck that trend. Dead Space, set on derelict spacecraft USG Ishimura, was a hugely polished sci-fi horror heavily influenced by those formative titles, as well as Doom 3 and Paul WS Anderson’s 1997 ‘hell on a spaceship’ film, Event Horizon.

After spawning a number of lesser sequels, Dead Space was abandoned, much like the Ishimura. Perhaps inspired by Resident Evil’s dramatic return to form (and the recent announcement of three or four new Silent Hills: it’s complicated), Schofield has returned to the fold with The Callisto Protocol, a spiritual sequel to his original series.

Set aboard a space prison, players must take control of an inmate called Jacob Lee as he brandishes an unwieldy arsenal in an attempt to make it out alive while battling vastly overpowered mutant zombies. For fans of Dead Space, The Callisto Protocol has been a very long time coming, while hot on its heels in late January is a remake of the original Dead Space (Murray Robertson)

n Released on PC, PS4/5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on Friday 2 December.

book of

the issue

Love him or hate him, Bret Easton Ellis refuses to be ignored. As the American Psycho author gets set to publish his first novel in 13 years, Claire Sawers rates it a juicy, sinister and entertaining return

Midway through Bret Easton Ellis’ new novel, 17-year-old Bret is about to pitch a script to a randy old Hollywood movie producer with a lust for underage boys. Teen Bret mentally sketches out the plot: ‘a boy, his friends, young people in LA, sexy, a little bi, drugs, someone is killed, there’s a chase, violence and bloodshed, a mystery the boy solves or maybe not.’ And with that, in one of many metafiction moments, his rough synopsis also doubles as a handy précis for The Shards, Ellis’ first novel since Imperial Bedrooms in 2010.

Of course, real-life author Bret and narrator Bret share similarities; they both went to the exclusive Buckley High School, their parents divorced when Bret was a teenager, and their highschool dream was to become a writer. The lines between memoir and fantasy are deliberately messy with Ellis dipping into his own memories (often finding it very triggering) for dramatic effect.

TheShards is an LGBT coming-of-age tale blurred fabulously with a gory slasher-horror thriller as young Bret fixates both on mysterious new boy Robert Mallory and a serial killer called The Trawler. Grown-up Bret, a film obsessive who has spent chunks of his career in screenwriting, goes for the same ‘tits and terror’ formula of many horror directors. He rubs together frequent sex scenes with his libidinous teenage characters and a dark plot of butcher knives, severed heads and tortured animals.

Ellis’ descriptions of 1980s Los Angeles are glorious featuring confident kids in Wayfarers and Topsider deck shoes eating patty melts and smoking clove cigarettes while driving their parents’ Mercs and Jags to school. His music references are on

bo o ks

ob o sk

point as ever, and a sensational soundtrack of Ultravox, The GoGo’s, Joe Jackson and The B52s accompanies scenes of pool parties, American football training, and long drives along LA’s boulevards.

As with Ellis’ first novel Less Than Zero, published when he was 21, the main character has sex with men and women. And himself. A lot. Bret in TheShards feels increasingly uncomfortable with his performative heterosexuality though. Openly dating one of ‘the hottest’, most popular girls in school, he secretly fantasises about men and has a great deal of clandestine sex with two male classmates. This self-erasure and duplicity add depth to the storytelling, not least because his stealthy behaviour creates confusion around some key crime incidents.

Having been accused of misogyny in the past, particularly after throwing shade at female filmmakers on Twitter or declaring himself a sexist who happens to like women, Ellis seems to be redressing a few outdated beliefs through his character of Mallory. Painting him as an unhinged villain with a phony smile and nasty locker-room banter, Ellis seems to be recalibrating his post-MeToo moral compass, and the casting-couch scenes with young boys reflect the Weinstein effect, as experienced by men. Nailing pop-culture references and teenage numbness and alienation as only he can, The Shards is a juicy, sinister, entertaining weapon of a book (nearly 600 pages long), with real darkness lurking behind the palm trees and sunshine.

The Shards is published by Swift Press on Tuesday 17 January.

PICTURE: CASEY NELSON

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GAMES CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE II (PC, PS4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S) 

There’s a surprising thread of nostalgia running through this sequel to 2019’s Modern Warfare reboot. After carving its own path for much of the game, it starts to dreamily reminisce about 2007’s Modern Warfare by revisiting classic missions, including ‘All Ghillied Up’ and ‘Death From Above’. The former is a standout: a long crawl through Spanish countryside culminating in a beautifully executed sniper sequence. The latter is an expanded tribute to the infamous aerial bombardment adventure, now with even more formidable destruction courtesy of modern physics hardware. Not content with delivering a standard FPS experience, much of the game dabbles with other genres to mixed effect. There’s a brief reconnaissance mission set in a stunningly detailed Amsterdam street. A convoy battle tries to emulate similar winning efforts from the Uncharted series but the game engine isn’t up to it and seems to be fighting the player alongside the enemy. Later tasks are inspired by Hitman and TheLastOfUs; neither effort comes close to those games, and their imprecise systems can become frustrating. When it concentrates on what it does best, though, it delivers big time. There are some stunning environments, including a rural Mexican village which segues into an impressively expansive mountain area. And a night-time raid across the US-Mexico border wall is an atmospheric triumph.

The standard multiplayer generally retains the series’ three-lane structure, although some new maps (including one set at the aforementioned border and filled with explosive cars) smartly mix things up. With the huge success of Call Of Duty’s battle royale, Warzone, and its enormous player counts and vast maps, it almost seems like a novelty to indulge in short multiplayer battles with regular bursts of spawn/kill/die action. The Special Ops co-op mode also makes a return, although it’s less distinct than previous entries and it hews irritatingly close to Warzone’s expanse. It’s strange to see Call Of Duty so circumspect but overall this is an impressive package. (Murray Robertson)  Out now.

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TV ROSIE MOLLOY GIVES UP EVERYTHING (Sky Comedy/NOW)

Sheridan Smith has featured in her fair share of ‘Britcoms’. However, it’s unlikely her newest TV appearance will have anywhere near the cultural impact of Gavin & Stacey or The RoyleFamily. Sometimes funny but flat overall, this new Sky Comedy produced by Hartswood Films fails to meet the necessary standards for an outstanding sitcom.

Rosie Molloy is a punchy powerhouse of a 35-yearold woman who is addicted to pretty much everything. From drugs and alcohol to Terry’s Chocolate Orange, her substance abuse controls her life. In a New Year resolutionstyle bid to rescue her unravelling relationships, she decides to go cold turkey on fags, booze and kumquats.

The concept (written by Susan Nickson) could have passed for black humour if it had been better delivered. Instead, a lack of laughs fails to balance out the heavy subject matter, leaving viewers unsure and uncomfortable.

Father Ted’s Pauline McLynn is the series’ saving grace, delivering hilarious one-liners as Rosie’s Irish mum. Despite its half-hearted LGBT representation (embedded in Rosie’s bisexual tenant, Nico), there remains an overwhelming abundance of jokes targeted at the trans community (two in the opening episode’s first four-and-a-half minutes), rendering this brand-new comedy utterly dated already. In short, it’s just not that funny. (Rachel Cronin)

Starts on Wednesday 7 December.

ALBUMS

JAMES YORKSTON, NINA PERSSON AND THE SECOND HAND ORCHESTRA

The Great White Sea Eagle (Domino) lllll

Having licked electric and acoustic guitar many moons ago, and staked a palpable claim as the only nyckelharpa player in the room (thanks to his Yorkston/Thorne/Khan trio), James Yorkston has now made the move to piano. The shift from strings to keys has unlocked new songwriting territory for many artists, from PJ Harvey to Beth Orton. For Yorkston, it ultimately led to this new vocal collaboration with Cardigans frontwoman Nina Persson, whose pure pop vocals entwine beautifully with Yorkston’s woebegone folk tones on the winsome ‘An Upturned Crab’ or make light weather of the wry and diabolic folk yarn ‘Sam And Jeanie McGregor’.

Ironically, the one consistent element in this new collection is the entirely extempore backing of his previous collaborators and Persson’s fellow Swedes, The Second Hand Orchestra, none of whom had heard the songs before Yorkston ran through them in the studio.

Their improvised contributions can be as simple and effective as the mournful flutter of flute on ‘Keeping Up With The Grandchildren, Yeah’ or the lo-fi strings on the Ray Davies-like reminiscence of ‘Peter Paulo Van Der Heyden’. Elsewhere, the massed band chime on ‘Hold Out For Love’ while a slightly dissonant, insistent chord and peppy rhythm inspires a ramshackle collage of pizzicato strings and free-jazz trumpet trills on ‘The Heavy Lyric Police’. Yorkston shifts seamlessly from droll humour to quiet desolation to tender contemplation, never more so than on ‘A Sweetness In You’, his requiem for Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison. There, he ponders how to broach the subject of death with his kids using a nursery rhyme simplicity: ‘I think of him often as I look out to the sea . . . and I live by the coast’. On an excellent album, he saves the best for the closing Nick Drake-like sultry jazz-folk of ‘A Hollow Skeleton Lifts A Heavy Wing’. (Fiona Shepherd) n Released on Friday 13 January.

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PODCASTS SCOTTISH BALLET’S HALF HOUR CALL (Scottish Ballet) lllll

Through its recent specialist programmes, engagement work and interest in the socio-political landscape, Scottish Ballet has proved itself to be far more than just a dance troupe. So it stands to reason the company wants to share some of the wisdom and experience learned both onstage and behind the scenes. This new 30-minute per episode podcast, Half Hour Call, is the perfect vehicle: accessible to all (via Spotify etc but also free on Scottish Ballet’s website) and covering a wide range of topics.

Inevitably, when you specialise in one particular area, not every episode is going to land with a wide demographic. Topics such as performers returning to work after becoming parents or using social media as a dancer will prove more relevant to the professional dance community. Whereas an episode devoted to the ‘Final Bow For Yellowface’ campaign which explores racial and cultural stereotypes, and another looking at mental health, injury and illness, have enough everyday comparisons to appeal to Scottish Ballet’s broader audience.

With a different interviewer and two or three guests assigned to each podcast, there’s no shortage of interesting voices to listen to and learn from. But a little more dynamism in the structure, in terms of music, ambient sound and cutaways, would really take things up a notch. (Kelly Apter) n Episodes available at scottishballet.co.uk/podcast

REVIEWS album of the issue

PICTURES: BERNARD MATUSSIÈRE

The fifth in a series of gorgeous and glorious Fela Kuti 50th anniversary reissues (previous releases include London Scene and Open & Close), Afrodisiac reasserts Kuti’s belief that ‘classical music gives musicians a kick but African music gives everyone a kick.’

Nigerian artist, musician, producer, Afrocentric spiritualist navigator, agent provocateur, and sociopolitical voice, Kuti was the Pan-African titan of a different age. Indeed, his oft-cited views on the matriarchy, homosexuality, AIDS and monogamy would likely see him a contender for cancellation by some of today’s audiences.

By 1972, when he and a nascent version of Africa ‘70 (including the late great Tony Allen on drums) entered Abbey Road studios to record Afrodisiac, Kuti had already witnessed casual and reverberating racism first-hand on the streets of London and Los Angeles. It was his experience of the latter in particular, through his discovery of the Black Power movement, that propelled his conviction that his music ‘must awaken people to do their duty as citizens and act’.

Already hits in his homeland, the songs on Afrodisiac were re-recorded in London to give them international kudos and a marketing reach that only the famous studio and its uptight besuited producers (in this case Jeff Jarratt who does a commendable job) could offer. It was a rare act of imperialist hat-doffing from Kuti, something he would not revisit once he established his

Kalakuta Republic compound and his club Afrika Shrine within the next few years. An album of four tracks, Afrodisiac (released under the name Fela RansomeKuti & The Africa ‘70) features throbbing funk, punchy blues and raw live riffs in ‘Alu Jon Jonki Jon’ for which Kuti employs Yoruba mythology, parable and metaphor to preach ethics and freedom. The best-known song on the album, the instrumental ‘Chop And Quench’, is a satire about colonial greed which was Kuti’s first major hit across West Africa.

‘Eko Ile’ (Eko being the pre-colonial name for Lagos) is a rumbustious elegy to the city while in the brilliant final track, ‘Je’nwi Temi (Don’t Gag Me)’, he marshals a multi-instrumental funk war cry against the political and military establishment of Nigeria, a portent for the persecution and indignities Kuti was yet to face at the hands of the powerful.

For vinyl buyers, sonically this is a step up from the 2014 reissue curated by Brian Eno, and the red and green marble vinyl is a joy. Indeed it was Eno who played Afrodisiac for David Byrne ahead of Talking Heads recording Remain In Light, an experience that fundamentally altered Byrne’s production of that album and everything to follow. An influence on many other musicians and artists, the spirit and legacy of Fela Kuti remains stronger than any government or institution.

Afrodisiac is released by Partisan Records on Friday 2 December.

Paul Dale finds pioneering Nigerian musician Fela Kuti on uncompromising and brilliant form with the reissue of his 1972 classic Afrodisiac

PREVIEW OF 2023

ALBUMS

YOUNG FATHERS

Alloysious, Kayus and Graham team up once more for Heavy Heavy, the long-awaited followup to 2018’s Cocoa Sugar. What are the odds on this making it three SAY Awards for the trio in a row?

n Ninja Tune, Friday 3 February.

MIMI WEBB

Canterbury’s power-pop sensation unleashes her debut studio album Amelia, following on from her Seven Shades Of Heartbreak EP of 2021 which spawned warmly received singles

Not going out is an easier option than it ever was given the wealth of entertainment at your fingertips. Here we take a peek at some of the highlights coming at you in book, album, game and TV form across the next 12 months

such as ‘Good Without’, ‘Halfway’ and ‘Dumb Love’.

n Epic, Friday 3 March.

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS

Who releases albums on a Sunday? Billy and co, that’s who. But Atum is no ordinary album, with this three-part rock opera reaching its conclusion.

n Martha’s Music, Sunday 23 April.

LEWIS CAPALDI

The marmite blue-soul singer-songwriter hits back with the charmingly titled Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent . On the back of his

debut, Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent , it’s clear that our Lewis likes a convoluted album title.

n Capitol, Friday 19 May.

BOOKS

TOMMI PARRISH

Men I Trust is an original graphic novel about the messiness of modern relationships from the Montreal-based cartoonist, illustrator and art editor. Their previous work, The Lie And How We Told It, won the 2019 Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ Graphic Novel.

n Scribe, Thursday 9 February.

LASTESIS

The Chilean feminist performance collective bring us Set Fear On Fire, a fierce manifesto and an angry tour-de-force which argues for collective struggle and a radical, visionary political art.

n Verso, Tuesday 7 March.

DOUG JOHNSTONE

The Space Between Us is the bestselling crime author’s sci-fi debut, telling the story of three people who suffer strokes after some dazzling lights appear in the skies above Edinburgh. Could it be related to the alien entity discovered nearby?

n Orenda Books, Thursday 16 March.

NAZANIN ZAGHARI-RATCLIFFE & RICHARD RATCLIFFE

Sure to cause a rumpus, this memoir by the woman who was finally released by the Iranian government, and her husband, will no doubt deliver some uncomfortable truths to various governments.

n Chatto, autumn.

GAMES STARFIELD

This action role-playing game is tipped to be the video game of the year. Set in The Settled Systems, an area that lies 50 light-years away from the Solar System, in the year 2310, a fragile peace exists 20 Earth years after the Colony War.

n Bethesda Softworks, date tbc.

DIABLO IV

The dungeon-crawling series continues with one thing guaranteed: lots of blood.

That means skeleton warriors, attacking Skirmishers, and scythe-wielding Reapers. n Blizzard Entertainment, date tbc.

TV SUCCESSION

The Roys are back in town as Logan and co try not to undermine or betray one another too quickly. Season three ended on a dramatic and almost chilling note, and there’s little sign that benevolence is likely to intrude now.

n Sky Atlantic, date tbc.

SHUGGIE BAIN

Douglas Stuart is adapting his own Bookerwinning novel for the small screen, a story inspired by the author’s childhood during Thatcherism. Guessing the cast will be a fun game to play until all is revealed.

n BBC One, date tbc.

SQUID GAME

You probably thought you wouldn’t need to sit through all those nail-biting games of death again, right? Wrong. The compulsive Korean survival series is unlikely to let you out of its grip when its second season arrives.

n Netflix, date tbc.

TRUE DETECTIVE

The first season of this superior crime series is one of the small-screen highlights of the past 20 years. Little wonder, then, that the following two slices of this anthology show didn’t quite live up to that original promise.

The news that Jodie Foster is set to lead the cast in a fourth tale set in a small Alaskan town is nothing but good.

n Sky Atlantic, date tbc.

Starfield (and clockwise from below), Succession, Young Fathers, The Smashing Pumpkins, Squid Game

backScottish pop legends

Altered Images will be warming up New Year revellers in Edinburgh as special guests of Sophie Ellis-Bextor. In our Q&A, iconic singer Clare Grogan discusses haunting Boris Johnson, rebirthing as a dog and being mistaken for a certain pint-sized Aussie

Who would you like to see playing you in the movie about your life? Me please! I love making movies and I’d probably need the job.

What’s the punchline to your favourite joke? Because I love you!

If you were to return in a future life as an animal, what would it be? Can we go backwards with this? A dog living in the Doris Day pet sanctuary in California.

What’s the best cover version ever? The Slits’ ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’.

Whose speaking voice soothes your ears? Stanley Baxter.

If you were a ghost, who would you haunt? Boris Johnson. I’d make sure he never got a good night’s sleep ever again.

When was the last time you were mistaken for someone else and what were the circumstances? On a visit to NYC, they closed Prada so that I could shop in peace because they thought I was Kylie. It got a tad embarrassing in the end.

Tell us something you wish you had discovered sooner in life? It wasn’t necessary to try and please everyone.

Describe your perfect Saturday evening? It would have to involve a big gang of family and friends at one of our restaurants.

If you could relive any day of your life, which one would it be? The first Christmas I had my daughter Elle and both my mum and dad were still alive when we were all in Glasgow with my sisters and their families.

What’s your earliest recollection of winning something? Primary 1. Best smile.

Did you have a nickname at school that you were ok with? And can you tell us a nickname you hated? Tallulah was and is my nickname.

If you were to start a tribute act to a band or singer, who would it be in tribute to and what would it be called? Boney M, just for the outfits. I’d call it Bonnie M.

THE Q& A WITH CLARE GROGAN

When were you most recently astonished by something? We are living in astonishing times, so most days.

What tune do you find it impossible not to get up and dance to, whether in public or private? ‘Crazy In Love’ by Beyoncé.

Which famous person would be your ideal holiday companion? Ryan Gosling.

As an adult, what has a child said to you that made a powerful impact? ‘Mummy, stop singing’.

Tell us one thing about yourself that would surprise people? I’m six foot tall.

When did you last cry? Today. It’s a daily occurrence.

What’s the most hi-tech item in your home? My BeautyCam light.

What’s a skill you’d love to learn but never got round to? Tap dancing.

By decree of your local council, you’ve been ordered to destroy one room in your house and all of its contents. Which room do you choose? Easy, the really messy one upstairs.

If you were selected as the next 007, where would you pick as your first luxury destination for espionage? The Highlands of course.

Altered Images, Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, Friday 30 December.

NEXT TIME

So that was 2022, then? Time to look forward to next year’s doings, and we’ll be back in February (the month of love, so it is) with a warm embrace of content for you. There’s a new album brewing from Young Fathers, twice winners of the SAY Award, while a recent nominee for that gong, Hamish Hawk, heads out on the road. There’s puppetry and animation galore in the Manipulate Festival and we’ll be grilling DJ Arielle Free for our incisive Q&A. Plus, we bring you all the details about the year ahead featuring events both big and small within The Guide To Scotland’s Festivals

n Next copy of The List will be out on Wednesday 1 February.

hot shots

There’s plenty still to be announced for this year’s late-January Burns And Beyond programme. but for now we’re perfectly content at the prospect of a stripped-back show from The Twilight Sad, and Kinnaris Quintet with some special friends.

Joe Cornish (he of Adam & Joe fame) has moved beyond childish fripperies to make movies such as Attack The Block. He’s back with a new Netflix series Lockwood And Co (Friday 27 January), which aims to be a new kind of ghost story.

Scene But Not Heard celebrates ‘the creative spirit of defiance’ with urban art and graffiti. At Glasgow’s SWG3 (until Thursday 5 January) is a selection of artists from across the UK including Belfast’s experimental, multi-dimensional illustrator Zippy.

PICTURE: EUAN ROBERTSON

photo by Keith Valentine