“If you can’t go to Africa, Africa comes to you.”

So says Samba Sene, speaking between numbers during his support slot at the Voodoo Rooms. And he’s right.

Tonight we’re treated to the rhythms, emotion and joy of some top quality world music in Edinburgh, courtesy of Senegalese Samba and main act Vieux Farka Touré from Mali.

More normally fronting his full band Diwan, tonight Samba Sene sits on the stage with an acoustic guitar, accompanied by a single musician on an African mandolin. Together, they perform a set of low-key, personal numbers, dealing with Samba’s loves & losses. Samba’s playing and singing is emotive and subtle, as his rich voice effortlessly fills the Ballroom to an appreciative audience.

Proving he’s as comfortable in an intimate and personal setting as he is when leading Diwan through their gloriously upbeat numbers, Samba is a pleasure to watch and listen to, particularly when he wins over the crowd with his song devoted to his now hometown of Edinburgh.

Vieux Farka Touré is recognised as one of the finest guitarists on the world music scene today, and on the strength of tonight’s performance it’s easy to see why. Backed by a bassist and percussionist, his songs are long, hypnotic affairs, weaving their rhythms between the dancing feet of the packed crowd.

The length of the numbers allows Vieux’s musicianship to shine: whether adeptly blurring his fingers in a series of impressive solos; or bouncing his playing off his fellow band members, trading rhythmical snippets of music as if passing a ball between them.

Throughout, Vieux’s obvious passion for the music beams out, as his infectious and joyful stage presence spreads waves of warmth around the room.

Back outside in the cold air of a February evening in Edinburgh, Samba and Vieux have indeed brought a little piece of Africa to us: more than enough to keep us warm all the way home.

Samba Sene and Vieux Farka Touré played at The Voodoo Rooms, Tue 7th Feb

Edinburgh-based grunge rockers Art of Privilege unleash four minutes of piledriving rock with new single The Crawler, a no-nonsense, no-apologies blast along the metal motorway at a million times over the speed limit.

The single has a raw and relentless feel which suits its theme of nights in sleazy bars with easy women. Drums and bass keep the engine running behind some blistering and accomplished guitar licks which rev things up nicely between choruses which kick like double JDs on the rocks.

The Crawler shows Art of Privilege are a band who’ve studied hard at the School of Rock – but manage to make things sound effortless as they speed past with a track which makes you want to hit repeat as soon as it’s over.

The Crawler is out now on iTunes

An evening of infectious world rhythms and blistering guitar lies in store at The Voodoo Rooms on Tue 7th Feb when Vieux Farka Touré visits town.

Often referred to as ‘the Hendrix of the Sahara’, Mali-born Vieux is renowned for his dexterity and skill with a guitar. With his charisma and positive attitude, he fuses rock, Latin and African influences to great effect in his music, which caught the attention of FIFA when they asked him to play at the opening concert for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

With his skillful guitar-playing and charismatic smile, Vieux has established himself as a world talent, and Tuesday’s gig at the Voodoo Rooms provides a rare chance to experience his talents first hand.

Samba Sene

Songs from Senegal and music from Mali combine in a gig which looks set to provide an enjoyable and uplifting evening, bringing a little bit of African heat and rhythm to a (no doubt) chilly February evening in Edinburgh.

Vieux Farka Touré and Samba Sene are at The Voodoo Rooms in West Register Street from 7pm on Tue 7th Feb. Tickets are available here.

Creation & Play gives the chance for three leading Scottish puppeteers to be paired with a trio of theatre directors: and given free reign to create whatever form of visual theatre they wished. With the emphasis very much on the ‘play’ aspect, the pieces give an opportunity for their creators to experiment in a low-risk environment, allowing them to flex their creative muscles in a sandbox environment – quite literally in the case of one of the performances.

Pac A Mac by Shona Reppe and the Lyceum’s Mark Thomson is the most avant-garde of the slices of playfulness on offer, with a surreal mood-piece featuring Reppe as a bewildered balloon modeller haunted by a disembodied voice in a cardboard box. Like a lost scene from Eraserhead, Reppe danced amidst the balloon animals, trying in vain to ignore the sense of foreboding and claustrophobia which closes in around her.

A visually interesting piece with Reppe’s performance emphasising the sense of the absurd, the theme is a little too sleight to make it anything other than a diverting performance as fragile as one of the balloon figures she pops beneath her shoes.

Easter Island: It’s A Rapanui by Ailie Cohen and Communicado Artistic Director Gerry Mulgrew is at the other extreme of the spectrum, being a humourous spoof scientific presentation about the mysteries of the giant stone heads on the tiny island. Cohen and fellow Puppet State Theatre Company collaborator Rick Conte have fun mugging their way through proceedings, aided and abetted by some effective shadow and small-figure puppetry.

It’s a likeable and light-hearted sketch: though whether it develops into something larger and more long-lasting remains to be seen.

A showing of Anna Ginsburg’s stop-motion animation video to Bombay Bicycle Club’s How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep? follows: a delightful and appropriately dream-like film with echoes of Le Petit Prince, well suited to the band’s indie folk style.

Grit by Tortoise In A Nutshell and Citizen Theatre’s Dominic Hill is the most traditional of the performances this evening, as the puppeteers bring a small, vulnerable male figure to life on a sand-strewn table.

His short journey is a rite of passage from innocent wonder to the misplaced bravado and futility of conflict, and Tortoise’s puppeteers succeed in portraying the tale with pathos and emotion, particularly in the poignant opening and closing scenes which frame the piece.

Creation & Play is an encapsulation of everything the manipulate Festival sets out to achieve: bold experimentation in an environment where freedom of expression can flourish. And whilst the pieces on show tonight are variable, they are united by those common goals, showing what creativity and playfulness can produce when given space to breathe.

Creation & Play – part of manipulate’s Snapshots – played at The Traverse Theatre on Feb 3 2012

England’s Invisible Thread give us a glimpse into a playful and at times disturbing world with Liz Walker’s Plucked…A True Fairy Tale, part of the manipulate Visual Theatre Festival at the Traverse.

Taking inspiration from myth and legend – most notably the maiden, mother, crone archetype – two almost life-size puppets interact in an abstract and expressive style, operated by three onstage puppeteers.

In the first section, male and female energies attract and intertwine, resulting in a trio of surreal births which emphasise themes of love and loss. With their spindly limbs and billowing white skirts, the puppets evoke a sense of otherworldiness and mystery: part childlike, part alien as they interact with the sparse set of wooden ladders and planks – and with each other.

Humour is present, mostly due to the surreal nature of the pair’s coupling and the subsequent offspring: from toy trains to television sets, each of which literally fly the parental nest. This gives rise to the thematic thread of the second half, where the lone female character is transformed into a terrible crow-like figure after undergoing a journey of self, seeing her reign from a mechanical tower from which she dispenses swift and terrifying vengeance on those who come to court.

Live ink painting projection and a music-box style soundtrack add to the dreamlike mood of the piece; and the sensory experience of Plucked as a whole overcomes the shortcomings in its often obtuse narrative.

Unique and challenging at times, Plucked is also perhaps a little over long – not helped by a necessary interval where the audience are asked to leave the auditorium to allow a scene change between acts.

As the images seep in and settle though, the haunting world of Plucked…A True Fairy Tale lingers in the mind like the echoes of a barely-remembered dream.

Plucked was performed as part of the manipulate Visual Theatre Festival at the Traverse Theatre on Jan 31.

Inspired by two real-life Victorian spiritualist performers, The Infamous Brothers Davenport opens a box filled with magic and memory in this world premiere at the Lyceum, co-produced with Glasgow’s Vox Motus.

Written by Candice Edmunds, Jamie Harrison and Peter Arnott, and directed by Harrison and Edmunds, The Infamous Brothers Davenport is a showy and technically-complex production, but one which hides layers of emotion in its plot’s many hidden compartments.

Before the lights dim, Lady Noyes-Woodhull (Anita Vetesse) greets the ‘invited guests’ at tonight’s demonstration, inviting some onstage to examine the spiritualist apparatus for signs of trickery or subterfuge before the main event.

Ira and Willie Davenport (Scott Fletcher and Ryan Fletcher) are two young American brothers who, with the assistance of manager Mr Fay (Gavin Mitchell), turn the experiences of their past into a stage phenomenon: claiming to present the grief-stricken and the curious with evidence of life beyond the grave.

The piece opens with a humourous flourish, with Mitchell relishing the role of showman as he introduces the mysterious brothers. Stagecraft and magic techniques are used – with the help of a few willing audience members – to provide the ‘evidence’, sought no more strongly than by Lady Noyes-Woodhull herself, whose husband has been missing in Africa for years.

Soon, the magic disperses and the brothers’ ‘spirit box’ transforms into a stage within a stage, where Ira and Willie’s background is played out. Vetesse and Mitchell take on the roles of Mama and Papa, and we learn that the brothers’ most precious secrets are not the ones they use to create the effects in their act.

The Infamous Brothers Davenport is visibly the sum of its parts, and at times not all of them connect. The stage show reenactment is technically well-done and played in pastiche style, though this at times this jars with the human tragedy played out behind the box’s doors. In the second half, things come together with a little more cohesion, as the piece’s themes of truth and deception reach a satisfying climax.

Performances are excellent throughout, particularly from Scott Fletcher, who plays Willie with an innocent and otherworldly demeanour. Mitchell has the most fun, alternating between the exuberant showmanship of Mr Fay and the Bill The Butcher-style domineering of Papa Davenport.

Mention must also go to Harrison’s design and David Graham’s technical management: this is a production which relies heavily on more-than-usual amounts of stage magic to suspend the audience’s disbelief, and does so with flair.

Touring after this premiere, The Infamous Brothers Davenport is an ambitious production which mostly hits the magical mark it sets itself. And with its tale of hidden doors and hidden secrets, it shows that voices from beyond the grave echo into our lives whether you believe in spiritualism or not.

The Infamous Brothers Davenport runs at the Lyceum until 11 Feb. More details are on the Lyceum website.

Hamletmachine

The first of Edinburgh’s arts & culture festivals of 2012, manipulate will see The Traverse Theatre filled with the best in cutting-edge puppetry, animation and visual theatre for 6 days from 30 January.

Presented by Puppet Animation Scotland, manipulate enters its fifth year in 2012, with performers from France, Austria, Russia, Germany and more taking part in the celebration of visual innovation and avant-garde theatre.

The festival opens with Compagnie Sans Soucis’ performance of Heiner Muller’s Hamletmachine, combining video and puppetry to condense Shakespeare’s tale into a nine-page script exploring political and social themes.

Sound, mime, improvisation and film are mashed up in Polaris, from Czech Republic’s Wariot Ideal, which tells the tale of two stranded Antarctic explorers. Snapshots present Creation & Play, which pairs Scottish puppeteers with theatre directors, resulting in three 10-minute pieces of visual theatre.

Akhe Engineering Theatre from St Petersburg live up to their name by using lasers, handmade contraptions and shadow theatre to conjure up a series of comic images in Gobo. Digital Glossary.

And the festival is brought to a close with the satirical puppetry of Pangolin’s Teatime, who present a topical and up-to-the-minute sketch show The Return of the Great Puppet Horn.

As well as the performances, two other threads run through manipulate in the form of an animated film programme curated by Susie Wilson; and a puppetry and movement masterclass from Germany’s Figurentheater Tübingen, which runs for the duration of the festival.

Proving that innovation in theatre is alive and well – and that puppets aren’t just for children – manipulate promises to be a visual treat at the Traverse.

Edinburgh Spotlight loves living in ‘Festival City’ and already has all these dates in its calendar – here’s the rundown of 2012′s festivals.

Mary King’s Ghost Fest TBC for 2012

Paranormal investigations, celebrity ghost hunts and other spooky goings on at The Real Mary King’s Close.

Ceilidh Culture 16 March – 25 April

Edinburgh’s traditional arts festival, featuring music, dance, storytelling and more.

International Science Festival 31 March- 13 April 2012
The International Science Festival features a host of fun and educational events, lectures and attractions celebrating all things scientific.

Beltane Fire Festival 30 April 2012
Beltane is an ancient Celtic festival and Edinburgh plays host to some colourful and exciting celebrations to mark the date.

Imaginate Festival 7 – 14 May 2012
The Imaginate Festival is Edinburgh’s children’s festival and has loads of plays, activities and fun things to do for youngsters of all ages.

Leith Festival 8 -17 June 2012
Come and celebrate all things Leith at this festival, featuring music, dance, art and other exciting events.

Edinburgh International Film Festival 20 June – 1 July
The Edinburgh Film Festival is an internationally-renowned event on the movie festival circuit and attracts premieres and stars from all over the world.

Edinburgh International Magic Festival 29 June – 6 July 2012

2012 will see Edinburgh host the third International Magic Festival with a range of performers show-casing their magical talents.

Edinburgh Art Festival August 2 – September 2
Edinburgh Art Festival celebrates the visual arts in all its diversity, from world-class exhibitions to strikingly original installations.

Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival 28 July – 6 August 2012
Get your gladrags on and party to the sounds of the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival, a popular event which attracts international talent.

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 3 - 27 August 2012
Getting bigger, better and – some may say – weirder every year, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the highlight of many a festival-goer’s calendar.

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 3 – 25 August 2012
Selling out months in advance, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is a spectacular event taking place on the Castle Esplanade.

The Edge Music Festival TBC 2012
Adding alternative music to the August festival mix, The Edge Music Festival attracts A-list bands as part of its programme.

Festival of Spirituality and Peace TBC 2012

The Festival of Spirituality and Peace features music, dance, talks and other events highlighting humanitarian issues and causes.

Edinburgh International Festival 10 August – 2 September 2012
The one that started it all, the Edinburgh International Festival is a feast of world-class music, dance and theatrical performances.

Edinburgh International Book Festival 11 - 27 August 2012
This literary event attracts major names in the writing, publishing and political fields to the serene Charlotte Square Gardens setting.

Edinburgh Mela Festival 31 August  - 2nd September 2012

Celebrating the cultural diversity of the city, the Mela Festival brings colour and exotic flair to Edinburgh in August.

Scottish Story Telling Festival 19-28 October
Celebrating the great Scottish oral tradition, the Story Telling Festival showcases the talents of national bards, poets and tale-spinners.

Edinburgh’s Christmas TBC – late November – End Dec 2011
Edinburgh sparkles at Christmas and features events, attractions and shows for all the family to enjoy during the festival season.

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 30 December 2012 – 2 January 2013
End the year with the biggest street party in the world!

Of Ash & Water - Emissary

Close your eyes whilst listening to Emissary‘s debut EP and their music evokes the airbrushed landscapes of 70s fantasy artist Roger Dean. And, with their complex and accomplished songs which conjure up the spirits of Rush and Wolfmother, the band’s sweeping and epic sound is well-placed to inhabit them.

A four-piece post-metal band formed from the ashes of Visperas, Aos Si and other groups on the Edinburgh rock scene, Emissary emerge newly-forged with guitars slung over their shoulders like weapons, chiselled jaws jutting towards the horizon and their eyes fixed on the setting twin moons of Asengard (or something).

Standing Stone opens things in suitably gargantuan fashion, with explosive guitar riffs which shake the earth from its orbit. ‘You struck the fear of god into me,” sings vocalist Luke, as the music crashes and swirls around him like a vortex.

Indeed, Emissary understand the power of an almighty riff, and all four tracks on offer here bristle with hooks and refrains like they’re preparing for some full-on guitar-based assault.

It Was Always You is perhaps the best example of the Emissary sound. The first half is a delicate, baroque composition; which then lets its hair down and hurtles towards a tumultuous and fiery conclusion. The song has a metal-melting ferocity of the kind that the Gods of Rock intended when they first bestowed electric guitars upon the world.

If you’re a fan of sweeping and epic rock but are struggling to find anyone on the local scene to satisfy your urges, Emissary have arrived after an epic journey at the gates of Edinburgh with an impressively writ-large missive of hope.

And the Gods of Rock are pleased.

Stuart Paterson’s Christmas shows at the Lyceum make only the briefest of nods to pantomime, instead choosing to focus on capturing all the magic of fairytale on stage. Neil Murray’s direction of Beauty & The Beast is no exception, providing a captivating two hours of charming festive entertainment with its timeless tale of love’s ability to conquer all.

Beauty (Ruth Milne) lives a Cinderella-like existence with her impoverished father (Lewis Howden) and her wicked sisters Hazel and Hannah (Karen Traynor and Nicola Roy) with only her new friend Martin (Andrew Rothney) to confide in. When her father ends up at the mercy of the terrifying Beast, selfless Beauty takes his place as the monster’s prisoner. Meanwhile, evil witch Crackjaw (Angela Clerkin) watches as her evil plans fall into place…

Milne puts in an appealing performance as Beauty, quickly becoming everyone in the audience’s favourite big sister. Rothney is similarly likeable as the brave Martin; and the relationship between the two leads is strong enough to carry the tale. Howden brings world-weary gravitas to his role, and the scenes between father and his favourite daughter are touching rather than saccharine.

As is often the case, the baddies have all the best roles…Clerkin plays child-hating Crackjaw with relish, appearing to have stepped straight off the set of a Tim Burton movie with her wild hair and billowing black dress. Traynor and Roy probably have the most fun however, and their chavtastic performances as the vain and scheming sisters provide Beauty & The Beast‘s best comedy moments.

Mark McDonnell as kind-hearted goblin Dunt is also there for comic relief, though he seems to have been studying Andy Gray’s camp panto performance style a little too closely at times. And Billy the Dog will appeal to younger audience members, providing plenty of faithful companion and ‘aww’ moments. Murray’s illustrative set design gives the production a suitably storybook feel, and costumes range from the flamboyant fun of the sisters’ ‘big city’ outfits to the potentially child-scaring towering black bull-headed beast.

There are other places you can go in Edinburgh to watch men dressed as women, hear jokes about the trams and catch innuendos flying over the heads of children in the audience. With Beauty & The Beast however, you can go and be treated to a big-hearted and spellbinding piece of charming theatre which will appeal to the child within, no matter how old you are.

Beauty & The Beast runs until 31 December. Dates / times vary – details are on the Lyceum website.

In Jo Clifford’s poignant yet playful imagining, Adam Smith (Neil McKinven) and David Hume (Gerry Mulgrew) are blessed with an enlightening opportunity to see how their philosophies have borne fruit, as they wake up resurrected in the 21st century.

Guided by modern-day Eve (Joanna Tope), their eyes are opened to the result of free thought and free markets: and how not everything in this utopian Garden of Eden is as rosy as they first think.

Clifford’s script is lyrical and wordy, managing to put convincing words in the mouths of these fathers of the Enlightenment: even when Smith uses his second chance at life as an excuse to indulge in his previously-suppressed hedonistic excesses.

Hume remains more philosophical, his eyes slowly opening to the reality of progress. Throughout, they are aware of their situation: and of the ‘sleek’ and ‘clean’ audience watching their metaphysical adventures in the afterlife.

Ben Harrison’s direction keeps things tight on a minimal set by Ali Maclaurin, allowing Clifford’s wordplay and premise to take centre stage. Devotees of Smith and Hume will find much to enjoy in her script; those less familiar with their work will still be led forward by Eve’s guiding hand.

The trio on stage give enjoyable and convincing performances, McKinven’s joy at being able to let off a lifetime of steam being particularly amusing to watch. Tope copes well with revealing truths to her companions and the audience alike, her expository role never feeling forced.

An unashamedly intellectual alternative to the more traditional seasonal fare currently on offer on Edinburgh’s stages, the play’s premise – that knowledge burns as brightly as any star – is just as uplifting.

The Tree of Knowledge runs until 24 December. More details are on the Traverse website.

Beat Your Fist by Underclass

Beat Your Fist crunches its way straight into the ring from the outset, setting the tone for a tight and wiry scrapper of a track that delivers a knockout before three minutes are up.

Mikey Robertson’s guitar has a satisfyingly meaty quality to it, and you can’t pinch more than an inch on Sean Kelso and Callum Macgillivray’s lean and mean rhythm section. Kev O’Rourke’s keys add some understated colour whilst John Keenan’s vocals soar above his band’s piledriving sound.

“She’s gonna explode,” sings Keenan, as the song reaches its climax – he may as well be talking about Beat Your Fist itself, which has been threatening to go supernova since the first chord. The only reason you’ll be wanting to beat your fist against your head after hearing this single is to try and dislodge the hook-laden tune from your brain.

With a broad, radio-friendly appeal and a tightness that doesn’t carry an ounce of extra weight, Beat Your Fist could be the song to turn Underclass from contenders into champions.

Beat Your Fist is available to download on iTunes and Amazon.

In Simon Jackson’s enjoyably fast-paced “noir thriller” directed by Andy Corelli, tabloid photographer Ian Thompson finds himself the focus of undesired attention after witnessing an Egyptian diplomat being thrown from a fifth-floor window. As he recounts the series of events to a pair of police interrogators, we learn that whilst the camera never lies, the photographer may be being more creative with the truth.

The first performance in the new space at Ocean Terminal, Turning to the Camera is a technically ambitious production, featuring video projection sequences helping to put the action in context. On the whole, this works well – and is cleverly-deployed in places, such as when two characters stoop down, Gulliver-like, to peer into the windows of a projected bungalow. The sequences where the streets of Edinburgh are used to indicate the characters are car-bound are perhaps less effective, bringing to mind the effects of early Hollywood movies: but in general the filmed sequences add to the piece rather than detract from it.

Ian Sexon is superb as the paparazzo, exuding just the right amount of sleaze and questionable morals without verging on caricature. Sexon brings a manic physicality to the role – which is perhaps just as well, as his character spends around half the play’s 65 minute length clad only in his boxer shorts.

The other three actors play multiple roles, as characters in Thompson’s tale enter and exit. Adam Tomkins has a similar commanding presence to Liam Brennan and shows his versatility with roles as diverse as a threatening gunman and an eccentric professor. A slightly-underused Adrienne Zitt has less to do, but she brings an effortless touch of female strength to her walk-on parts, helping to counter Thompson’s male bravado.

Lewis Hart breathes life into the piece’s most intriguing character: a Welsh Muslim extremist. Again steering clear of caricature, Hart injects Bilaal with an intelligence and vulnerability which transforms him into one of the play’s most sympathetic – and morally true – characters.

The ink on Jackson’s script is still wet (there are references to the late Ken Russell; and to the November 30 strikes); it is also tightly-plotted with just the right number of twists and turns to stop it being confusing. Some political points are skirted over a little too briefly, and there is a slightly jarring mini-lecture on the history of defenestration, but on the whole the piece gels together well. And as Jackson also shot the film sequences and composed the noirish jazz-based soundtrack, it is certainly an impressive showcase for his talents.

Turning to the Camera proves to be sharply-focused and well-developed thriller with enough comic asides and interesting characters to stop it being heavy-handed. And as a snapshot of what Siege Perilous are capable of, it comes highly recommended.

Turning to the Camera runs until 3 Dec at Ocean Terminal. More details are available on the play’s Facebook page.

Turning to the Camera

Andrew Corelli Jones, co-director of Leith-based Siege Perilous, has found a novel way around this problem however: the company’s latest production – Turning To The Camera – will be staged in an empty retail unit in the Ocean Terminal shopping centre.

“So many venues lie unused in Edinburgh outside August,” says Corelli Jones. “I’ve always wanted to put a performance on in an empty space; and it’s interesting to find spaces away from the conventional – and nearer to audiences.”

The space at Ocean Terminal has never been used since the centre opened, and the 6,000 square feet venue will seat about 200 people, as well as playing host to writer, film-maker and musician Simon Jackson’s innovative and technically-complex production.

“Turning To The Camera merges stage and screen,” he explains. “It was originally a radio play, but we’ve adapted it for the screen. Simon’s produced film clips which feature throughout the piece; as well as composing the soundtrack.”

The play concerns a tabloid photographer witnesses someone being thrown from a window. Under interrogation from the police, the audience hear his version of events – never sure if what they’re witnessing is the truth or fantasy.

“The story gets bigger and bigger as the play progresses,” says Corelli Jones. “It’s a noirish thriller with a circular narrative. The four actors in the piece play multiple parts: with the actors playing the police officers becoming the other characters in the photographer’s story.”

So can we expect to see Ocean Terminal added to the list of theatrical performance spaces in the city?

“We’ll be back there in January with a site-specific piece” says Corelli Jones. “Beyond that, who knows?”

Turning To The Camera runs from 28 Nov to 3 Dec at 8pm Ocean Terminal. Tickets are priced at £9 (£7 concession) and can be booked on We Got Tickets; or by phoning 0131 554 3005. Two matinee performances will be staged on 1 and 3 Dec at 4pm (£5)

The latest single from Edinburgh-based alt-country noir rock band Augustalia is a dark little ditty which wouldn’t sound out of place on David Lynch’s car stereo as he goes cruising down Mulholland Drive at 3 in the morning.

“You’re not afraid of me now but you should be” sings Hannah O’Reilly, her sweet-sounding vocals edged with razor-sharp menace as she tells the tale of bloodletting and stilettos (daggers or heels, possibly both). This is a song which wants to wake you up in the middle of the night, whisper nightmares in your ear, then slip you something to make you fall back asleep again.

Musically, things start off with gentle strummed guitar punctuated by a smattering of drums sounding like thunder in the desert. Then, Stiletto begins to creep up on you: every time you turn round, it’s a little bit closer, until the production reaches its murderous crescendo, with guitar, bass, drums and Hannah’s harmonies all competing for the privilege of delivering the final blow.

Take the lyrical content away and Stiletto is a brooding and atmospheric spinetingler. Add in the tale of vengeance and murder, however, and it turns into a gloriously dark trip into Augustalia’s noirish head – but fortunately a head with its tongue still firmly in its cheek.

Making some of the most distinctive and original music on the Edinburgh scene, you may not be aware of Augustalia now – but you should be.

The Barber of Seville - Scottish Opera

Scottish Opera bring their acclaimed and popular production of The Barber of Seville to the Edinburgh Festival Theatre this week, with performances of Rossini’s classic on the 15th, 17th and 19th of November.

Tenor Thomas Walker plays Count Almaviva, matched by Claire Booth’s soprano turn as Rosina with Ville Rusanen as Figaro, in a production directed by Sir Thomas Allen which promises to conjure up all the colour, heat and passion of the Spanish setting.

Scottish Opera's chorus and their Movember quest

The barber himself may find himself a little less busy than usual too: as half of the 18-strong male chorus are currently in the midst of the annual Movember charity fundraising campaign – although there’s a rumour some may be raiding Scottish Opera’s makeup and props department to get a head start…

There’s even an app for your iPhone to allow you to join in the moustachioed operatic fun – Tache Tag lets you see how you would look with a magnificent set of whiskers worthy of a 19th century Spanish gentleman!

The Barber of Seville has already delighted audiences and gained glowing reviews during its run at Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen. Now Edinburgh audiences have the chance to enjoy what promises to be an enjoyable and colourful production (with some real moustaches!)

More details are on the Scottish Opera and Edinburgh Festival Theatre websites

Museum Lates at the National Museum of Scotland

Last night we were fortunate enough to have a ticket for RBS Museum Lates, the first of a new night out experience at the National Museum of Scotland.

Tickets for this event sold out fast – and we’re pleased to report it was a great success, and lived up to the buzz and excitement which built up around it.

The Grand Gallery of the museum provided a hub, with a central stage area, two pop-up bars and atmospheric lighting. As the space is so large and airy, it never felt cramped, even when the night was at its busiest. This was partly thanks to all the Museum’s galleries also being open, allowing people to wander around and enjoy the collections and all they have to offer.

The animal galleries proved popular as ever, with the opportunity to have your photo taken dressed as an intrepid jungle explorer; or, on the top floor, to have an up close & personal encounter with snakes, tarantulas and other (very friendly) creepy crawlies!

Entertainment was provided by Ben Butler and Mousepad, S-Type and Found, with the mix of DJ geek chic and folk-tinged pop providing a chilled-out, pre-club atmosphere as the music echoed around the pillars and galleries of the beautiful Victorian interior.

As well as the music, there were plenty of other things to see and do. The facepainting stalls proved to be hugely popular; as did the chill-out zone with the big beanbag cushions and retro boardgames. The Silent Disco was great fun; and the brasserie was doing brisk business serving up snacks and drinks.

Above all, everyone there looked as though they were having a great time, and the atmosphere as people milled around, chatted and grooved to the music was fantastic.

It’s safe to say that this first Museum Lates event was a success – and we’re delighted to hear another one is planned for February 2012, to coincide with the opening of the museum’s Egyptian exhibition – no doubt with some more great music, popup stalls and fun themed activities for everyone to enjoy.

Here are our video and photos of the night.

Gallery

Click on a thumbnail to see the gallery.

This isn’t a whodunnit? – more of a why do we do it?

In Paddy Cunneen’s original and gripping Watching The Detective, we are all present at a crime scene presided over by the Detective (a faultless Stuart Bowman). By the end of this hypnotic piece of deconstructed theatre, we’re less silent witnesses than active voyeurs; and our preconceptions of why we enjoy a good crime story have been crept up upon and assaulted.

Bowman prowls round the minimal stage, part Rebus, part CSI Edinburgh. Between cordoning off the Traverse 2 in crime scene tape, he pauses his internal monologue and phone calls to turn his investigative lights upon the audience.

“Who do you think I am?” he asks. It’s a good question.

Is he an actor playing a part; the personification of our fascination with ‘abjection’; or something else entirely? It’s a fascinating premise, well handled by Cunneen who also directs. And although those expecting a cut-and-dried case may be disappointed, Watching The Detective‘s line of questioning stays with you long afterwards.

The last in this year’s season of Plays, Pies and Pints at The Traverse, don’t be misled by Watching The Detective‘s premise – there’s plenty to see here.

Watching The Detective runs at The Traverse until 12 Nov. More details on the Traverse website.

Serene Impressions by Jamie Primrose

From autumn light filtering through the trees by the Water of Leith; to the icy reflections on a frozen Union Canal: Primrose uses his ability to capture natural light and colour in a painterly selection of small and medium-format canvases.

He was inspired partly by a ‘busman’s holiday’ in Provence earlier this year, where the quality of the French light and landscape inspired him to paint this new collection; and they indeed have a loose but evocative style to them, bringing to mind similarly-themed works by the Impressionists.

As ever, most of Primrose’s works are painted from photographs which he has taken; and he has chosen to depict places like the Colonies in Stockbridge and the old brewery in Fountainbridge before they were altered (by flood protection works and demolition respectively). He explains these pieces therefore have a timeless quality to them, rather than being identifiable as belonging to specific period.

However, all of Primrose’s work has a degree of timelessness to it: even those depicting the modern architecture of the Shore at Leith have – thanks to their impressionistic style and glowing colours – a broad appeal.

Serene Impressions will be the last chance this year to see this sought-after artist’s work on display, and the pictures – like the subjects themselves – trace a shimmering journey across the walls of the Dundas St Gallery in a well-curated and appealing exhibition which runs until Sat 12th November.

1-5 November 19:30 (21:15), 2 & 5 Nov. matinees 13:30 (15:15) @ King’s Theatre. More details on the King’s website

Review by Danielle Farrow

Simon Callow has a strong association with Charles Dickens having long played the author, who – himself – gave public readings, bringing his characters to performed life. In Dr Marigold and Mr Chops, Callow presents two different stories directly, through one-man plays in which a manager talks about his employee and friend Mr Chops and one Doctor Marigold speaks about his own life.

Mr Chops is a telling tale, centred upon a performer in a freak show, focusing on dreams, celebrity and exploitation. It is full of rich observation and human feeling, some of which is described directly and some conveyed more subtly through the nuances of Dickens’ writing and Callow’s performance. It is the shorter piece, something of a cameo, with a few sweeping brushstrokes giving background to sharper detail.

Dr Marigold is a travelling salesman, who has a performance aspect to his work which is beautifully physicalised by Callow, and one who has known harsh times as well as better ones. Marigold the man grows along with his tale, creating a rewarding journey for an audience living through his travels with all their pain, fear, shaming mistakes and generous triumphs, and appreciating human relationships and spirit along the way.

Christopher Woods’ set serves both pieces well, creating a somewhat dusky setting. Dark red velvet curtains drape along the back and the material covers a free-standing wall and the floor of an angled raised dais, which is an abandoned stage for Mr Chops and then Dr Marigold’s footboard, where he sells from his cart. A few slatted wood tabs create a couple of ‘walls’, with pictures, frames, posters and general neglected niknaks strewn about. Nick Richings’ lighting uses various states, especially subdued, to fine empathic effect and sound (by Dominic Bilkey) can be suitably harsh for a circus barrel organ while yet supporting and punctuating Callow’s performance.

Simon Callow himself is obviously not just an experienced actor. That experience is clear and welcome in his command of material and delivery, but there is still more to his performance – so much so, that occasional stumbles and the odd plummy vowel inconsistent with his characters’ accents does not detract. The descriptive detail of Dickens is mirrored in the detail of voice, body and manner with which Callow creates his characters, those of his speakers and the others met along the way. Also, the care for humanity that characterises Dickens’ writing is integral to Callow’s performance, bringing rich feeling, warming humour and a sense of understanding and empathy which envelops the audience as well.

Callow is a true performer, able to fill the theatre with his presence and hold complete attention with his delivery, and he moves his audience, attaining a level of truth that makes strong connection possible. The combination of Dickens and Callow is indeed a brilliant one, layered and poignant, drawing tears and laughter, and full of life.