Just Laugh, Hush Comedy Club, Inverness, 2 February 2012 EVERY now and again I go to a comedy gig that reminds me why I watch and, sometimes, perform stand up. IT’S because, when it works, there is nothing quite like it, and on Thursday night at Hush it worked superbly. Bruce Fummey has been emceeing stand up [...]

The Macphail Centre, Ullapool, 2 February 2012 ON A visit to the cinema we usually have more interaction with the person selling us popcorn than we do with those who actually made the film. SO FOR actor-writer-producer Tim Barrow to stand up in front of an audience and invite feedback on his 2007 film The Inheritance was an act [...]

Dornoch Craft Guild are running their third annual Fibre Fest on the 16th/17th/18th March 2012. It takes place at the Dornoch Social Club and the programme this year will be: Friday 16th – Junior workshops – silk paintings of local wild life with Gaelic titles. Saturday 17th – Batik workshops – with Mary Styrou London based textile [...]

‘It was the revolutionary fundraising model that swept Barack Obama to power – and it could help arts bodies in Britain stay in business.’ Are you constantly looking for the right funding route but coming up empty handed? Are you looking for alternative routes to fund your project that doesn’t rely on public bodies? Would you like [...]

As Celtic Connections draws to a close this weekend, it’s been announced that Scotland’s newest University will team up with the festival next year. The University of the Highlands and Islands will become a Celtic Connections education partner from 2013. Speaking about the collaboration, Dr Neil Simco, Dean of UHI’s faculty of arts, humanities and [...]

Red Note, Scotland’s contemporary music ensemble, and prolific internationally acclaimed tabla player Kuljit Bhamra, are bringing Bhangra and bagpipes to the Hebrides this April! The 4 day “From Reels to Ragas” tour, which begins on 11 April 2012, is a cross-genre project fusing global and Indian music in a series of exciting concerts and free [...]

A recent move from Crianlarach to Easter Ross has undoubtedly influenced this new body of work from that eminently talented ‘plein air’ painter, Jonathan Shearer. For his fourth show at the Castle Gallery in Inverness he has produced a number of new paintings more local to area including views of Inverness city, the Cromarty Firth [...]

Unpacked from Brighton is packing up and wrapping up for a visit to Scotland with our fabulous wintry family show, Robin and the Big Freeze. Robins are extremely territorial and don’t ever venture far from their patch, so this is quite an unusual venture for our central character, as he explains. We hear you are a [...]

At the fork in the road, ANA takes both paths A unique Scotland / Québec bilingual co-production that straddles the line between creativity and madness. “With a strong ensemble cast and remarkable mise-en-scène, ANA offers an imaginative and complex vision of womanhood.” Montreal Arts Uncovered Following a highly acclaimed world premiere in Québec, ANA, directed by internationally renowned Serge Denoncourt travels to [...]

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) embarks on its most geographically ambitious residential endeavour in the UK – Out and About in Shetland – five days of rehearsals and performances, education and community activities, and workshops and masterclasses across the Islands from Thursday 1 to Monday 5 March 2012. In the Year of Creative Scotland, Out and [...]

Sixteen festivals today (02 February 2011) received a share of over £300,000 to help attract more visitors to Scotland during 2012: the Year of Creative Scotland. The One Step Further investment programme aims to enhance the programmes of existing festivals and events during 2012, with a focus on cultural tourism. Andrew Dixon, Chief Executive of [...]

Locals from the Isle of Skye are in the running to win national Gaelic short film awards after submitting entries in this year’s FilmG competition. FilmG, MG ALBA’s Gaelic online media shorts competition, has announced the short-listed films for this year’s award ceremony which takes place next month at The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow. The area [...]

Bath Festivals is delighted to announce the appointment of Alasdair Nicolson as Artistic Director of Bath International Music Festival.   He will succeed Joanna MacGregor, who delivers her seventh and final festival in 2012. Alasdair will begin working with the Festival from February 2012, delivering his first programme in May 2013. He will be the Artistic Director [...]