Ten great things to do this week.
Yamato Drummers of Japan Empire, Inverness, and Dundee Rep Thurs, Fri
Seen by more than six million people worldwide, Yamato’s performances of Japanese Taiko drumming takes an ancient art and brings it bang up to date in an exhilarating display of expertise and athleticism.
Using their whole bodies to expertly control the rhythms, Yamato leaves audiences exhilarated in this spectacular show.
The sheer strength and dynamic movement of the drummers is as impressive as the music, which is described as having delicate beauty as well as heart-thumping bass power.
Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine, Sunday, May 10
With roots in the Great Lakes State of Michigan, Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys are renowned for instrumental ingenuity, a stunning vocal range and incredible self-penned material that has everyone agreeing they are a bit special.
There’s something to please all tastes in the live show, described as passionate affairs that stir the blood and exhilarate, from bluesy numbers to blistering bluegrass.
This is part of HAC’s Club Americana wing and the final night of the band’s 10-day Scottish tour.
A Royal Night Out Out Friday
May 8, 1945. London is celebrating the end of the war in Europe and two teenage sisters want to be part of it. They are allowed out by their parents to join the party and get back home far too late.
In this romantic comedy (very loosely) based on true events, home is Buckingham Palace and the teenagers are Princess Margaret and the future queen of England, Elizabeth II.
Emily Watson is the Queen Mother, Rupert Everett King George VI and Canadian actress Sarah Gadon plays our future Queen.
The Fureys Berwick’s Maltings, Motherwell; Edinburgh Queens Hall; Inverness Empire; Dunfermline Carnegie Hall; Ayr Gaiety, Tuesday to Sunday
The oldest of the brothers, Eddie, left home in 1966 and travelled to Scotland at the time of the great folk revival where he met and shared accommodation in Edinburgh with the then unknown folk singers Billy Connolly, Gerry Rafferty and Alex Campbell.
Ten years later The Fureys, an Irish all-male folk band, was formed. Now legends of Irish music, their hits include I Will Love You, When You Were Sweet 16, Leaving Nancy and Steal Away.
Jeeves & Wooster Perfect Nonsense King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Monday to Saturday
Join Robert Webb (Peep Show) as the effervescent, aristocratic fool Bertie Wooster and Jason Thorpe (Primeval) as his dutiful valet Jeeves, with Christopher Ryan (The Young Ones, Absolutely Fabulous) as Seppings in this new production featuring PG Wodehouse’s iconic double act.
When a country weekend takes a turn for the worse, Bertie Wooster is unwittingly called on to play matchmaker, but also to steal a silver cow creamer. Naturally, the ever-dependable Jeeves is there to help.
Happy Days Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Friday until May 23
Samuel Beckett’s story centres on Winnie, a tragi-comic heroine who veers between the absurd comedy of her daily rituals and her pitiless battle to face full-blown existential terror.
Winnie (comedian Karen Dunbar) prattles away with dogged optimism to her largely unseen and incommunicative husband, Willie, in an attempt to stave off hysteria.
The role of Winnie has become an iconic one for female performers. The former Chewin’ the Fat star takes on the challenge under the direction of Andy Arnold.
Liz Lochhead Cumbernauld Theatre, Friday
The current Makar (National Poet of Scotland) gives Somethings Old, Somethings New, a retrospective of 45 years of poetry, lyrics, performance pieces, best of revue material and in-character monologues.
From the bittersweet to the raunchy, Liz promises to weave a spellbinding and beguiling show in the intimate Cumbernauld Theatre, mixing poems, monologues and music in a display of the best of her work.
Accompanying her on saxophone will be Steve Kettley.
Ballantrae Food & Drink Festival Carrick, South Ayrshire, Sunday, May 10, 12pm-6pm
Writer, broadcaster and Celebrity MasterChef finalist Kirsty Wark demonstrates her skills at Ballantrae’s first ever Festival of Food & Drink.
The Ayrshire village is celebrating the 2015 Year of Food and Drink in spectacular fashion with pop-up restaurants, tastings, foraging demonstrations and lots of local produce.
The event builds on the village’s successful reputation for farmers’ markets, the Smugglers’ Festival, Ballantrae Gala and craft fairs, and the action will be centred in a large marquee at the harbour.
The Unremarkable Death of Marilyn Monroe Byre Theatre, St Andrews, Tuesday
This is Monroe as we’ve never seen her before alone in her bedroom, in dressing gown and slippers with no glitz or glamour.
Overdosed on pills, the woman behind the icon unravels her remarkable life and bares all revealing a biting intelligence, a frustrated talent and an imperfect body.
This stark confessional from Dyad Productions offers a radical interpretation of the Hollywood legend and leads the audience, in real time, to the very moment of her death.
Mad Max: Fury Road Out Friday
It’s 45 years after the fall of the world. There is no rule of law, no power, no water, no mercy and no Mel Gibson.
The re-launch of Australian filmmaker George Miller’s bleak look at a the future stars British actor Tom Hardy in the role that made Mel’s name.
A war veteran, Max travels the wasteland alone until captured by the War Boys tribe and taken to their lair to be sacrificed.
Escaping this fate, Max teams up with woman-of-action Charlize Theron, who needs help to make it back to her childhood homeland.
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe