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Playing the strings of the heart, looking through the windows of the soul

Barbara Dickson
Barbara Dickson

Barbara Dickson with Nick Holland, Memorial Hall, Lanark, tonight, Buccleuch Centre, Langholm, Thursday and The Brunton, Musselburgh, Friday

We adore Barbara, right. She’s one of the greatest Scottish singers, and proper gallus too. Performing with Nick Holland on piano, these dates offer the chance to hear that voice in an acoustic setting. There will be folk tunes performed. And a few of her big hits too.

 

Sudan Archives, SWG3,

Glasgow, tomorrow

American violinist and singer Brittney Denise Parks, above, aka Sudan Archives, comes to Glasgow to promote her new album, Natural Brown Prom Queen, which takes in and takes on hip-hop, Afrobeat, R&B and contemporary club sounds. As she says: “In so many places in the world the violin brings the party.” This gig should be proof.

Snow Queen, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, from today until December 10

Scottish Ballet revives its adaptation of the classic Hans Christian Anderson tale, last seen in 2019, to get you in the mood for the festive season. Choreographed by Christopher Hampson and designed by Lez Brotherston, and accompanied by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra playing the music of Rimsky-Korsakov, this spectacular production offers a glittering fairy tale for audiences of all ages.

 

An Evening with Monty Don, Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Monday

The broadcaster, writer and gardener is in the capital to talk about his own horticultural history and life presenting Gardeners’ World on the BBC. Much more fun than sweeping up the falling leaves surely?

Jason Manford, P&J Live, Aberdeen, tonight, Falkirk Town Hall, tomorrow, Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, Monday and Perth Concert Hall, Tuesday

Tickets may be at a premium, but Jason Manford, below, is in Scotland this weekend and beyond with his ever-reliable brand of old-school observational stand-up. For anyone who didn’t snag tickets for Peter Kay, a night out watching Mr Manford might offer some compensation.

 

Glass Onion, cinemas from Wednesday

Rian Johnson’s sequel to Knives Out sends detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to Greece for another adventure. He’s invited to a private island owned by a tech billionaire, along with a motley mixture of characters played by the likes of Janelle Monae, Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista. There will be a murder, of course.

The film will be available on Netflix as a Christmas treat from December 23, but if you want to see terrible people doing terrible things in beautiful surroundings on the big screen, here’s your chance.

 

Manuel Solano: The Top of Each Ripple, DCA, Dundee, closes tomorrow

This weekend marks the last chance to catch the Berlin-based Mexican artist Manuel Solano’s solo exhibition at the DCA. Concerned with themes of identity, the transgender artist’s work draws on childhood and pop culture.

The vibrant colour and sense of control in Solano’s work (as seen in the 2018 painting Oronda) is all the more remarkable given that the artist has been blind from the age of 26 as a result of an HIV-related illness.