1 THEATRE: PEEPING AT BOSCHMischief La Bas are one of Scotland's most intriguing theatre groups, relatively unknown in their homeland, yet recognised for the past 16 years as creators of some hugely inventive promenade and outd
oor theatre events. This is a taster of an ambitious project to mark the 20th anniversary of Tramway, in collaboration with the National Theatre of Scotland. See feature, page 40
• Tramway, Glasgow, 8pm, 0845 330 3501
2 MUSIC: KT TUNSTALLAhead of her big gig at T in the Park this weekend, the Scottish singer-songwriter plays a special show tonight at an elegant old variety-theatre-turned-cinema-turned-derelict-building in Dunfermline. Former Fringe director Paul Gudgin is leading the campaign to turn the neglected Alhambra, built in 1922, back into a premiere arts venue. Tonight Tunstall, a fellow Fifer, will do her bit to show people it's worth restoring.
• Alhambra, Dunfermline, 7pm, 08444 77 1000
3 THEATRE: THE MERCHANT OF VENICEGlasgow's annual Bard in the Botanics season kicks off with a version of Shakespeare's play set in 1930s Europe, a time when, its director Gordon Barr says, good and evil came sharply into focus. Audiences are advised to bring waterproofs and coffee.
• Botanic Gardens, Glasgow, 7:45pm, 0141-330 5522
4 FILM: THE VISITORAlthough set in present-day New York and dealing directly with the post-11 September, 2001 illegal immigration crackdown, Thomas McCarthy's new film is no groan-worthy issue movie. Instead it's an intensely moving story about a friendship between two illegal immigrants and an economics professor who tries to help them.
• Cinemas nationwide.
5 THEATRE: OUR HOUSEThe distinctive ska-pop sound of Madness is spun out into a musical that gives full expression to the values behind the group's songs, a mixture of streetwise cynicism and underlying romanticism. The result is gem of a show, with bold echoes of Willy Russell's iconic working class musical Blood Brothers.
• Playhouse, Edinburgh, 7:30pm, 0870 606 3424
6 MUSIC: THE BLUE NILEWith new live dates this week, and Paul Buchanan, above, also working on a show for the National Theatre of Scotland in August, the Blue Nile are in danger of looking almost prolific. What's come over them? Don't get your hopes up for new songs though. It'll be at least five or six more years until the next album, surely.
• Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 7:30pm, 0141-353 8000
7 THEATRE: ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLANDJuly is Scotland's month for outdoor theatre, with Glasgow's Bard in the Botanics festival in full swing, and London's Globe Theatre company on tour. Tonight, a National Trust for Scotland venue provides the location for a Lewis Carroll classic.
• Holmwood House, Cathcart, 7pm, 0141-6166410
8 MUSIC: HAR MAR SUPERSTARShort, balding, rotund, and hairy in all the wrong places, Har Mar Superstar is a preposterous sex symbol, but that's the point of the joke. The fact he's still playing small venues suggests the joke is not as funny as it could be, but his funked-up love god schtick is very endearing.
• Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, 11pm, 0131-220 6176
9 VISUAL ART: ALTERED STATES OF PAINTDCA's ambitious new exhibition is named after Altered States, Ken Russell's film about a man who conducts extreme sensory experiments. The show aims to challenge preconceptions about what can be done with paint.
• Dundee Contemporary Arts, 10:30am-5:30pm, 01382 909900
10 MUSIC: COME ON GANG!Energetic and melodic punk pop from a fast-rising Edinburgh trio, formed at art school only a year ago and now launching their debut single, Wheels, with a gig at the capital's weekly live music night, Limbo. You can catch the band again at T in the Park on Sunday.
• Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, 8pm, 0131-556 7060
The full article contains 651 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
