Ten Things To Do This Week 26 Jan – 1 Feb

By Ashleigh Gibbs -

It's circus spectacular, spectacular across Scotland.

1. Sing and Dance Into The Night

Musical fans rejoice – Broadway! A Night At The Movies will hit the Dundee Rep with a show-stopping cast of dancers, West End singers, and dazzling choreography from the 27 Jan-1 Feb. Expect songs from all your favourite movie musicals including The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Fame, Dirty Dancing, Singin in the Rain, and a whole lot more!

2. Revisit The World Of Anne Frank

Join storyteller Colin Mackay at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh, for a special event commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27. Reacquaint yourself with teenage writer Anne Frank directly from the pages of her diary. Mackay will be retelling the story and reflecting on what it means for us today.

3. Go Back To The Swinging Sixties

If you relish any opportunity to sing along to The Monkees’ I’m A Believer, worship The Beatles, and can move like Jagger, you might be interested in a nostalgic evening of sixties music at the Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline, on January 30. Counterfeit Sixties is a comprehensive experience featuring all the hits from the era, period clothes and interspersed with video clips.

4. Witness Death-Defying Stunts

Roll up, roll up, for Cirque Berserk, the world’s most dangerous circus act coming to the Gardyn Theatre, Dundee, from the 29-31 January. A troupe of over thirty jugglers, acrobats, aerialists, dancers and musicians will take to the stage for your very entertainment. Laugh along with Tweedy the Clown and be astounded by the death-defying motorcycle routine of the stunt men.

5. Find Edinburgh’s Undercover Market

See Platform 2 of Waverley Railway Station magically transformed into a local market if you pop along on Fridays between 11am-7pm. Independent local makers and designers, ethical organisations and foodies alike bring a real marketplace buzz to this unlikely location.

6. Catch Local Performance Art

Don’t miss alternative art and music showcase Thistles and Fairies at Stonehaven Town Hall on the 31 January from 3pm-1am. Local musicians from Aberdeen to Tayside will be bringing everything from blues to DnB, reggae to down-tempo to the event, which will also include djs, artists and stalls. Featuring Pictish Clan, Ben Collet and The Scares.

7. Keep The Kids Busy!

Take the kids (ages 7-12) along to the Museum of the University of St Andrews to discover their inner Viking this Saturday (31 January.) There’s the opportunity to discover the Vikings’ way of life and design your own longship, as well as an outdoor archaeology activity. Free, but booking essential.

8. Re-imagine Shakespeare

Imagine a Shakespeare classic infused with innovative sound and music. That’s the idea behind the Filter Theatre Company’s radical reinvention of Macbeth at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow. Be sure to catch the production’s final week from now until the 31 January.

9. Enter The Circus Of Horrors

The greatest and most bizarre circus acts on earth will arrive in Stirling on February 1. Britain’s Got Talent finalists, The Circus of Horrors, will bring its apocalyptic vision of a decrepit corpse-ridden London to The Albert Halls. Expect sword swallowers, knife throwers, daredevil balancing acts, fire limboing acrobats – and a demon dwarf!

10. Discover A Legend

Learn the story of one of the greatest singers of the 1980s and 1990s with Songbird: The Music of Eva Cassidy at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal on 31 January. Features a fantastic on-stage live band and video footage.

For lots more ideas about things to do and places to go, pick up a copy of this month’s Scots Magazine. On sale in newsagents and supermarkets now or subscribe by clicking here.