Stirling Entertainments: 10th – 16th Nov

Swan Lake – Albert Halls, 12^th November

The Rudolf Nureyev Russian State Ballet Academy will be appearing at the Albert Halls on Friday night with their production of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake”.

Swan Lake is the story of a Prince and two girls, Odette and Odile, who are so similar in appearance that they are easily mistaken for each other.  Prince Seigfried has just come of age and his mother has told him it’s time to choose a wife, which he’ll have to do at a lavish party.  The night before, he and his friends go hunting and just as he’s about to shoot a swan, it transforms into a beautiful woman named Odette.  She explains that she’s been cursed to be a swan by day and a woman by night, with the only hope of a release being marriage.  The Prince falls in love and vows to help.  At the party the next night, Odile appears and the Prince is so convinced it’s Odette that he proposes.  I’m not going to give away the rest of the plot in case you’ve not seen the show, but by the final curtain you’ll either love it or be thoroughly depressed.

The Ballet Academy is named after the legendary dancer who was the permanent partner of Margot Fonteyn and arguably one of the best dancers of the twentieth century.  His legacy lives on in the academy, which trains some of the best dancers in the world.

“Swan Lake” is considered by many to be the greatest ballet of all time and, with exceptional choreography and elegant dancers, this should be an excellent night out.

Tickets, priced £17.50, are available from the box office on 01786 473544.  The show starts at 7.30pm.

Let’s Hang On – Albert halls, 13^th November

The music of Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons is currently wowing audiences in the West End of London, but its not the only show telling the story of the band.  “Let’s Hang On” is another and it’s coming to the Albert Halls on Saturday night (13^th).

The show promises the full story of the blue collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks who wrote their own songs, invented their own sound and took the world by storm all before they were thirty years old.

In the first part of the show you’ll be taken back to the early fifties, when Frankie first joined the group along with Bob Gaudio, still recognised today as one of the greatest song writers of all time.  The singers will also attempt something rarely seen in a tribute show:  they’re going to recreate the accapella singing that The Four Seasons are so famous for.

In the second part of the show, it’s simply party time with all of the hits from the seventies that filled the disco dancefloors of the time, including Dec 63, Grease, You Loves You and more.

It sounds like a fun show.  Tickets, priced £16, are available from the box office on 01786 473544.

New Films – MacRobert Cinema (12^th – 16^th Nov)

This week at the MacRobert cinema you can see “Made IN Dagenham”, “Warren Miller’s Wintervention”, “Despicable Me”, and “Skeletons”.

“Made In Dagenham” is directed by “Calendar Girls” Nigel Cole and has an all star British cast including Bob Hoskins.  Sally Hawkins is Rita O’Grady, a worker at the Ford Dagenham plant in 1968.  When she and her female coworkers are reclassified as “unskilled”, it’s the final straw for the women who work in extremely impoverished conditions for long, arduous hours with little pay.  With humour, common sense and courage, the women take on their bosses, the community and finally the government and their efforts led to the advent of the Equal Pay Act.

Warren Miller’s Wintervention is more than just a film, its part of a roadshow showcasing the best snowboarding and skiing places in the world and some of the top sportsmen who use them.  From Argentina to Antarctica, the skiers and snowboarders travel the world looking for the last untouched descents in the world.  The MacRobert’s Markus Stitz says, “far more than just a regular screening, Warren Miller’s 61^st nationwide ski and snowboard road show will give every filmgoer who attends a free goodie bad and a place in a draw to win prizes ranging from ski jackets to rucksacks.

“Despicable Me” is an animated adventure about Gru, a man planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He’s going to steal the moon.  Armed with an arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays and battle ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way.  Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has eve seen, a potential dad.

“Skeletons” won the “Best British Film” award at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival.  It’s a dark comedy about two exorcists who literally remove the skeletons from the cupboards of people’s homes and come across some fairly embarrassing secrets along the way.

For more information on films showing at the MacRobert, contact the box office on 01786 466666.

Stirling Observer Entertainments 3rd – 9th Nov

For ten years Chris Kane has kept readers of his local newspaper, the Stirling Observer, up to date with what’s happening in theatre, films, music and more across the city.  Published in the paper on Wednesday, you’ll get a sneak preview of the column every Monday from 3pm here on the Bee Herd website.

John Etheridge

On Saturday night the Tolbooth welcomes one of the world’s most respected guitarists to the stage.  John Etheridge promise an evening of uplifting blues, jazz, rock and folk with a helping of African grooves thrown in for good measures.

John was the guitarist for the celebrated jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli and has also performed with the likes of Soft Machine, Pat Metheny, Andy Summers, Nigel Kennedy and John Williams.

He’ll be joined on stage by Kit Holmes, a musician once described as “Macy Gray meets Nick Drake”.  Her trademark sultry vocals and virtuoso guitar playing have wowed audiences across the UK.

The event will be preceded by a guitar workshop where John and Kit will be giving a masterclass in their techniques.  It’s a workshop that will suit beginners right through to more experienced guitar players;  as long as you are older than ten, John and Kit would love to see you there.

Tickets for the show are £12 each (and £8 for the workshop).  For more information, contact the box office on 01786 274000.

Norma and Eliza

Mother and daughter folk duo Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy will be stopping off at the Tolbooth next Tuesday night (9^th Nov).

With their rich, distinctive and authentic voices, Norma and Eliza have effortlessly engaged new audiences and admirers across two generations.  Between them, they have three Mercury Prize nominations and have both been presented with BBC Folk Singer of the year award;  Norma in 2001, Eliza in 2003.

Although they have recorded together on many occasions over the years, one has always been a guest on the other’s solo albums.  This time they are touring to promote their first joint album, “the Gift”.  They’ll be performing tracks from the album alongside a six piece band which includes Martin Carthy, and the Tolbooth gig is their only Scottish appearance on their current tour.

The Tolbooth’s Eddie White says, “they will be performing traditional classics as well as some unexpected gems.  Norma and Eliza bring all these songs to life, no matter what the origin, with their wonderfully versatile and compassionate voices.

Prior to the gig Norma and Eliza will be giving a talk about making their new CD, working as mother and daughter, their family’s own traditions and the wider music traditions which influence their work.

Tickets for the show, priced £14, are available from the box office on 01786 274000.

Baby Loves Disco

This Sunday (7^th), parents and toddlers will have another chance to take part in the baby nightclub experience that’s taking the country by storm.  “Baby Loves Disco” has developed a huge reputation since its founders took the concept onto the television show Dragon’s Den, convinced the dragons that is was a great business idea and then turned down the investment that was offered.

Imagine a proper adult nightclub experience.  Now take away the alcohol, move it to the afternoon and keep the DJ but tone down the playlist.  Now here’s the scary bit for those without children;  fill the dancefloor with dozens and dozens of pre-school kids all running about screaming and having fun.  Imagine Fat Boy Slim at the toddler group.

Then add in bubble machines, baskets of instruments, a chill out room with tents, books and puzzles and a full spread of healthy snacks.  Hell for some, but for parents and toddlers, a really good afternoon out.

The MacRobert’s Markus Stitz says, “for this particular event, Baby Loves Disco has teamed up with charity “Tommy’s” and are asking all junior groovers to take part in a national dance-athon to help raise money for Tommy’s vital research into pregnancy complications.  As young ones take to the floor, judges will be looking on to make the tricky decision of who should go through to the final selection.  The overall winner decided on by a panel of judges from Baby Lvoes Disco, Tommy’s and Practical Parenting magazine will be crowned Britain’s Best Little Dance and win a family weekend break as well.”

To book tickets, then contact the MacRobert Theatre on 01786 466666.  The event starts at 1pm.

New Films

This week at the MacRobert cinema you can see “the Illusionist”, “Tamara Drewe”, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”, “Alpha and Omega” and “Samson and Delilah”.

“The Illusionist” is the animated adventure that opened this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival to critical acclaim.  It’s an old-style, hand drawn animation that brings to life scenes from Scotland in the 1950s.  A semi silent movie, with rudimentary mumbled fragments of dialogue, it tells the story of an old fashioned variety act conjuror who travels all the way from France to Scotland and teams up with a country girl to perform magic.  However, when he gets to Edinburgh, the illusionist becomes disillusioned, but manages to perform an true act of human magic.  The film is showing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“Tamara Drewe” is the latest movie from Steven Frears.  The title character is a young lady who arrives back at the village of her youth and turns the lives of the locals upside down. Tamara was once an ugly duckling but has been transformed into a devastating beauty.  As infatuations, jealousies, love affairs and career ambitions collide among the villagers, Tamara sets out getting her own way using a bit of good old fashioned sex appeal.  The film is showing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” is a live action adaptation of Jeff Kinney’s illustrated novel about a wise cracking sixth grade student who hates being at school.  It’s a place rigged with hundreds of social landmines, not the least of which are morons, wedgies, swirlies, bullies and lunch trays that are always swiped onto the floor.  To survive the never ending ordeal and try to get the recognition and status he feels he deserves, Greg devises a series of plots to make himself popular, with all of them failing miserably.  The film is showing on Saturday and Sunday.

For families on Monday and Tuesday you can see animated adventure “Alpha and Omega”.  It’s the story of two mismatched wolves who are thrown together when they are taken by park rangers from their home in Canada and relocated to Idaho.  A race against time ensues to ensure Kate gets back home in timer for her arranged marriage to Garth, an alpha wolf from a rival pack, to maintain peaces between all the wolves.

Also on Monday and Tuesday is “Samson and Deliah”, a love story with a difference.  It deals with life on a remote Australian community and the ways in which one young couple try to escape from their mundane existence.  When tragedy strikes their isolated Aboriginal community, they turn their backs on home and embark on a journey of survival. Lost and unwanted and alone, they discover that life isn’t always fair, but love never judges.

For more information on films showing at the MacRobert, contact the box office on 01786 466666.

For information on films showing at the Vue cinema, log onto www.myvue.com

Stirling Observer Entertainments

For ten years Chris Kane has kept readers of his local newspaper, the Stirling Observer, up to date with what’s happening in theatre, films, music and more across the city.  Published in the paper on Wednesday, you’ll get a sneak preview of the column every Monday from 3pm here on the Bee Herd website.

Chilli Pipers (28th Oct)

The Red Hot Chilli Pipers are one of the most famous pipe and drum groups in the world and they’ll be on stage at the Albert Halls tomorrow night (Thu) at 7.30pm.  They are winners of the BBC One show “When Will I Be Famous” with a blistering set of rock bagpipes that astounded viewers and critics. They’ve performed all over the world at huge events, from A list celebrity parties to T in the Park and the Chang Mai Rock Festival.

The Albert Halls Eddie White says, “With three graduates from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in the band, they put a whole new spin on the bagpipes and take the music to a new audience.  They strode dramatically on stage at a recent gig to the strains of Also Sprach Zarathustra, before lunging into Crooked Bridge, black kilts swaying to the beat of not one, but three world class drummers.  It would be fair to say that it wouldn’t matter where the pipers played, they don’t seem capable of giving any less than 110 per cent.”

Tickets, priced £17.50, are available from the box office on 01786 473544.

Wrestlution IV (29th Oct)

The World Wide Wrestling League’s biggest annual event is coming to Stirling on Friday night, with “Wrestlution IV” promising a night of American style professional wrestling and great fun for all the family.

The big event will be the championship match between current Champion James “Darkside” Scott, back in action after a car accident put him out of commission nearly a year ago.  He’ll be wrestling Irishman Damian O’Connor for the League’s Heavyweight belt.

There’s a grudge match between former champions Mike Musso and David Paris.  The match will see them compete under the “Last Man Standing” rules;  the match will only end when one wrestler is knocked down and can’t answer the referee’s 10 count.

There’s women’s action as well as Nikki Storm will face Miss Viper to crown a new league Woman’s Champion.  The Tag Team event will see current champions Freddy Da Funk and Magic Mackie defend their title against a pair of mystery challengers who have insisted will not reveal their identity until match time.

A throwback to older fans will see the British League Championship being defended by Jack Jester against Adam Shame.  The British Rules competition is contested in six five minute rounds with the winner requiring 2 falls, 2 submissions or a knock out:  just like the wrestling that was on your televisions back in the 1970s.

Tickets for the event are £12 (or £35 for a family of four), with doors opening at 6.30pm.   Contact the box office on 01786 473544 for more information.

Notes From The Edge (29th Oct)

On Friday 29^th October, “Notes From The Edge” will be performing at the Tolbooth.  The band consists of a group of adults recovering from mental health issues that meet weekly at Artlink Central with musician Dee Faulds to compose and develop their own songwriting and performing skills.  The group have been together for several years and have performed live at a variety of gigs supporting mental well being.

Supporting them will be local groups “Created from Silence” and “Little Eskimos”, along with Northampton based folk pop group “My First Tooth”.

Tickets are £5 each and available from the box office on 01786 274000.

Author Paul Henke Book Signing (30th Oct)

Local author Paul Henke will be signing copies of his latest book at the McClintock Hall in Balfrton on Saturday (10am).  He’ll be there as part of the West Stirlingshire Friends of Strathcarron Hospice’s Christmas Fayre.  At the event will be around twenty stallholders selling everything from hand crafts to seasonal gifts and Christmas cards.

Paul’s life is as action packed as the adventures he creates on paper. The son of an immigrant coal miner, Paul joined the navy and went on to become a mine and bomb disposal Officer. He and his team were responsible for tracking and detonating underwater explosives left adrift after the Second World War. He served with Prince Charles, commanded a minesweeping ship, and survived a machine gun attack by IRA gun runners in the 1970s.

As an author, Paul is equally at home writing sweeping family epics as he is fast paced action heroes. His “Million Tears” saga spans four novels and tells the story of the Griffith family, from their humble beginnings in a poor Welsh mining village to their pivotal role in some of the Twentieth Century’s most critical moments. His “Nick Hunter” novels have created a daring hero whose work for the fictional “International Force Against Terrorism” puts him up there with the best from Ian Fleming, Jack Higgins, Clive Cussler and more.

The event runs from 10am until 3pm.  Admission is £2, but that includes a cup of coffee and some home baking.  For more information on Paul Henke, log onto www.henke.co.uk

Dracula (30th & 31st Oct)

It’s Halloween on Sunday night, but if you’re too old to go around the neighbours houses telling bad jokes for chocolate, you might enjoy seeing a spooky theatrical production at the Albert Halls.

The multi award winning “Sell a Door” Theatre Company will be performing Liz Lochhead’s adaption of Dracula, based on the novel by Bram Stoker.  It’s been twenty five years since the play was first performed and Sell a Door have been touring Scotland with it for the last couple of weeks, culminating in this weekend’s performances in Stirling.

In the Spring of 1893, Jonathan Harker, a young English solicitor, visits Castle Dracula in Transylvania for what he believes to be a routine deal with the nobleman Count Dracula.  Harker soon realises that he is not a visitor at all, instead a prisoner to the deadly Dracula, who sets off to find Mina, Harker’s fiancée, and her sister Lucy.  The more Harker investigates his confinement, the more he fears his deadly captor.  He has to find a way to stop the evil Count before he unleashes his supernatural powers on his first victim.

Although Dracula is one of the most famous fictional characters ever, his story as told in the novel is strangely not so well known.  It’s a tragic tale of power and redemptive love where the lines between the sane and the insane become dangerously vague.

Tickets, priced £10, are available from the box office on 01786 473544.

Reloaded 2 (30th Oct)

The Tolbooth’s regular event for up and coming bands, Reloaded 2, is back at the top of the town venue for another month on 30^th October (Saturday).  On the bill will be “Colin James Murphy & The Conspiracy”, supported by “Dorian” and “Date”.

Colin James Murphy is a Denny based singer/songwriter who has appeared at Reloaded in the past as a solo artist, but for this gig he’s stepped it up a gear and assembled a new band.  Event organiser Steven Hume says, “Colin has kept his acoustic guitar and soulful melodies for the full band project which will no doubt live up to the high standards set as part of his solo act.  Colin has been involved in bands in the past however, so he knows how to handle the pressure of fronting a larger outfit”.

“Dorian” are back at the Tolbooth after a slot at last month’s Reloaded Fest.  This three piece band have put in shifts supporting The Futureheads, Johnny Foreigner, Dead Meadow and Youth Movies.

Completing the lineup is new band “Date”.  They’re from Wallace High School and have had a number of name changes over the past year, but have now settled down are starting to get into their own stride.  The band played an impressive gig at the Edinburgh Fringe in August and have previously been on stage at Reloaded.

Doors open for the event at 7pm and tickets are £6.  Contact the box office on 01786 274000 for more information.

New Films

This week at the MacRobert cinema you can see “The Girl Who Played With Fire”, “Love Actually”, “Alpha & Omega” and “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”.

“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” is the first part of Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium” trilogy.  Suspecting his niece’s death was not an accident but in fact a murder by one of his own family, millionaire Henrik Vanger employs journalist Mikhael Blomvkist and computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate.  The film is showing on Saturday.

“The Girl Who Played With Fire” is the second instalment in the Millennium trilogy and its being shown from Friday until Tuesday at various time.  While Lisbeth and Mikael are investigating a sex trafficking ring, Lisbeth is accused of three murders, causing her to go on the run while Mikael works to clear her name.

Friday (29^th) is Breast Cancer Awareness Day, so the MacRobert is joining in with the campaign’s pink theme by showing chick flick “Love Actually” and selling pink gin and pink cup cakes at the bar.

For families on Saturday and Sunday afternoon you can see animated adventure “Alpha and Omega”.  It’s the story of two mismatched wolves who are thrown together when they are taken by park rangers from their home in Canada and relocated to Idaho.  A race against time ensues to ensure Kate gets back home in timer for her arranged marriage to Garth, an alpha wolf from a rival pack, to maintain peaces between all the wolves.

For more information on films showing at the MacRobert, telephone the box office on 01786 466666 or log onto www.macrobert.org.

For information on films showing at the Vue cinema, log onto www.myvue.com

Stirling Observer Entertainments

For ten years Chris Kane has kept readers of his local newspaper, the Stirling Observer, up to date with what’s happening in theatre, films, music and more across the city.  Published in the paper on Wednesday, you’ll get a sneak preview of the column every Monday from 3pm here on the Bee Herd website.

Michael McGoldrick (20th Oct)

Regarded by his peers as one of the greatest flute players of modern times, Michael McGoldrick will be bringing his distinct sound to the Tolbooth tonight (Wednesday).

Michael probably best known as being part of the Gaelic supergroup Cappercaillie, but his also been a founder member of bands such as “Flook” and “Toss the Feathers”.  He’s collaborated with the likes of John Cale and Youssou N’Dour and is one of the most in demand musicians in the UK today.

On tour for the first time since the release of his album “Aurora”, Michael will be performing with fellow musicians Colin Farell and Tony Byrne.

Michael’s distinctive crossover of traditional Irish music to modern day music has won him many followers and awards, including All-Ireland champion and musician of the year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

The Tolbooth’s Eddie White says, “A master of flute, whistles and uillean pipes, Michael McGoldrick has been a regular visitor at the Tolbooth over the last couple of years and never fails to deliver a fantastic performance.  His live shows are truly special, allowing audience to enjoy the sheer energy as well as subtlety of his music”.

Tickets, priced £12, are available from the box office on 01786 274000.

The Tobacco Merchant’s Lawyer (20th Oct)

Tonight (20^th) you can see the play “The Tobacco Merchant’s Lawyer” at the MacRobert theatre.  Written by Iain Heggie and starring Benny Young, it’s a satirical play that comes to Scotland fresh from a sell out run in London.

It’s set in Glasgow in 1780, when the city was a booming part of the worldwide tobacco trade.  In 1780 most of the tobacco came from America, but with the war of independence looming, there was a great deal of worry that Glasgow’s economy would be ruined.

However, that’s all background to the story because the main character has much more pressing issues to worry about.  Enoch Dalmellington lives in Virginia Street and is much more concerned about marrying off his pious and humourless daughter Euphemia an being able to afford his pew at the Tron Kirk.  He’s also concerned about a worrying vision of the future he’s been given by the enigmatic Mistress Zapata, who thinks that in Glasgow in 2010 women will be attending university, the poor will have water closets and worst of all, smoking will be banned in all public places.

Tickets for the play, priced £12, are available from the box office on 01786 466666.

Heidi Talbot (21st Oct)

Folk musician Heidi Talbot will be in concert at the Tolbooth tomorrow night (Thursday).  Having cut her teeth as lead singer of the Irish American all female group “Cherish The Ladies”, Heidi is right at home with both Irish traditional and Roots music.

She’s been described as a cross between Bjork and Enya;  a startling enough combination to make me want to find out more!  When not on tour, Heidi is in demand as a recording artist, recently singing on songs by Idlewild, Eddie Reader and Kris Drever.  Her album “In Love and Light” won an Indie Acoustic Award for “Best Album” and this year Heidi has been nominated for “Best Female Vocalist” at the Irish Music Awards.

If you’re a fan of the music of Karine Polwart or Eddie Reader, you’ll probably enjoy Heidi’s concert.  Tickets, priced £10, are available from the Tolbooth box office on 01786 274000.

Gilded Balloon Comedy Club (22nd Oct)

The Gilded Balloon Comedy Club will be at the Tolbooth on Friday night, with three top comedians all appearing on the bill:  Bruce Morton, Elvis McGonagall and JoJo Sutherland.

Bruce Morton is an acclaimed Scotish comic, storyteller and social commentator as well as founder of the Funny Farm Comedy Collective.  The milestones of his career so far include a Perrier nomination, two UK tours and a critically acclaimed one man show called “Blood Below the Window”.

JoJo Sutherland is the charismatic mother of four from South Queensferry who swapped places and partners with Dawn from Doncaster in a recent series of “Wife Swap”.  Her experiences on the show along with her “healthy neglect” approach to parenting feature throughout her routine, interspersed with everyday grievances and motherly advice all delivered with hysterical results.   JoJo is also an accomplished actress, frequently appearing on stage with her own theatre company and on radio and television.

Elvis McGonagall doesn’t use the term “comedian” to describe himself, preferring instead “stand-up poety, armchair revolutionary, recumbent rocker and the sole resident of the Graceland Caravan Park somewhere near Dundee”.

Tickets for the show, priced £14, are available from the box office on 01786 274000.

Jazz Orchestra (23rd Oct)

On Saturday night (23^rd), the excellent Tommy Smith Jazz Orchestra will be performing at the Tolbooth, featuring some of the best and brightest young Scottish musicians.  Under Tommy’s unassuming leadership, musicians, some of them as young as twelve, have been encouraged, nurtured and directed into a highly disciplined, superbly creative unit where their personalities are allowed to develop and shine.

If you like jazz in the style of the best big bands and singers of the 1940s and 1950s, then you’ll very much enjoy this performance.  Every concert features the ensemble working as a well practiced and very polished group, but then many of the musicians get a chance to shine with compositions that showcase their individual instruments.

Tickets, priced £7, are available from the box office on 01786 274000.  Under sixteens, although still requiring a ticket, get in for free.

Kids shows (23rd Oct)

There are a couple of nice sounding family shows at the MacRobert this weekend:  “We Dance, Wee Grove” on Friday and Saturday;  and “La Pelota Magica” on Saturday.

“We Dance, Wee Grove” is a great way to get the very young to engage with music, movement and the fun that comes with dancing to a beat.  The dancers, some of Scotland’s finest choreographic talent, will help parents and kids get physical and explore the dance floor.  Whether that’s wiggling, waddling, crawling, rolling, jumping, jiggling or running around, it doesn’t matter;  the show is about using your imagination, joining in and having fun.  Colourful, ambient lighting and moving images will help create a multi-seonsory experience for everybody.   Tickets for the shows, which are on Friday at 10:30am and 1:30pm and on Saturday at 11am and 2pm, are £8 each.

“La Pelota Magica” is an enchanting Argentinean story told in basic Spanish for kids aged six – ten.  Don’t let the language put you off;  my three year old daughter knows a lot of simple Spanish purely from watching “Dora the Explorer”.  The show is about brother and sister Luis and Natalia who are playing in the foothills of the Andes.  The see a beautiful, shimmering ball and chase after it.  However, the ball belongs to the cold eyed witch of the mountains who uses magic to trap Natalia.  Seeking help from the wise old man Atahualpa, Luis has to rescue his sister.  The story is told through puppets, actors and live music.  Tickets are £6 eacfh and the show is on Saturday at 3pm and 6pm.

For further information, contact the MacRobert box office on 01786 466666.

New Films

This week at the MacRobert cinema you can see “When Did You Last See Your Father”, “The A-Team”, “The Last Song”, “Girl With A Pearl Earring” and “Villa Amalia”.

“When Did You Last See Your Father” is showing on Saturday and Sunday.  Starring Colin Firth and Jim Broadbent, it’s the story of a difficult relationship between a father and a son.  When Blake (Firth) finds out that his dad (Broadbent) has terminal cancer, he returns home and is faced with painful memories of the past but tries to put them to one side in order to reconnect with his father before it’s too late.

“The A-Team” is the long planned film version of the cult 1980s show that I remember fondly from Saturday tea-times.  As the original cast are either dead or getting a little too old for the action roles, it’s up to Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton Jackson and Sharlto Copley to bring to life Hannibal, Face, BA and Murdoch.

“The Last Song” starts Miley Cyrus and Greg Kinnear.  Ronnie (Cyrus) and her father (Kinnear) are estranged but he’s keen to get their relationship back on track, so he chooses the one thing they have in common – music.

“The Girl With a Pearl Earring” is a speculative account of the life of Griet, the sixteen year old who appears in Johannes Vermeer’s painting that gives the film its title.  Set in 17^th century Holland, Griet is employed by Vermeer as a housemaid to care for his six children, his jealous pregnant wife and his uncommunicative mother in law.  Tensions rise when Vermeer’s wife suspects her husband is getting a little too close to his housemaid.

“Villa Amalia”is a French film about Ann, a musician whose life is turned upside down when she sees her partner kissing another woman. She makes a clean break and sets off on a voyage of discover to an island where the Villa Amalia stands.

For more information on films showing at the MacRobert, contact the box office on 01786 466666.

For information on films showing at the Vue cinema, log onto www.myvue.com

Stirling Observer Entertainments

For ten years Chris Kane has kept readers of his local newspaper, the Stirling Observer, up to date with what’s happening in theatre, films, music and more across the city.  Published in the paper on Wednesday, you’ll get a sneak preview of the column every Monday from 3pm here on the Bee Herd website.

13th – 20th October

Le Weekend (654 words)

Le Weekend, Stirling’s annual music festival dedicated to the more unusual and diverse styles found around the world is back for the thirteenth year, with everything kicking off on Thursday night.  There are twenty five events over four days, by far the biggest programme ever attempted;  which in itself is fitting, because this will be the last ever “Le Weekend”.

Tolbooth Artistic Director Alasdair Campbell says, “All things must pass.  For thirteen years Le Weekend has brought a mind boggling array of musical mayhem to Stirling and this year its last breath will be drawn on Sunday night.  But like most beasts of bewildering spirit, we hope that what Le Weekend stated all these years ago will live on in something new in the years ahead”.

Thursday’s opening events included “Critical Mass”, “Ben Frost” and the “Sten Sandell Hammond Organ Trio”.  “Critical Mass” are Agusti Fernandez and Mats Gustafsson.  Best known for his band “The Thing”, Mats has been a regular at Le Weekend over the years.  He’ll be joined on stage by Agusti on the piano, with both showing exactly what their respective instruments are capable off.  Ben Frost is a musician who tries to make his music invoke the landscapes of Iceland where he lives.  He strips everything bare to leave a haunting, minimalist sound.  Sten Sandell should be an interesting event;  one Hammond Organ can be fun for a while;  three should therefore be three times the fun.  For a while.

On Friday you can see Bill Wells and Stefan Schneider, Andreas Soderstrom and Murcof.  The Tolbooth’s Alasdair Campbell says, “Bill Wells continues to create some of the most beautiful music produced anywhere, the only crime is that it is not recognised more universally as such, despite being so prolific.  Andreas Soderstrom’s music is a carefully crafted melange of acoustic sound and awkward melody.  His music swells out of a Scandinavian pop/folk/contemporary scene and brings sheer beauty back on to the spectrum.  As for Mrcof, it’s great to have him at the festival for the first time.  The band explores the forms and timbres of the classical tradition through digital means.

On Saturday, highlights include Peter Nicholson, Marilyn Crispell and Raymond MacDonald, Tetuzi Akiyama and Chris Forsyth, and Tarwater.  ON Marily Crispell and Raymond MacDonald, Alasdair Campbell says, “From works like Gaia and Labyrinths in the mid 1980s, to working with Braxton in his classic quartet, or her sumptuous interpretations of Annette Peacock’s music with an equally brilliant trio, to her present day explorations of the possibilities in music, Marilyn’s unquenchable brilliance is a testimony to her enduring spirit.  A spirit that is recognised and continued by Scotland’s own Raymond MacDonald.  His adventures in modern music are unmatched on the UK improvisation scene.

Sunday’s highlights included John Butcher and Gerry Hemingway, and Faust.  Faust bring down the curtain on the final Le Weekend and Alasdair says, “we bring to a close thirteen years of the Le Weekend journey with a very apt performance from a band who in some way encapsulate the Le Weekend spirit.  Inventors of Krautrock, iconoclasts extraordinaire, Faust are key figures in 20^th century music.  In the early 1970s, along with Can and Kraftwerk, they reinvented pop music as a specifically European art form”.

I’ve grown to like Le Weekend, but back in the early days I found it be experimental to the point of being inaccessible to many people.  However, the lineup has softened over the years and, although definitely not mainstream, its gritty and challenging performances push us to consider musical styles we would rarely hear anywhere else.  I remember being a little horrified when it was announced that Le Weekend would be back for a second year.  More than a decade later, I’m more than a little sad to see it go.

For a full line up of events and to book tickets, log onto www.leweekendfestival.com or call the Tolbooth box office on 01786 274000.

Horse

The wonderfully named, superbly talented “Horse” will be performing at the MacRobert theatre on Saturday night.  A musician all of her life, her career has spanned three decades, many albums, hundreds of live appearances and the inevitable ups and downs of life in the creative spotlight. She has performed alongside artists as diverse as Tina Turner, Robbie Williams, Burt Bacharach, Sir Ian McKellen, Lesley Garrett, the Pet Shop Boys, All Saints, Culture Club and Erasure.  I could go on, but it would be like writing the index page of the Guiness Book of Hit Singles.

Her latest album is called “Coming Up for Air” and Horse will be performing songs from it (along with the classics) at the concert.  The album started from a sad place, with various bereavements for Horse, family and friends giving the creative beginning.  The songs are of her experience through this sad time, her sense of loss and not being able to say goodbye.  However, that’s not all the album has to offer; there are also songs about jealousy, lust, hope and uplifting moments of fun.

The MacRobert’s Markus Stitz says, “Horse makes a welcome return to the MacRobert stage as part of her Autumn 2010 tour.  Don’t miss the chance to enjoy a selection of songs old and new, from her back catalogue covering the phenomenal twenty years since the release of her debut album “The Same Sky, right up to songs from her new album.  The concert is a chance for those familiar with her work to relive their own memories, and for new audiences to experience the range of emotions and beautifully crafted songs Horse performs.

Tickets for the concert, priced £15, are available from the box office on 01786 466666.

Scottish National Jazz Orchestra

The excellent Scottish National Jazz Orchestra will be performing at the MacRobert Theatre on Sunday night.  If you like jazz music, these musicians are some of the finest performing anywhere today and are always worth a listen.

For this performance, they’ve teamed up with the outstanding double bassist and ECM recording star Arild Anderson.  The programme features pieces from a wide range of composers, including Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Jan Garbarek and Kenny Wheller, all played with passion, vigour, sensitivity and colour.

I find the SNJO to be one of the best ways to introduce the entire family to jazz music and these concerts are always great fun and good value for money. Tickets for what is sure to be a popular event are £15 each and available from the box office on 01786 466666.

The Bookie

Cumbernauld Theatre Company will be making the short trip along the M80 to the MacRobert Theatre next Tuesday (19^th), when they will be performing Douglas Maxwell’s play “The Bookie”.

The story is set in the fictional town of Quarry, a quiet seaside town until Saturday night when it becomes a destination for Stags, Hens and dangerous divorcees.  Bookie Stevie McGee’s life isn’t the best;  his love life is in tatters, his car is falling apart and his patter is pretty poor.  He’s going nowhere until Jonathon Queen comes back to town.  He’s a self made man with self made plans and a hundred scores to settle.  And to make Stevie’s life even worse, Jonathon is planning on building a big casino in the centre of town.

“The Bookie” is a new musical which, I’m told, combines the glitz and glamour of Vegas with a Scottish seaside town.  The mind boggles.  Tickets, priced £12, are available from the box office on 01786 466666.

Art Attack

Just in time for the October break, CBeebies television presenter Mike Amatt will be bringing his wacky but artful stage show to the Albert Halls on Sunday afternoon.

Mike has been a regular children’s presenter sicne creating his first television show in the 1980s;  since then he’s been a Playschool presenter and hosted a multitude of art based shows.  This will be an interactive show, with lots of opportunities for kids to join Mike on stage and show of their artistic skills.  Amongst other things, Mike has a spooky ghost story which he tells while painting a haunted castle with ultra violet paint.  He’s got plenty of lollipops to give away and at one point in the show he’ll have six kids on stage playing rock guitars.

Mike is fun and whacky and puts on a show that families will enjoy.  Tickets for “A Smart Attack of Art” are available from the Albert Halls box office on 01786 473544.  The show starts at 2.30pm.

Rolling Back the Years

On Friday night at the Albert Halls, the air will be filled with nostalgia as the show “Rolling Back the Years” rolls into town.  The show is a tribute to the best music of the 1940s and 1950s, featuring songs from some of the greatest stars of the time, including Glenn Miller, Fred Astair, Buddy Holly, Cliff Richard, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland.  In a nod to the more recent times, there will also be the odd song or two from the likes of Dolly Parton and Abba.

All of the songs will be performed by beautifully costumed cast members and everything will be choreographed for each decade.  The “Memory Lane Singers” will be your musical guides for the night in what will be an excellent concert for anybody who remembers the songs the first time around.

Tickets, priced £12, are available from the box office on 01786 473544.

MacRobert Cinema

This week at the MacRobert cinema you can see “Heartbreaker”, “Scott Pilgrim v The World”, “Toy Story 3” and “The Secret in Their Eyes”.

“Heartbreaker” is showing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  It’s a French film staring Vanessa Paradis and Romain Duris. Charming and irresistible Alex offers a professional service;  he breaks up relationships.  IN a matter of weeks, he promises to transform any husband, fiancé, or boyfriend into an ex.  However, when he’s hired to break up a beautiful heiress, Juliette, and the fiancé her father considers to be unsuitable, he starts to fall in love with Juliette and that gets in the way of his professional commitment with some amusing consequences.

“Scott Pilgrim v The World” is also showing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Scot Pilgrim is a twenty three year old with a great life;  he’s in a rock band, dating a cute girl and living a good life.  That’s until he meets roller blading delivery girl Ramona Flowers.  He falls in love, but before he can date her he has to help her get rid of her seven evil ex boyfriends who don’t want her to be happy.  Can Scott get the girl before the bad guys get him?  I wonder …

Finally, “Toy Story 3” is showing on Saturday and Sunday.  The third installment in the franchise that launched Pixar into the big league of Hollywood films is, supposedly, the final one.  Set a decade after part two, Buzz Lightyear, Woody and the gang are all facing a problem that comes to all toys;  Andy, their owner, has grown up and is about to go to college.  The toys are feeling left out and unwanted and think things will get better when they’re donated to the local day care centre.  However, it’s a horrible place where toys are abused by toddlers who don’t know better.  The toys decide to break out and get back to Andy to see if they can convince him to take them all to college with him.

For more information on films showing at the MacRobert cinema, contact the box office on 01786 466666.

Stirling Observer Entertainments

Romeo and Juliet

The Pilot Theatre Company are currently appearing at the MacRobert Theatre with their latest production, Romeo and Juliet.  The show started on Tuesday evening, with further shows on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week.

I get into trouble from English scholars when I say this, but I am not a fan of reading Shakespeare; I find having to “translate” the words in my head gets in the way of appreciating the story.  I am, however, a huge fan of Shakespeare when seen on the stage, they way it was always intended.   Then the words seem to make more sense and the story captivates and enthrals.

Romeo and Juliet is undoubtedly the best know romance story in the Western World.  Since written in the late 1600s, it’s never lost any of its popularity and whether studying it in High School English classes, or watching the various versions that appear on stage or screen ever few years, it’s a powerful story.

Pilot Theatre are the award winning company behind recent productions of “Lord of the Flies” and “Looking for JJ”.  Although the words are original, the setting has been given a makeover for this production as the MacRobert’s Markus Stitz tells us, “Pilot Theatre promise a fast moving and contemporary telling of this celebrated story.  With a soundtrack from BAFTA award winning composer Sandy Nuttgens, this production will inspire and enthuse audiences of all ages with its intensity and exuberance.”

The inspiration for the setting comes from the phenomenally successful “Twighlight” vampire stories by American author Stephenie Meyer.  The set has been designed to look like a shrine with over eighty candles and 6000 silk flowers.  The actors will all be dressed in retro clothing, creating a show which should be both familiar and different at the same time.

Tickets for the show are £12 for adults and just £3 for under eighteens.  For more information, contact the box office on 01786 466666.

Stick Man & Co

Award winning author Julia Donaldson will be appearing at the MacRobert Theatre on Sunday afternoon in a show called “Stick Man & Co”.  Along with her husband Malcolm, she’ll be acting out stories from her many books and singing songs with the help of the audience.

The title of the show comes from Julia’s latest book, “Stick Man”, although for most of us she is best known for her book “The Gruffalo”.

As a parent with young children, I’m already finding Julia’s stories to be excellent bed time reading;  my daughter enjoys her stories and I find there is enough to keep me entertained as well.  Her rhyming stories regularly top the children’s bestselling charts and the animated version of the Gruffalo was a big Christmas Day hit on BBC television last year.

In the hour long show, Julia will introduce you to the Stick Man and, I’m told, there might even be a special appearance from the Gruffalo himself. After the event, Julia will be signing copies of her books, including her recent best sellers Zog, Cave Bay and Freddie and the Fairy.

Julia has also written songs, plays and novels and is the author of the popular “Songbirds” series of phonic reading books for schools.  Her husband Malcolm enjoys taking time off from his job as a doctor to play the guitar and act out the parts of generous giants and wicked dinosaurs.

Tickets, priced £6, are available from the box office on 01786 466666.  There are shows at 1pm and 4pm.  Half of the proceeds from the performances will go to the Scottish charity Artlink Central.

Southern Tenant

The Tolbooth is fast becoming a little colony of Americana music, with a regular series of great folk and bluegrass bands appearing at the venue.  On Thursday night (7^th), the excellent “Southern Tenant Folk Union” will be on stage.

They are band who attract the radio attention from big names such as Bob Harris, Mark Lamarr and Steve Lamacq and their songs regularly pop up on BBC Radio Two.

The Tolbooth’s Eddie White says, “This seven piece acoustic band with banjo, mandolin, fiddle and harmony vocals perform with soul and beauty on their ballads and tear it up with Hottenanny sawdust kickers on the faster songs.  All that, plus amazing musicianship, heartfelt storytelling and their special brand of honest, intelligent music will make this a great concert”.

Bluegrass music really comes into its own when seen performed live; listening to it on the radio doesn’t really give a sense of the power, urgency and fun with which the musicians play.  If you’ve never seen a live show, then “The Southern Tenant Folk Union” would be a great place to start.

Tickets, priced £12, are available from the box office on 01786 274000.

Session A9

One of the things I love most about Scottish folk musicians is that the music is more important than the brand.  It means that some of the top musicians from some of the best known folk groups in the country occasionally come together in a totally new way, often putting bands together for a one off tour or special occasion or just when they feel like doing something different.

On Saturday night, one such band will be appearing at the Tolbooth.  “A9 Sessions” have been performing together since 2003.  The lineup has changed in the last seven years, but on Saturday you’ll hear Adam Sutherland, Brian McAlpine, Charlie McKerron, David Robertson, Gordon Gunn, Kevin Henderson and Marc Clement.

To give you an example of their pedigree, Charlie  and David play with Capercaillie, Adam with the Peatbog Faeries, Kevin with Fiddlers Bid, Marc with Blazin Fiddles and Brian MacAlpine with too many well known bands to mention.

Over the last seven years they’ve been described as a Scottish “super group”, “the best band to come out of Scotland in 100 years”, “tighter than James Brown” and an “amazing festival band”.  Great praise indeed for a band that formed through informal music sessions at venues up and down the A9.

This concert will be Scottish folk music at its very best and well worth the £12 ticket price.  For more information, contact the box office on 01786 274000.

Stirling’s Cinema this week

This week at the MacRobert cinema you can see “The Expendables” (Friday and Saturday), “Eat, Pray Love” (Friday – Thursday), “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (Saturday and Sunday) and “the Tooth Fairy (Tuesday – Thursday)

“The Expendables” is an action thriller more famous for its cast than its story.  For the record, it’s about a group of mercenaries who are hired to infiltrate a South American country and overthrow its ruthless dictator.  However, once the mission begins, the men realise things aren’t quite as they appear and find themselves caught in a dangerous web of deceit and betrayal.  Now to the cast list:  Director Sylvester Stallone picked up the phone to some of his contemporaries, many of whom he was in direct competition with for much of the 1980s and 1990s, and convinced the following to appear:  Jason Statham, Jet Lie, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.

“Eat, Pray, Love”, is Julia Roberts latest movie.  She plays Liz Gilbert, a woman who appears to have it all but suddenly finds herself lost, confused and at a crossroads in life.  When she gets divorced from her husband, she steps out of her comfort zone and embarks on a journey around the world that becomes a quest for self discovery.  In her travels, she discovers the true pleasure of food by eating in Italy, the power of prayer in India and, finally and unexpectedly, the inner peace and balance of true love in Bali.

For those of you who got a little excited about seeing the Disney masterpiece “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” when you saw it written above, I’m sorry to dash your excitement but this isn’t that film.  It’s Nicolas Cage’s latest adventure in which he plays Balthazar Blake, a master sorcerer in modern day Manhattan trying to defend the city from his arch nemesis Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina).  Balthazar can’t do it alone, so he recruits Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), a seemingly average guy who demonstrates hidden potential as his reluctant protégé.  The sorcerer gives his unwilling accomplice a crash course in the art and science of magic and together they must work to stop the forces of darkness.  It sounds alright, but I’d rather have seen the Mickey Mouse movie.

Finally, “The Tooth Fairy”.   One of these movies that you can never, ever admit to liking.  You can watch it, but tell anybody and they’ll laugh at you.  Derek Thomson is “The Tooth Fairy”, a hard charging minor league hockey player whose nickname comes from his habit of separating opposing players from their teeth.  When he discourages a child’s hopes, he’s sentence to one week’s hard labour as a real tooth fairy, complete with tutu, wings and a magic wand.  He initially hates his job, but slowly begins to rediscover his own forgotten dreams.

For more information on films showing at the MacRobert, contact the box office on 01786 466666.

For information on films showing at the Vue cinema, log onto www.myvue.com