top 10

Top 5 Glasgow

1. Wars of the Roses trilogy (June 20-24, Theatre Royal) -
Shakespeare's greatest histories, 'Henry VI', 'Edward IV' and 'Richard III', chart royal corruption in the years leading up to the instatement of
the Tudors as monarchs. The Windsors are positively saintly by
comparison.

2.The New Statesman (June 26 - July 1, King's Glasgow) - The
triumphant return of Rik Mayall as Alan B'Stard in this adaptation of
the TV series. But this time Alan represents New Labour as they are
"young, sexy and more right wing than the Tory Party", say the
creators.

3. Whiteplane_2 (June 17-25, Tramway) - This hybrid work is both an
art installation and a performance, pushing the boundaries with
hi-tech ambisonics (3-D sound) and planes of light.

4. A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (June 13-17,
Citizens Theatre) - With a witty, satirical plot that Terry Pratchett
would die for and a score by Stephen Sondheim, never miss an
opportunity to see this piece of theatre genius.

5. Banquet (25 June, Gilmorehill G12) - The triple bill from FireBox
Dance Company and Blaze includes a piece called Mondo, a celebration
of street theatre and tap, a sorely overlooked medium in contemporary
theatre.

Top 5 Edinburgh

1. Ghost (June 2-10, begins Lamb's House, Burgess Street, Leith) –
Described as "somewhere between visual, contemporary art, a modern
tour of an art gallery, and a ghost tour", you'll never look at the
streets of Leith in the same way again.

2. Shell Connections (June 13-17, Royal Lyceum Theatre) – One of the
world's largest celebrations of youth theatre, young thespians will be
travelling from Glasgow, Skye, Shetland, Kildare and Oslo to the
capital this year to perform their work.

3. The New Statesman: The Blair B'Stard Project (June 5-10, The
Playhouse) – Rik Mayall transforms Alan B'Stard from Thatcherite to
Blair-monger in his current UK tour of 'The New Statesman'.

4. Scottish Opera (June 13-24, Festival Theatre) – The illustrious
opera group continue to excel with their productions of Bizet's
'Carmen' and Mozart's 'Don Giovanni'.

5. The Seer (June 16 & 17, Traverse Theatre) – Twice a Booker prize
nominee and a Whitbread Novel Award winner, Ali Smith's new comedy is
her first professional full-length play and promises laughs a plenty.