What's On Scotland 11-18 Jun: Refugee Festival Scotland & more

Refugee Festival Scotland returns from 12–21 June with more than 150 events across the country celebrating art, culture and community. As anti-refugee rhetoric, hostility and division continue to grow across the UK, this event’s focus on solidarity and belonging could not be more necessary, affirming that everyone has the right to be safe and to feel at home in Scotland.

The festival kicks off tomorrow in Glasgow’s Hidden Garden with the unveiling of Grace Browne’s new public artwork All Water Is Connected; there’s also a community meal and music from Ukrainian harp and flute duo Apollo’s Melody. Other highlights include the Southside Open Air Cinema Day in Queen’s Park (14 Jun) and a concert at Tramway featuring renowned Palestinian singer Nai Barghouti performing alongside the RSNO (20 Jun). The festival comes to a close on 21 June with a performance by Glasgow-based hip-hop group Makongo at The Rum Shack. Full details at refugeefestivalscotland.co.uk

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GAÏA | Photo: Rory Barnes

Glasgow Jazz Festival

Various venues, Glasgow, until 14 Jun
 

Glasgow Jazz Festival kicked off last night for its 40th edition, and there's plenty more to come this weekend. One highlight is the Homegrown Showcase on 13 June, featuring the likes of SAY Award-winners Kai Ressu, nu-jazz vocalist GAÏA (pictured above), Glasgow artist Pippa Blundell and contemporary jazz group Sekoya.

courtesy of Capital Theatres

Dracula

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh. 12-14 Jun, various times
 

Set to music by the heaviest of hitters – think Bach, Mozart, Debussy – this acclaimed balletic reinterpretation of Bram Stoker’s OG vampire tale breathes new life, as it were, into the immortal figure of the Count, exploring the familiar tale of desire and torment with breathtaking, bloodsucking new energy.

courtesy of Jock Thomson

They Had Four Years '26

Generator Project, Dundee. until 12 Jul
 

There are still a few weeks left to catch Generator's annual group show featuring newly commissioned work by five recent graduates from Scottish art schools. Come and see work from Anna Tewungwa (GSA), Jock Thomson (GSA), Nina Price (DJCAD), Sam Black (ECA) and Thea Moston (ECA) before they're famous! 

courtesy of MUBI

The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford Q&A

Dundee Contemporary Arts. 12 Jun, 7.30pm
 

One of the most promising new Scottish directors of 2026 is Seán Dunn. His debut feature is a wry and moving comedy about a tour guide (Peter Mullan) who loses his grip on reality, and he'll be in Dundee this Friday to discuss the film following a Q&A screening hosted by The Skinny. 

courtesy of Peccadillo Pictures

↪ Lesbian Space Princess + Drag Performance

Glasgow Film Theatre. 14 Jun, 7.10pm

You’ll struggle to find a more exuberant film this year than this madcap Aussie animation about a nerdy princess who has to rescue her cool ex-girlfriend from the clutches of some Straight White Maliens who’ve kidnapped her. This preview at GFT also includes a live performance from Glasgow drag artist Ann Phetamine.

→ Sami Abu Wardeh: Hates You (Work In Progress)

Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh. 13 Jun, 8pm

We’re big fans of the very silly Palestinian-Irish comedian and clown Sami Abu Wardeh here at The Skinny – so much so that we awarded him a Bestie at last year’s Fringe. If you’d like to get the jump on his new hour for this year’s Fringe, get down to this work-in-progress performance.

→ The Long Drop

Citizens Theatre, Glasgow. until 20 Jun

This stage adaptation of Denise Mina’s true-crime novel is one of the Scottish theatrical events of the year. The play traces a conversation between notorious serial killer Peter Manuel and William Watt, whose wife and daughter were among Manuel’s victims. The results are a masterfully crafted cat-and-mouse thriller laced with pitch-black comedy.