What's On Scotland 17-31 Dec: Carmen & more

It's the last newsletter of 2021 and congratulations to us - and to you - for having made it through another Interesting Year. This week, we're bringing you the last bits and bobs to round out the month and the year, and top of the pile is a stunning new production of Carmen, based on the classic opera by Georges Bizet.

Following the tragic romance that unfolds between soldier Don José and the passionate, fickle woman he falls in love with, Carmen has been delighting and devastating audiences since 1875. This radical new adaptation transforms the opera into a spectacular interpretative dance drama, headlined by Royal Ballet prima Natalia Osipova and choreographed by Didy Veldman. The result is a breathtakingly visual piece that is a perfect complement to the usual Christmas-time ballets.

The production takes place over two days on 17-18 December (that's today!) at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. Tickets can be bought here.

Samedia Hogmanay Fiesta
La Belle Angele, Edinburgh. 31 Dec, 11pm
Ring in the new year with style at this all-night party hosted in La Belle Angele, headlined by acclaimed DJ Samedia Shebeen. Blending Afrobeat tunes with Arabic and Latin influences and featuring gorgeous, immersive set design and décor throughout, this is the perfect way to escape into another world in the first few hours of 2022. Image: ReCompose.

Tako Taal: At the Shore, Everything Touches
DCA, Dundee. Until 20 Mar
A new installation by Glasgow-based artist Tako Taal, At the Shore, Everything Touches explores the ongoing psychic structures of colonialism in Taal's family home village of Juffureh in The Gambia, examining its geographical history as a fort during the trans-Atlantic slave trade through ideas of memory and identity. Image: Ruth Clark.

ADVERTISEMENT | Edinburgh's Hogmanay
Princes Street, Edinburgh. 31 Dec
Ring in 2022 in the home of Hogmanay.

Enjoy performances from Grammy award winning Basement Jaxx and DJ Arielle Free as you party on Princes Street. Prepare to be entertained with one of the world’s greatest street theatre companies, Close-Act Theatre who will animate the street as you party at the bells. At midnight, the unforgettable fireworks will once again be back at Edinburgh Castle.

Get your tickets now.

Vocal or Version presents Reggae Christmas
The Rum Shack, Glasgow. 17 Dec, 8pm
Shaun Galbraith from Clyde Built Radio and Vocal or Version heads to The Rum Shack for a special festive night of reggae, dub, dancehall and roots. Bring your best Santa hat and your hardiest dancing shoes. Image: Courtesy of The Rum Shack.

Leith Witchcraft Market
Leith Arches, Edinburgh. 18 Dec, 10am
A reconnection with the Pagan traditions of Yuletide, this uniquely subversive Christmas market takes inspiration from the cycle of the seasons, eschewing the usual Christmas tat for a celebration of the witchy in the wintery. Image: Nymeria Bloom.

Beth Shapeero: Turned the Wrong Way
Studio Pavilion, Glasgow. 17 Dec-30 Jan
In her first major show in Scotland, Beth Shapeero uses different mediums and techniques - from large-scale, explosive paintings to delicate pen and ink drawings - to explore the expressive potential of painting and the strange ambivalence of capturing gesture and mood. Image: Beth Shapeero.

White Christmas
The Edinburgh Playhouse, Edinburgh. Until 30 Dec
Based on the 1954 film that popularised the beloved festive song “White Christmas”, this dazzling musical takes place in the aftermath of the Second World War, following two soldiers who take to the stage to make their fortune, and find love with two sisters in the process. Image: Edinburgh Playhouse.

VLURE
King Tut's, Glasgow. 19 Dec, 8pm
In the mood for something truly local? Glaswegian post-punk outfit VLURE - forged right in the heart of the city's music scene - are heading to King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, bring their satisfyingly grimy sound and high-octane live energy to its beloved stage. Image: Marilena Vlachopoulou.