What's On Scotland 29 Jan-5 Feb: Manipulate Festival & more
This week, Manipulate Festival returns with a gorgeous programme of puppetry and physical theatre. Elsewhere, Woom Room throw a party in the CCA and Cowgate Block Party has its inaugural edition
It’s been five months since the Fringe finished which means it is high time for some weird and wonderful theatre in Edinburgh. Manipulate Festival, Scotland’s festival dedicated to all things puppetry and visual and physical theatre is answering the call, running in venues across the city from 4-10 February.
Highlights from the programme include Tell Me, a new circus piece from Sadiq Ali exploring HIV narratives, and a bold new staging of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Browse the full programme here and book tickets to individual performances.
Cowgate Block Party
Various venues, Edinburgh. 31 Jan, 5pm
If you thought the Cowgate was hopping before, just wait for the inaugural Cowgate Block Party, a new multi-venue music festival split between The Bongo Club, Legends and Sneaky Pete’s, celebrating the depth of local grassroots talent, ft Bikini Body, Fourth Daughter and more. Image: Rosie Sco.
Ho99o9
The Garage, Glasgow, 4 Feb, 7pm
Ho99o9 are a New York punk rap outfit whose music centres on anti-authoritarian ideas: think anti-military industrial complex, anti-racism, pro-revolution. Blending hardcore rap with glitchy electronica, their music is provocative both thematically and melodically. Image: Nick Fancher.
AMPLIFI
The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, 4 Feb, 8pm
This month’s show in the gig series dedicated to amplifying unheard voices is headlined by Angeline Morrison, whose album The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience was The Guardian’s Folk Album of the year in 2022. Image: Nick Duffy.
Soul Jam: AB Habibi
Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh. 31 Jan, 11pm
Soul Jam, Sneaky's monthly club night dedicated to funk, soul, disco, and good vibes, is on this weekend and to kick off the year they're welcoming AB Habibi of Amateurism Collective and Leith to the decks alongside Soul Jam mainstay Percy Main. Image: Courtesy of Sneaky Pete's.
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Waverley Market, Edinburgh
King Pins is coming to Edinburgh’s Waverley Market on Friday 13th February! You can now reserve your slot to play Ten Pin, American Pool, Mini Golf, Shuffleboard, Ice-Free Curling, Tech Darts, Ping Pong and Arcade Games at the brand-new venue.
What’s more, anyone who makes a pre-book ahead of the opening date will be entered into a draw to win £250 worth of gaming! For more information or to make a booking, go to kingpins.co.uk
↪ Taraneh Dana: A Heart in Exile
Summerhall, Edinburgh. Until 29 Mar
This exhibition examines inner landscapes of migration, looking at the tension between possibility and loss that displacement and arrival encapsulate. Through intimate sculptures, her work foregrounds the emotional rhythms of migration.
→ Size Matters
Citizen’s Theatre, Glasgow. 30-31 Jan, 7:45pm
A collaboration between Vanishing Point and Manipulate Festival, this new experimental work by visionary Scotland-based theatremaker Mamoru Iriguchi uses puppetry to explore ideas of subjective perception.
→ Opening Party: Lazer Jest
CCA: Centre for Contemporary Art, Glasgow. 31 Jan, 10pm
Beloved Barras institution Woom Room - Glasgow designer Nänni Pää's desig and art shop – is moving into the CCA and to celebrate they're throwing a one of a kind club night, featuring aerial circus performers, DJs and more.
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