Chris Forbes was recently voted one of the Best Upcoming Scottish Comedians in 2011 by The List magazine and regularly plays top UK comedy venues, as well as further afield in Canada where he was a finalist in the internationally acclaimed Great Canadian Laugh Off.  His conversational, laid back and friendly style gives him a likeable on-stage persona, and he’s not afraid of making the most of his wiry frame with some great physical comedy.

The inaptly named Gary Little burst onto the comedy scene in 2003.  At six foot three, Gary is an imposing presence on any stage.  Gary’s humour is honest, refreshing and in-your-face, with a wealth of material derived from a life lived to the full.  Gary has played every type of gig, from prisons to 5-star corporate events, and always gets the audience laughing.

The Garrison Theatre will also play host to Shetland Arts’ popular annual Up Helly Aa day concert, Fiery Sessions, at 2pm on January 31^st. Fiery Sessions will feature local musicians, including Kaela Jamieson & John Hutchison, Maggie Adamson & Brian Nicholson, Vair and Hansel, and a visit from the Junior Jarl Squad.

Lisa Ward, Marketing Officer at Shetland Arts said: “We are delighted to welcome Chris and Gary to Shetland to warm us up with a laugh and a smile after the Up Helly Aa procession. Last year’s Stand Up Helly Aa was a fantastic success and we’re looking forward to an excellent turn out again this year.

We’re also very pleased to be featuring a host of local musicians at Fiery Sessions. The concert is always a big hit and it’s great to see how consistently popular Shetland’s local acts are.”

Tickets for both events are £8, £6 for concessions, and can be purchased from http://www.shetlandboxoffice.org or by phoning 01595 745 555.

Kicking off the two-and-a-bit day book bonanza, on Friday 2^nd September, will be Mark Kermode. The leading film critic, writer and broadcaster will talk about his new book, “The Good, The Bad and the Multiplex”, answer questions and sign books. Mark is also co-curator of Screenplay 2011, Shetland’s 5^th Annual Film Festival.

Friday evening will also see the Launch of Ecstatics: A Language of Birds, a collaboration between artist Laura Drever and poet Lesley Harrison.  The book is published by Brae editions and the the publisher acknowledges financial support from Creative Scotland. The festival will also feature an exhibition of Laura’s original artwork for the book. Publisher, Alistair Peebles will also present an illustrated talk, entitled, “Up The Brae! Adventures in Small Press Publishing.” The evening’s fare will be rounded off by “Horseplay”, the book and film based Improv Show starring, Allen Chalmers, Sandy Nelson and Raymond Mearns, three of Scotland’s most talented comedians.

The spirit of Wordplay has always been one of participation, and there is plenty for folks of all ages to get stuck into. Saturday morning will see two writing workshops: one run by poet David Wheatley, for poets, entitled “Poetry & Place”. The other run by Roger Hutchinson, author of “Calum’s Road”: “Local People, Local Places” will encourage writers to use local and family history as a starting place for their writing. Another book related workshop will be run by Carol Dunbar, Education Officer at the Pier art Centre in Stromness. This all day workshop will introduce simple book binding techniques, including traditional Japanese stab bindings. Carol will also run a shorter workshop for young people on Sunday 4^th at 3.15pm in which 10-15 year olds will find out how to make a hard-back bound concertina book – no glue, no stitching.

Further workshops include Blast Off! Led by celebrated author and illustrator, Sally Kindberg, who has drawn pictures for three Bloomsbury comic strip books and is currently working on a fourth one about dinosaurs.  The interactive comic strip workshops are suitable for 5-11 year olds and will run on both Saturday and Sunday.

Also for young people (7-12), will be “If I Can Write, You Can Write’, which will feature, perennial children’s favourite, Viv French who will be running an interactive session, in which she will talk about her series, “Tales From the Five Kingdoms”. Viv will also run a workshop for adults about writing fiction for children.

One of the three makars, is Magi Gibson, the first Stirling Makar for 3oo years, who also writes under the name Maggi Gibson for young people. Maggi will run an event for 8-13 year olds, featuring the fun and feisty “Seriously Sassy” books, published by Puffin. She will also appear with her partner, the comic novelist Ian Macpherson, in BeMUSed, an entertaining session of poetry and stories, which will round off the entertainment on Saturday.

The festival line up is rich with poets, many who are also celebrated as writers in other forms. Making his first appearance at the festival is Simon Armitage CBE, the poet, novelist and broadcaster whose event will take place on Saturday afternoon. The multi award-winning writer will read from his work and answer questions from the audience.

Another celebrated writer, poet and dramatist, Liz Lochhead, Scotand’s Makar is making a very welcome return to the UK’s most northerly book festival. As well as reading from her work, Liz will be in conversation with broadcaster James Naughtie, making his first appearance at Wordplay.

James Naughtie, has one of the best known voices on Radio, presenting Today and Bookclub for BBC Radio 4. James’s session, on Sunday afternoon, is entitled, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Studio”.

Andrew Greig will need little introduction, as a poet and novelist of renown. He will appear alongside his friend Ron Butlin, the Edinburgh Makar, a novelist of international renown and a celebrated librettist.  Mr Greig will also appear in “At The Loch of the Green Corrie”, talking about the life and work of another of his friends, the late, great Norman MacCaig. Poetry will also feature on Sunday afternoon with a joint reading by David Wheatley, one of Ireland’s finest contemporary poets, who will be joined by Scotland’s very own John Glenday.

The festival also features novelist and broadcaster, Jonathan Meades. As well as an appearance by the man himself, in which he will read from the book he is currently working on and speak more generally about places and their relationship to fiction there will be screenings of two of his films, “The Isle of Rust” and “Surrealism”.

The relationship between Islands and both fiction and non-fiction is the subject of another session featuring journalist and author of best selling “Calum’s Road” Roger Hutchinson and the celebrated novelist, poet (and organic gardener) Margaret Elphinstone.

Shetland has a vibrant writing community, which is reflected in several of the events, including the Shetland launch of “These Islands We Sing” (Polygon 2011) edited Kevin MacNeil and featuring no less than twenty one poets, either native to Shetland, and/or currently living here. The event will feature Kevin himself, Alex Cluness, Lise Sinclair, and Roseanne Watt.

Lise Sinclair a poet and song writer from Fair Isle will also playing a few songs from her current work in progress, “A Time To Keep”, a cycle of songs inspired by George Mackay Brown’s book of the same title which she is writing with Icelandic composer Astvaldur Traustasson. Lise’s project has received support from both Creative Scotland and Scotland’s Islands.

Launching her first novel, “And Then Forever” (Shetland Times 2011) is another native of Shetland, Christine De Luca, who has also has five collections of poetry published. Christine is also an active member of Shore Poets, Edinburgh and a member of Hansel Co-operative Press.

Hansel Cooperative Press is a not-for-profit cooperative for writers and artists, which promotes literary and artistic works relating to Orkney and Shetland. The festival will host the launch of their new publication, a translation by William (Billy) Tait’s of Francois Villon’s “Grand Testament” which will feature readings by local broadcaster, Mary Blance and poet Jim Mainland as well as contributions by another local poet and scholar, Mark Ryan Smith and the Archivist, Brian Smith.

Another feature of Wordplay over the last few years, has been the Prize Giving for the Shetland Young Writers Award. The competition, now run by Shetland Library has been going for twenty years.

Wordplay also has a long history of supporting Shetland Dialect and Shetland writing and this year sees the showing of an exciting new multi media production, “Kirsty and Da Snarravoe Njuggle”. The show will feature a mixture of live acting, original film sequences and shadow puppetry. This project is funded by Scotland’s Islands and run by Shetland Islands Council’s Creative Links and Drama Co-ordinator.

Kevin Bridges, coming to the Clickimin Centre in October

Following the huge demand for tickets when they went on sale recently, Shetland Arts have been in discussion with all parties involved, and are delighted to announce that the stand-up show scheduled for the Garrison Theatre on Thursday 21 October has been moved to the Clickimin Centre.

Tickets, priced £16, will go on sale from Shetland Box Office on Friday 30 July at 9am – call along Islesburgh Community Centre or ring 01595 745 555.

Tickets already purchased for the Garrison Theatre will be valid for the Clickimin Centre, with seating reserved at the front of the auditorium for those holding Garrison tickets.

Kevin Bridges at the Garrison Theatre

IN RESPONSE TO THE HIGH DEMAND FOR TICKETS, SHETLAND ARTS ARE CURRENTLY IN DISCUSSION WITH OFF THE KERB PRODUCTIONS ABOUT MOVING THE GIG TO A DIFFERENT VENUE. WE WILL PUBLISH FURTHER INFORMATION AS SOON AS WE CAN CONFIRM IT.

Off The Kerb and Shetland Arts are delighted to announce that the Scottish stand-up comedian Kevin Bridges will be appearing at the Garrison Theatre on Thursday 21 October.

Despite having not set foot in a comedy club before his first open mic spot in 2004, Kevin’s natural gift for comedy has ensured he has become a regular at major comedy clubs up and down the country including The Comedy Store, The Glee Club, and Jongleurs.

In 2006 he performed his debut solo show to critical acclaim at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival, and since then he has gone on to appear on The Comedy Store, The World Stands Up (for Paramount Comedy), Micheal McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News For You, 8 Out Of 10 Cats and You Have Been Watching, among others.

Tickets are £16 and will be on sale from Friday 4 June from Shetland Box Office, 01595 745 555.

See Kevin this weekend on BBC1s “Friday Night with Jonathan Ross”.

For upcoming events: What’s On

John Etheridge – Peerie Willie Guitar Season 2010 October events

Friday 22 October, Aith Hall (19.30) – £10/8 – John Etheridge & Ben Ferguson

Saturday 23 October, St Columba’s Church, Lerwick (da Big Kirk) (19.30) – £12/10 – John Etheridge & Harris Playfair Big Band Project

Sunday 24 October Busta House, Brae (19.30) – £10/8 – John Etheridge & Ben Ferguson

For more details visit www.shetlandarts.org/events/guitar-festival

Disability Pursuits Exhibition

Tuesday 12th – Monday 25th October in the Shetland Museum and Archives . An interactive visual arts exhibition opening by artist Lydia Popowich.  See poster for details.

Kevin Bridges

Thursday 21st October, 8.00pm, Clickimin Centre, Lerwick. Tickets now sold out. Please note change of venue: Tickets for the Garrison Theatre are valid at Clickimin.

Disability Pursuits Workshop

Tuesday 12th October 5-7pm in the Shetland Museum and Archives and runs until 25th October. An interactive visual arts exhibition opening by artist Lydia Popowich.  See poster for details.

Thursday 14th October 2-5pm at the Shetland Museum and Archives. Lydia is running a workshop  See poster for details

Dance Workshops with Tony Mills

Monday 11th October 1-3pm, Tuesday 12th October 10am-12pm & 1-3pm.Workshops for Secondary age (12-17 years)
Monday 11th October, 7-8.30pm. Adult workshop (age 17 and over)

Tickets are free but places need to be booked. All abilities are welcome. To book your place ring Shetland Box Office on 01595 745555

Break-dancer Tony Mills

Wednesday 13th October, 7.30pm, Garrison Theatre. Leading break-dancer Tony Mills performs a dynamic double bill of dance solos. Watch iT! a hit during the Edinburgh 2009 Fringe Festival and Such a Bloke by award winning choreographer Janis Claxton.

Tickets £10/£6 are available from Shetland Box Office, 01595 743843

The Shetland Open Portrait Awards 2010

11th September to 3 October 2010, Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale Mill. Poster on Flickr.

Showaddywaddy – Rescheduled

Saturday 2nd October, 7.30pm, Clickimin Centre, Lerwick. For the celebrations of Clickimin Leisure Centre, Shetland Arts are proud to be recreating the venue’s first ever gig back in 1985 in 2010 – Showaddywaddy with original support band No Sweat. Tickets £18.50/£17 from Shetland Box Office, 01595 745555.

Portage: Finger Symbols

Building Resilience in Island Communities Public Talks

Friday 17th September 7.30pm, Shetland Museum and Archives. Dominic Cole will talk about his work on The Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan.
Saturday 18th September 6.30pm, Shetland Museum and Archives. Hugh Broughton will talk about past, present and future life in Antartica, including the South Shetland Islands.
Tickets cost £5.00 from Shetland Box Office, 01595 745555 or on the door. See poster for more details.

Shetland Community Orchestra Meeting

Thursday 16th September, 7.30pm, Room 10, Isleburgh. Calling all Shetland musicians and music lovers. A meeting to discuss the possiblity of establishing a Community Orchestra in Shetland. For more information contact Emily Sharp at Shetland Arts emily.sharp@shetlandarts.org

Guitar Festival

Friday 17th to Monday 20th September 2010, various venues. Venues TBC. See the Guitar Festival page for more info
7th August to 5th September, Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale Mill. Exhibition celebrating finger adornment with workshops (14th and 15th August) and artist talk (17th August) by Alison Macleod. Visit this page for detailed information.  Visit this page for photographs of the exhibition

More Light – Shetland Youth Theatre

Thursday 26th to Sunday 29th August 2010. Former Shore Station, Ness of Sound, Lerwick. Outdoor drama production. See More Light Post for detailed information

ScreenPlay

Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th September 2010. Various venues. Film Festival. See ScreenPlay page for detailed information

WordPlay

Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th September 2010. Various venues. Literature Festival. See WordPlay page for detailed information

Mirrie Lace Exhibition

3rd July – 5th August, Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale Mill. Mirrie Lace fuses the craft of Shetland lace knitting with new technologies. Twenty-one knitters have been working with artists Nayan Kulkarni and Roxane Permar to develop Shetland lace pieces which will become part of the permanent light installations for Mareel, Shetland’s new music, cinema and education venue. In the lower galleries there are a further two exhibitions: Here’s One I Made earlier – a selling exhibition of selected new contemporary craft by members of the Shetland Arts and Crafts Association, and Spectrum – a selling exhibition of new watercolours and mixed media by local visual artist, Rob Colclough.

Portage: Crossing Points – Digital Jewellery Exhibition

29th May – 27th June, Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale Mill. An innovative exhibition that combines new technology, jewellery design and craft that explore how people relate to one another. It features the work of Mutsugoto by Distance Lab, Hazel White and Sarah Kettley. Bonhoga Gallery is open 10.30 to 4.30 Tuesday to Saturday and 12.00 to 4.30 on Sundays. For full details about the exhibition please read this news item.

Films @ The Garrison

Thursday 10th to Sunday 13th June – The Garrison Theatre, Lerwick. June films at The Garrison are – How to Train Your Dragon (PG) – How to Train Your Dragon is a 2010 computer-animated fantasy film by DreamWorks Animation loosely based on the 2003 book of the same title. - Iron Man 2 (12a) Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment present the highly anticipated sequel to the blockbuster film based on the legendary Marvel Super Hero “Iron Man”. – The Ghost Writer (15) A ghostwriter hired to complete the memoirs of a former British prime minister uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy. - Date Night (15) Date Night is a 2010 screwball comedy film directed by Shawn Levy and starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey. Tickets £6/£4 (concessions) on sale at Shetland Box Office 01595 745555. For film programme download June Films Programme (PDF)

Jazz duo Rob Hall and Chick Lyall

Saturday 15th May, Bixter Hall; Sunday 16th May, Town Hall Lerwick. Saxophonist Rob Hall and pianist Chick Lyall will be performing in Shetland on the evenings of 15/16 May with school workshops on 17. There will also be an free informal session in The Lounge, Lerwick, on the afternoon of Sunday 16. Tickets available from Shetland Box Office, Islesburgh Centre – 01595 745 555. For full event information please read this news item

Sun Town Moon Street – Artists from Soller, Mallorca

17th April – 21th May, Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale Mill. This group exhibition features the photography, painting, jewelery and sculpture from six artists from Soller, Mallorca.  Everyone is invited to come along to the preview at 7.30 on Friday 16 April and see the art of another sunny island.  Bonhoga Gallery is open 10.30 to 4.30 Tuesday to Saturday and 12.00 to 4.30 on Sundays. Images of the show

‘V’ Five winners of 2009 Open Exhibition

13th March – 12th April, Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale Mill. This exhibition features the work of the five winners of Shetland Arts Open Exhibition 2009.  Ross Fulton won Baker Tilley’s prize for the best newcomer, Peter Biehl won Vaila Fine Arts’ award for the best painting or drawing, Dave Donaldson was the successful photography winner for the prize donated by Millgaet Media and Hilary Seatter won the John Goudie prize for best print.  Shetland Arts and Crafts gave the prize for best craft piece and this was won by Ruth Fisher. Flyer on flickr.

The Hurt Locker – Film screening

Tuesday 30th March, 7.30pm, The Garrison Theatre, Lerwick. Tickets £5/£3.50 (concessions) on sale at Shetland Box Office 01595 745555. View this months films trailer playlist on YouTube. For poster see flickr.

Mirrie Dancers – Winter Illuminations

Until April, 2010 – Auld Chapel at Longfield, Dunrossness. 1hr after sunset until 2300hrs. The final winter illumination in the Mirrie Dancers project. See the Mirrie Dancers set on flickr.

Contact Shetland Arts – 01595 743843.

For further information visit www.mirriedancers.com or contact: Roxane (01595) 859 202 – roxane@mirriedancers.com.

Choman Hardi – Poetry Reading

Friday 26th March, 7.00pm for 7.30pm, Shetland Library, Lerwick. For poster see flickr.

Dance Ihayami – Thrayaa – Trinity

Saturday 20th March, 7.30pm, Town Hall, Lerwick. Dance Ihayami is a groundbreaking Scottish-based classical Indian dance company that has been captivating audiences in Scotland and abroad for many years. See poster on flickr.

Belly Dancing Classes for Families

Classes are every Thursday for 6 weeks from 21st January at Whiteness Primary School, 6pm until 7pm. Free Belly Dancing Classes for parents and children given by experienced teacher Rocio Balanos.  To book your place ring Shetland Arts on 01595 743843. See poster on flickr.

Northern Traces: 1999 – 2009 – Timo Jokela

13th February – 7th March, Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale Mill. This exhibition shows the extraordinary practice of Timo Jokela a leading pioneer of Environmental and Community Art in his native Lapland, Finland. Further information from Bonhoga Gallery.  Please note exhibition tour and preview on Saturday 9 January is canceled due to weather. See poster on flickr.

Power of Place – ‘People, Places and Planet’ Presentation

6.30pm for 7.00pm, 12th January, Shetland Museum & Archives, Lerwick. A talk and presentation by Diarmaid Lawlor from Architecture and Design Scotland (A+DS). Diarmaid is Scotland’s national champion for good architecture, design and planning in the built environment. All welcome. Refreshments available. See poster on flickr. For more information and full program of events for Shetland’s Year of Architecture and Place 2010, see the Power of Place website.

Not the Valentine’s Ball

Friday 12th February, 7.00 for 7.30 start, Shetland Library. Shetland Arts and Shetland Library have put together a programme of local writers, readers and musicians to highlight the fact that Love is not all flowers and chocolates and all things nice… The event will include 3 of Shetland finest writers, Donald Murray, Matt Wright and Martin Platt reading from their own work, readings by the Library’s very own Morag Nicolson and Kat Brack and music by Trevor Jamieson and Milford Georgeson. “Not the Valentine’s Ball” is free entry and everybody is welcome.

Alyn Cosker Quartet

Lerwick Town Hall, Friday 5^th February. 7.30pm and the Bigton Hall, Saturday the 6^th February, 7.30pm. Jazz drummer Alyn Cosker will be playing two concerts in Shetland with his quartet as part of a tour to support his debut solo album “Lyn’s Une”, recently released on Linn Records. Tickets for both gig £10/8, from Shetland Box Office, Islesburgh Community Centre, 01595 745555. See poster on flickr.

Fiery Sessions

Up Helly Aa Day, Tuesday 26th January, 2pm, The Garrison Theatre, Lerwick. An afternoon with some of Shetland’s best local musicians hosted by Stanley Manson. Including: Bryan Gear with Violet Tulloch, Maggie Adamson & Brian Nicholson, Brack Da Bröd, Junior Jarl Squad. Tickets £8/£6 from Shetland Box Office, 01595 745555.

Stand Up Helly Aa

Up Helly Aa Day, Tuesday 26th January, 9pm, The Garrison Theatre, Lerwick. Comedy Night hosted by Sandy Nelson with Raymond Mearns (regular in new BBC2 show “Limmy’s Show”) and Mark Nelson (Scottish comedian of the year 2006). Tickets £10 from Shetland Box Office, 01595 745555.

Noel

21st November – 23rd December, Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale Mill. The Bonhoga Gallery’s annual Christmas Exhibition of affordable art & craft under £100. Further information from Bonhoga Gallery.  See poster on Flickr.

Jazz Weekender

13th – 16th November, Concerts and Workshops in Schools and Venues across Shetland. Featuring, Harris Playfair Trio, Kirkwall Grammar School Big Band, Norman & The Folding Deckchairs, Shetland Youth Jazz.

Public Events: Sat 14 Nov, 2-5pm – Youth Workshop, Islesburgh Community Centre.

Sat 14 Nov, 7.30pm, Town Hall Concert, Tickets £10/£8 from Shetland Box Office, 01595 745555.  Find out more and see poster on Flickr

Chris Stout and Catriona McKay in Concert

In association with Atlantic Edge Music Services.

Wednesday 4th November – Baltasound Hall, Unst. Acoustic performance, doors 7pm concert 7.30, Tickets £10/£7 (concessions) available on door.

Thursday 5th November – Town Hall, Lerwick. Doors 7pm concert 7.30, Tickets £12/£8 (concessions) on sale at Shetland Box Office 01595 745555.

Feint ae Wird – Chloe Garrick

10th October to 15th November – Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale Mill. Show of work by Chloe Garrick, a young visual artist from Shetland. This exhibition will focus on traditional black and white darkroom printed photographs, mainly of Asia, including portraits, scenic views and glimpses of everyday life. Further information from Bonhoga Gallery. See poster on Flickr.

GMan – Contemporary Dance

Saturday 24th (2pm & 4pm), Sunday 25th (2pm & 4pm) & Friday 30th October (7.30pm) – Shetland Museum and Archives, Lerwick. Contemporary dance performance in response to the Gunnister Man Story. See poster on flickr.

Seckou Keita Quintet

Saturday 17th October – Clickimin Leisure Centre, Lerwick. Concert by the Senegalese “Hendrix of the Kora” and his quintet. Tickets £12/£8 (concessions) on sale at Shetland Box Office 01595 745555. Find out more about the concert and see poster on Flickr.

The Curve Foundation Dance Company – Performance Postponed

Due to unforseen circumstances Shetland Arts regrets that the Curve Foundation’s performance on Wednesday night has had to be postponed.  The performance will be resheduled for a later date.  Tickets purchased will be valid for the resheduled performance or refunds can be obtained from Shetland Box Office (01595 745555)

Shetland Open 2009

5th September to 4th October – Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale Mill. Show of work by artists and makers who are Shetland by birth, education or residency. Further information from Bonhoga Gallery.

GMan – Contemporary Craft Illustrated Talk

Friday 2nd October – 19.30 – Shetland Museum and Archives, Lerwick. Illustrated talk with Deirdre Nelson, Hazel Hughson and some of the craft makers talk about their experience during the GMan project. Free. Follow the project online: gunnisterproj.blogspot.com & twitter.com/gunnisterman.

Katya Kabanova

Saturday 26th September 7.30pm – Garrison Theatre. Scottish Opera presents this show examining the private horror and public shame of an unhappily married woman living in a claustrophobic Russian community, torn between her love for a younger man and what she knows to be her duty as a wife. Tickets £13/£5 (under 26′s) on sale at Shetland Box Office 01595 745555.

Craft Research Trip to Orkney

Wednesday 23rd to Sunday 27th September – Orkney. Research visits to Orkney makers’ studios and a ‘Makers Day’ at the Pier Arts centre in Stromness, with makers attending from Orkney and the Scottish Highlands. Ten sponsored places available. For an application form and full programme please contact us.

Film Wednesdays – DR.Strangelove

Wednesday 21tst October – The Garrison Theatre, Lerwick.

Tickets £5/£3.50 (concessions) on sale at Shetland Box Office 01595 745555.

Film Wednesdays – The Omen

Wednesday 7th October – The Garrison Theatre, Lerwick. Shetland Arts season of Film Wednesday Classics continues with Richard Donner’s The Omen (cert 15), does it still terrify more than 30 years after its release? Most defiantly, but you can make up you own minds by going along on Wednesday. Tickets £5/£3.50 (concessions) on sale at Shetland Box Office 01595 745555. View film poster on Flickr. See the Film Wednesdays preview playlist on Youtube for the Film Wednesday’s line up.

Film Wednesdays – Alien

Wednesday 30rd September – The Garrison Theatre, Lerwick. Shetland Arts season of Film Wednesday Classics continues with Ridley Scott’s Alien (cert 18), the movie with the most memorable tagline ever: “In space, no-one can hear you scream”. Tickets £5/£3.50 (concessions) on sale at Shetland Box Office 01595 745555. View film poster on Flickr. See the Film Wednesdays preview playlist on Youtube for a taster of the the Film Wednesday’s line up.

Film Wednesdays – Jaws

Wednesday 23rd September – The Garrison Theatre, Lerwick. Part of a season of Film Wednesday Classics at The Garrison Theatre starting with Steven Spielberg’s monster fish movie Jaws (12). Tickets £5/£3.50 (concessions) on sale at Shetland Box Office 01595 745555. View film poster on Flickr. See the Film Wednesdays preview playlist on Youtube for a taster of the the Film Wednesday’s line up.

Shetland Guitar Festival

Friday 18th to Sunday 20th September – various venues. Concerts and educational activities  throughout Shetland. Visit the Guitar Festival page for information on venues, dates and artists. Tickets are available from Shetland Box Office 01595 745555.

ScreenPlay

Friday 28 August to Sunday 6th September – various venues. Shetland’s annual celebration of film, featuring a feast of screenings, lectures and panel discussions. Visit the ScreenPlay page for more information and to download this year’s programme.

WordPlay

Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th September – various venues. Shetland’s annual book and literature festival, featuring a mix of readings, writing workshops, children’s events and book signings. Visit the Wordplay page for more information and to download this year’s programme.

Diaspora

1st August to 30th August – Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale Mill. Exhibition featuring Shetland artists who no longer reside in the islands and artists who have decided to make their homes here – all of whom have been inspired by a sense of place.

Hometrader

1st August to 30th August – Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale Mill. Exhibition of contemporary Shetland craft and applied art – part of Creative Connections Shetland, and will be shown alongside ‘Diaspora’.

The Proclaimers

Saturday 29th August 7.30pm – Clickimin Centre. Live music from one of Scotland’s favourite bands with support from Bex Marshall. Read the media release,  view the poster watch the video.

Canterbury Tales

Thursday 27th August 7.30pm, Friday 28th August 7.30pm, Saturday 29th August 2.30pm – Garrison Theatre. Shetland Youth Theatre, Chaucer made modern – bold, boisterous and bawdy! Written by Phil Woods, directed by John Haswell.

Fiddle Frenzy – Youth Music Concert

Sunday 9th August 2.30pm – Garrison Theatre. Featuring local young musicians with a historical theme highlighting music and musicians from Shetland’s past.

Fiddle Frenzy – Fiddlers Bid

Saturday 8th August 7.30pm – Clickimin Centre. A dynamic four fiddle front line joined with a powerhouse of piano, bass, guitar and Scottish harp. Also featuring Scholarship and Fiddle Frenzy students.

Comedy Night

Friday 7th August 8.30pm – Clickimin Centre. Stand up comedy night featuring Michael Redmond, from TV’s ‘Father Ted’, with Eilidh MacAskill, Steve Dick and local support.  Compered by Sandy Nelson.

Fiddle Frenzy – An Evening in Fetlar

Friday 7th August 7.30pm – Fetlar Hall. Concert featuring Fullscelidh Spelemannslag and other support, followed by a dance with Leeshinaat.  Open to the Public.

Fiddle Frenzy – Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham

Thursday 6th August 2009 7.30pm – Clickimin Centre. Two of the most celebrated musicians on the Scottish traditional scene, Fiddler Aly Bain and accordionist Phil Cunningham. Also featuring Shetland’s Young Fiddler of the year.

Fiddle Frenzy – An Evening with…Concert

Wednesday 5th August 2009 7.30pm – Voe Hall. Featuring local musicians including The Heritage Fiddlers, followed by a dance with Da Fustra. Open to the Public.

Shetland Singers Concert

Wednesday 5th August 2009- Garrison Theatre. Featuring local singers/songwriters, including Laeverick, Freda Leask Band, Erin Sandison and the Marie Williamson Band.

Fiddle Frenzy Opening Concert

Tuesday 4th August 2009 – Garrison Theatre. Bryan Gear and Violet Tulloch with other local musicians. Open to the public.

Fiddle Frenzy Family Dance

Monday 3rd August 2009 – Islesburgh Community Centre. Family Dance with the Jim Halcrow Band.

Mirrie Dancers Light Labs

Various dates and venues from 25th July to 2nd August 2009. Work with artists Nayan Kulkarni and Roxane Permar to use light as though it was an artist’s paintbrush. Learn how to create dynamic, colour ‘light scores’, which will become part of Mirrie Dancers’ Festival of Light. Free entry and everyone is welcome, no matter what level of experience.

For further information visit www.mirriedancers.com or contact: Roxane (01595) 859 202 – roxane@mirriedancers.com – download more information, light labs schedule and the light labs poster (pdf)

Crossing Waater Art L@b

25th to 31st July 2009 – Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale Mill. Creating visual art in the grounds of the gallery. Organised by Veer North. Tuesday to Saturday 10.30am (12.00 Sun) to 4.30pm.

Canterbury Tales

Rehearsals start Monday 27th July 2009 in Lerwick. Shetland Youth Theatre Summer Project. If you are aged 12-21 and intertested in taking part, either on stage or behind the scenes, contact us.

After the procession is over, and the last torch thrown into the burning galley then continue your night’s entertainment by heading to the Garrison Theatre.

Sandy will be accompanied by two other professional comedians, Mark Nelson, Scottish Comedian of the Year 2006 and frequent performer at the Stand Comedy Club (you can view a video of Mark Nelson on YouTube), and Raymond Mearns, actor, comedian and compere, at the Stand in Glasgow.

Both Sandy and Raymond are regular contributors to Radio Scotland’s Fred Macauley Show. Raymond appeared in the BAFTA award winning short Home, directed by Morag McKinnon, and It’s A Free World and Ae Fond Kiss both directed by Ken Loach. In 2008 he appeared in Rab C Nesbitt’s Christmas Special and played Happy Boab in the BBC Scotland sitcom Legit.

Raymond is due to appear in all six episodes of this year’s Limmy’s Show and in One Night in Emergency, both for BBC Scotland. Also look out for his role in the national TV advert for ‘Cheesestrings!’

So instead of dancing the night away among the Vikings and cartoon characters of Lerwick’s squads, laugh your way by taking a rare opportunity to enjoy some of Scotland’s top funny men at The Garrison Theatre on the last Tuesday in January – 26th.

The show begins at 9pm with doors open from 8.30pm. Tickets can be bought from Shetland Box Office, at Islesburgh Community Centre, 01595 745555 and are priced £10. Please note the recommended audience age is 16 and up!

The show, written by Phil Woods is a modern version of the 14^th Century original.  In Chaucer’s Middle English work, some two dozen tales are told by a group of pilgrims travelling from London to Canterbury.  In this version, eight of the tales are presented as part of an annual ‘Geoffrey Chaucer Canterbury Tales Storytelling Competition’.  The featured tales reflect the variety of the original with presentations that feature heroic love, singing hens, slapstick and a healthy dose of near the knuckle humour.  In fact the show is described as ‘bold, boisterous and bawdy’ and director John Haswell said; “the approach adopted by the company is best described as ‘Carry on Canterbury’.  Some of the original tales are very rude and this is reflected in the show.  However, it is hopefully a very funny show in the tradition of much of British comedy.  For the young cast one of the most difficult tasks has been to adopt different theatrical styles for the tales and perform some of these in a manner that reflect elements of the worst excesses of amateur dramatics.”

The production features a company of 30 who have worked intensively on the show for the past month, giving up much of their school holidays.  Featuring live music by Philip Taylor and technical design by David Wagstaff, the production promises to feature all the creativity and flair associated with the nationally renowned company but unusually, with less of the angst and misery that define so many of the productions.

This vulgar romp through the nether regions of medieval storytelling is performed at the Garrison Theatre on Thursday 27^th and Friday 28^th August at 7.30pm.  On Saturday 29^th August there is a performance at 2.30 pm.  Tickets priced £7/£5 (concessions) are available from Shetland Box Office on Lerwick 745555.

Clickimin Comedy poster

As part of Creative Connections 2009 Shetland Arts is staging “Clickimin Comedy”, a stand up comedy night on Friday 7th August at 8.30pm in the Clickimin Centre, Lerwick.

The line up comprises visiting comedians Michael Redmond, Steven Dick and Eilidh MacAskill together with local comedian Les Sinclair and compère Sandy Nelson.

Nelson, himself a stand up comedian and comedy actor who has appeared in shows such as ‘Still Game’ and films including ‘Braveheart’ said “It’s great to see so much interest in Stand Up Comedy in Shetland. The last two gigs I did up here, ‘Stand Up At Sound’ and ‘Stand Up Helly Aa’, were a hoot and the audience loved them, so it’s great to be stepping it up a little by bringing such a legend of the stand up circuit as Michael Redmond. I mean he was in Father Ted! I’m so looking forward to it.”

Michael Redmond

Michael Redmond

Not many people who have been struck by lightning and lived to tell the tale. While this may not have actually happened to Michael Redmond himself, it is a fate that befell his character Father Stone – one of the more memorable creations of Channel 4′s classic comedy series ‘Father Ted’.

A skilled writer and performer, Michael started his career scripting comedy for Irish radio and television. He moved to London in 1987 and quickly established himself as a firm favourite on the comedy circuit, headlining at clubs throughout the UK and later developing his own one-man standup shows. A regular at major comedy festivals, Michael has performed a number of successful solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, including ‘Eamon, Older Brother of Jesus’, which was later developed as a series for BBC Radio 4. He now lives in Edinburgh and hosts a regular Sunday-night gig at The Stand comedy club there.

In addition to his live and radio performances, Michael has appeared on a number of high profile TV shows, including ‘Comedy Nation’, ‘Friday Night Live’, ‘The Stand Up Show’, ‘Clive Anderson Talks Back’, ‘Just for Laughs’ and ‘Father Ted’.

• “Excellent, deadpan dry wit” – Guardian
• “hilarious…. a great comedian” – Scotsman
• Michael Redmond – Friday Night Live (YouTube)

Steven Dick

Steven Dick

Steven Dick is one of Scotland’s most entertaining and in demand comedy magicians. He frequently performs at Scotland’s main comedy clubs and is a regular act and compère at The Stand in Glasgow and Edinburgh. He has performed for five consecutive years at the Edinburgh Fringe, and two years at the Glasgow Comedy Festival.

As well as his live shows which incorporate stand up comedy and slight of hand magic, he is an active comedy writer having had material broadcast on TV shows including ‘Have I got News for You’,’ Mock The Week’, ‘8 Out of 10 Cats’, ‘They Think It’s All Over’, ‘The Craig Hill Show’, ‘The Karen Dunbar Show’ and ‘Chewin’ The Fat’

• “Some expertly timed sleight of hand tricks that truly sparkle. With this kind of polished timing and winning enthusiasm Dick is a born performer who will appeal to audiences across the board. Marvellous.” – Scotsman
• “It’s impossible not to laugh” – Daily Record
• “This is one performer whose hype you can believe” – Sunday Times

Eilidh MacAskill

Eilidh MacAskill

Glasgow based Eilidh MacAskill will be supporting with her witty blend of song, stand-up, storytelling and ukelele playing.

Recently Eilidh set herself the challenge of playing at least one ukelele concert per day for a year under the ‘Eilidh’s Daily Ukelele Ceilidh’ moniker, performing in taxis, clubs, village halls, galleries, comedy clubs and on TV and radio. Eilidh has travelled from London to New York to Nova Scotia to Inverurie performing her songs, stand-up and stories with her trusty tiny guitar.

Eilidh is also part of the ‘Fish & Game’ performance group who create works ranging from studio shows, mock symposia to country fete style events as well as a Scottish tour with their hilarious take on Scottishness and Happiness, Otter Pie.

• “Like a ginger Julie Andrews” – Scotland on Sunday
• “Scotland’s most prolific ukulele proponent” – The Evening Times

Les Sinclair

Shetland based comedian Les Sinclair first trod the boards at Shetland Arts Stand Up At Sound event last year. Since then Les has gone on to perform locally at events such as stand ‘Up Helly Aa’ and comedy clubs around mainland UK.

Bryan Peterson from Shetland Arts added, “Michael, Steven and Eilidh are really looking forward to visiting Shetland. They’re going to stay on for a holiday in the isles before heading to their shows at the Edinburgh Fringe”

Tickets £12 /£10 – now on sale at Shetland Box Office, Islesburgh Community Centre, Lerwick – 01595 745555.

Shetland Arts’ Creative Connections is a marathon, seven-day and night festival, celebrating the contemporary creative culture of Shetland, incorporating four summer schools, cultural and creative visits across the islands, showcase concerts and dances, a specially curated exhibition and an artist residency.  This event is part of Scotland’s Year of Homecoming and takes place throughout Shetland between 3 – 9 August.

Now into its sixth year, Fiddle Frenzy is Shetland’s renowned fiddle school using top exponents of their craft to teach tunes and techniques drawn from the unique island traditions as heard world wide by our contemporary performers. In addition to the daily workshops held throughout the week in Lerwick, Whalsay and Fetlar, Fiddle Frenzy provides seven days of concerts in Lerwick’s Garrison Theatre, at the Clickimin Centre, in the village of Voe and on the island of Fetlar. This year’s showcase concerts include performances by Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham, Fiddlers Bid, Bryan Gear and Violet Tulloch, Fullscelidh Spelemannslag, Kevin Henderson, the Heritage Fiddlers and many more.

For 2009 there have been additions made to the week long summer school event.  ‘Art Craft Experience’ is based on Shetland’s well known textile culture, grown from our knitting techniques and continuous creative development. During the workshops the tutors will teach basic Shetland knitted structures and their contemporary application for creative textiles.  Afternoon visits will take students to the studios of some of Shetland’s visual artists, craft makers and applied artists, to see their work and share in their experiences of working as an artist in Shetland. Students will visit the Bonhoga Gallery for the ‘Diaspora’ exhibition featuring four Shetland artists who have chosen to live outwith Shetland, and four artists who have made their home in the islands.  An artist in residence with family connections in Shetland, Hazel White, will spend a month at The Booth, an artist living/working space in Scalloway.  She will take part in some of the workshops while developing a project around her work in digital jewellery.

‘Makkin’ Wi Wirds’ is the title of the writing workshops with T.S. Eliot Prize winner, Jen Hadfield, exploring ideas of place through praise poem, myth and music. Shetland has a well respected literature scene, and these workshops will give students the encouragement to realise their ideas and visit some of the dramatic sites that have inspired some very high profile writers, from Robert Louis Stevenson to Will Self. Students will have an opportunity to share their compositions by stepping up to the ‘open mike’ at Creative Connection Club nights.

Another integral part of Creative Connections is ‘Shetland’s Storytelling Festival’, our top storytellers accompany the afternoon cultural trips and provide an insight into the folklore of the islands and the contemporary yarning that still flourishes in day to day Shetland life, act as hosts for the concerts and the festival club and provide that invaluable insight to Shetland past and present.

Clickimin Comedy is a stand up comedy event on Friday 7th at the Clickimin Centre, Lerwick, featuring visiting comedians Michael Redmond, Steven Dick and Eilidh MacAskill together with local comedian Les Sinclair and compère Sandy Nelson. The event is part of Shetland Arts comedy development programme which has so far included events such as Stand Up At Sound and Stand Up Helly Aa.

Creative Connections ‘Festival Club’ at the Garrison Theatre, provides a chance, each evening after the concerts, for all students and visitors to mix and enjoy traditional music and storytelling sessions until the early hours.

Bookings can be make from Shetland Box office 01595 745555 or in person from Islesburgh Community Centre, King Harald Street, Lerwick.

Contact us for more information on Creative Connections.

Shetland Young Promoter’s Group (SYPG) will hold a fund-raising ‘Variety Night’ in the South Nesting Public Hall on Saturday the 11th of April.

The event will allow the SYPG to further work of promoting young musicians and bands, and giving the youth of Shetland greater access to well produced music events.

The evening, compared by Scalloway School teacher Patrick Robertson, will start with a concert followed by supper and a dance.

Concert performers include Shetland Senior Young Musician of the Year Erin Sandison, Shetland Schools Music festival award winning group “Norman & The Folding Deckchairs”, Kollifirbolli and “The Bryan McCaffrey Experience”.

There will also be comedy sketches by performers including Margaret Jean Robertson.

The dance will feature young bands “Brack da Bröd” and “Four Piece Suite” culminating with “Rachel Anne Williamson & Friends”

Chairperson Ryan Stevenson said, “We aim to promote young bands in all areas of music and we think the best way to introduce new dance bands is to give them a chance to play”

SYPG committee member Harley Gear said, “We’d like to thank all the local businesses who generously donated prizes for the raffle. We’re really grateful for all the help we’re getting from everyone”

Bryan Peterson, Shetland Arts Music Development Officer added. “It’s great to see the young promoters putting such effort into supporting the young performers and their local communities. Many of the promoters themselves are top class musicians, such as SYPG Vice Chair Lana Thomson, a Schools Music Festival Award Winner and finalist in the Young Musician of the Year competition. The SYPG gives them a chance to gain experience of the organisational side of events, which really complements their performance skills.”

The Variety Night will be held in the South Nesting Hall on Saturday 11th of April starting at 7pm. Tickets cost £8 for adults and £5 for children (under 16’s) and are available from the Shetland Box Office, Islesburgh Community Centre, Lerwick – 01595 745 555 and the Robertson and Reid shop, South Nesting – 01595 890 374
Press release ends

SYPG Variety Night poster

Further information
www.bebo.com/sypg
SYPG c.o. Shetland Arts, Toll Clock Centre, Lerwick, Shetland
01595 743 843

Notes to the editor:
The group aim to build on the recent success of their over 14s alcohol free ‘Rock vs. Rave’ event at the Aith Hall on 20th February. This youth gig featured performances by local bands The Revellers, Pets In Jars and Happy Hour, together with DJs Nadia and Murray.

The ‘Variety night’ is the latest in a long list of events planned for the coming year including:

• Youth Music Forum Conference – Sat 16th May – Sandveien Community Centre – featuring a performance by Oscar Charlie

• Silent Disco – 22nd & 23rd May – Islesburgh Community Centre and Norscot Angling Club (a disco where no speakers are used as the audience hear the music through wireless headphones)

The Shetland Young Promoter’s Group (SYPG) is a joint initiative between Shetland Arts, The Shetland Youth Music Forum and Shetland Youth Services. SYPG is an enterprise to empower young people to stage music events and gain the real-world skills and knowledge needed to manage and promote their own concerts.

SYPG organise events in conjunction with experienced promoters, technical crews and music industry professionals in order to learn aspects of event management; including promotion, business skills, health and safety, sound engineering and lighting; and obtain practical experience of event management and promotion.

It also gives younger audiences a chance to experience live performances in a safe environment and provide young up-and-coming musicians, bands and DJs with performance opportunities.

SYPG is a self contained constituted group open to young people aged 14 to 18 who formed in late 2008.

The formation of the group follows consultation with the Shetland Youth Music Forum, a consortium of youth organisations, local agencies, music professionals and young people, intended to support and sustain youth music provision in Shetland.

The Youth Music Forum is an initiative sponsored by the Scottish Arts Council and administered by Shetland Arts.