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AROUND TOWN Here at List Towers, we were sad to see that the Edinburgh City Council are indeed going ahead with plans to sell off a corner of Inverleith Park for private housing. The council are seeking permission to sell off a spot on the south east corner of the Park, next to the children’s play park and the Sundial Garden, regardless of a reported 10,000 people who have signed a petition against the action. To have your say and support the cause, search for Save Inverleith Park on Facebook visit www.inverleithpark.co.uk. and
The struggle continues across town at the much-loved Forest Café, where arts lovers and supporters continue to fight the good fight for Forest to stay in- situ at Bristo Square, in the face of the space being bought from under them. Check out their petition at: www.gopetition.com /petition/43255.html.
F I LM The Greek Film festival makes a welcome return to the Filmhouse this month (11–21 Mar) with the focus on Pantelis Voulgaris, best known for his new wave work of the late 60s and early 70s. Look out for a programme of films including Quiet Days in August (1991), It’s a Long Road (1998) and Happy Day (1976). MUSIC List HQ is giving a big shout out and wishing much luck to the Scottish contingent of bands, filmmakers and performers heading to the
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ARTS AND CULTURE NEWS COVERED IN TWO MINUTES
South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas this month. Acts including Errors, King Creosote, Twilight Sad and Unicorn Kid will all make appearances at the annual showcase. Closer to home, the ever-wonderful Hebrides Ensemble give their Scottish premiere performances of Harrison Birtwistle’s ‘Pulse Shadows’ this month from 7–11 Mar, in Glasgow, Inverness, Edinburgh and Perth. The Ensemble will be joined by soprano Claron McFadden. Elsewhere, folk fans should look out for BBC2’s The World Accordion to Phil on 9 Mar, as local lad Phil Cunningham takes to the small screen to talk about how the ‘squeezebox’ has thrived across the globe.
V I S U A L A R T An exhibition of contemporary children’s book illustrations curated by author Julia Donaldson entitled The Illustrators takes place at The Park Gallery, in Callendar House, Falkirk, from 12 Mar–2 May. Donaldson is well known for her love of illustration and is reportedly keen to show the different approaches taken in an exhibition featuring original illustrations by talents including Axel Scheffler, as well as
sketches, ideas and film. And finally, The List is very interested to see that a new gallery called White Space has opened in the old Doggerfisher location on Edinburgh’s Gayfield Square. Look out too for The Embassy which opens on Broughton Street Lane on 3 Mar. See these very pages for more next issue.
Channel Hopper
Dispatches from the sofa, with Brian Donaldson
■ ‘Get it right and no one is impressed. Get it wrong and it’s catastrophic’. We could be flies on the wall at an ITV drama commissioners meeting, but in fact it’s one of several memorable lines from the opening episode of Monroe (ITV1, Thu 10 Mar, 9pm). Written by Peter Bowker and directed by Paul McGuigan, the show has all the warning signs of emergency service cliché: is there a TV cop or doctor these days who isn’t a brilliant maverick with personal problems? When praised for his efforts on the operating table, James Nesbitt’s mercurial medic sums it up with this quip: ‘I only did what anyone would have done with a medical degree and a borderline personality disorder’. Thankfully, the sprightly, no- nonsense script and pulsating, blurry-edged direction keep things on the right side of hackneyed, chucking about notions of loyalty, truth, death and rivalry while the action pokes around a patient’s exposed brain matter and Sarah Parish’s heart surgeon constantly bickers with Nesbitt’s neuro-dude, particularly hitting his nail on the head by criticising Monroe’s ‘twinkly self- regard’. Like the upsetting Seinfeld double bass motif, the jaunty banjo number which bursts in whenever anyone is striding down a corridor might be the only thing about Monroe that will eventually grate. And unfortunately hospital dramas are packed with corridor-striders.
Errors will be heading to the 2011 South by Southwest festival Healthy rivalry
3–31 Mar 2011 THE LIST 9