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Margins Book and Music Festival BOOKS / MUSIC / FESTIVAL Cargo Publishing host their annual words- and-sounds shindig. A Malcolm Middleton /Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells double bill and a reading of Alasdair Gray’s Fleck at Oran Mor are among the highlights. See feature, page 26. Arches, Glasgow, Fri 24–Sun 26 Feb. All New People THEATRE Indie cinema darling and icon of televised quirky-comedy Zach Braff also has a theatrical bent. He’s written, directed and stars in an all new comedic play about a miserable young man trying (and failing) to suffer through his birthday in peace. See Braff interview, page 22. King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Tue 14–Sat 18 Feb.

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Justice MUSIC They blew us away with the thumping electro-throb of debut album Cross. Then they went all bombastic fantasy- prog with follow-up Audio, Video, Disco. Now French house duo Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay travel to Glasgow to take the roof off the O2 Academy. See feature, page 82. O2 Academy, Glasgow, Sun 12 Feb. Menergy CLUBS / LGBT Glasgow-based LGBT scene-builder Lady Munter presents ‘Scotland’s only trans club and gay dance party’ at gentlemen’s club Forbidden a pleasing fit, as the venue already comes with flamboyant décor including cages, poles and light-up runway. It’s gonna be anything but a drag. See interview, page 80. Forbidden, Glasgow, Sat 11 Feb.

Carnage FILM Roman Polanski gathers an all-star cast (John C Reilly, Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz) for this comedy about upper-middle class savagery. See Reilly interview, page 67, and review, page 71. General release from Fri 3 Feb.

Allan Sekula VISUAL ART Photography exhibition documenting globalisation at sea, with special interest dedicated to the voyage of cargo ship-cum-exhibition space the Global Mariner. See review, page 120. Stills Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sun 18 Mar. Shalom Auslander BOOKS ‘Probably the funniest book that’s ever going to be written about the Holocaust,’ says our review of Auslander’s novel, Hope: A Tragedy, on page 51. Okay, few Holocaust books try for laughs, but it’s still a strong endorsement. Picador, Thu 16 Feb.

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Rachel Sermanni at Celtic Connections SUGGESTED BY ACTOR, WRITER AND DIRECTOR GERDA STEVENSON

I’d recommend going to see Rachel Sermanni, a young singer-songwriter from Carrbridge, near Inverness, who’ll be performing at Celtic Connections with some fellow musicians (including Admiral Fallow’s Louis Abbott and Phil Hague). She has a natural, easy style of her own. Her songs are memorable and impressive. As a (late-blooming!) singer- songwriter myself, I’m very interested in what this gifted young woman is doing. I admire her haunting yet gutsy voice, her meandering melodies, and her subtle lyrics. She’s been collaborating with musicians in India recently, and is obviously open to different musical influences, so it’s going to be interesting to watch her musical journey over the coming years. Rachel Sermanni & Friends, St Andrew’s in the Square, Glasgow, Sun 5 Feb. Gerda Stevenson narrates The Boy and the Bunnet, Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 3 & Sat 4 Feb.

2 Feb–1 Mar 2012 THE LIST 5