AUDIO DESCRIPTION IN SCOTLAND: Notes

It's Christmas-time at the Hopcrofts and the only present this couple want is to succeed in scaling the social ladder. Havoc ensues at the festive drinks party they hold to impress their high-powered friends - but that's nothing compared to what happens at the over the next two Christmases when the friends return their hospitality!

Ayckbourn is one of Britain's most prolific playwrights. He has written over 70 full length plays, including How the Other Half Loves, The Norman Conquests, Bedroom Farce, the Damsels In Distress trilogy and A Chorus Of Disapproval, which won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy in 1985.

A classic comedy with outrageous characters - this is Ayckbourn at his best!

Starring Allan Stewart as Widow Twankey, Grant Stott as Abanazar, Johnny Mac as Aladdin, Nieve Jennings as Princess Jasmine, Jo Freer as Chief of Police, Tom Urie as The Emperor, and with the magical 3D-Genie.

Christmas may seem a long way off, but this year's production of Aladdin is already proving to be a popular hit with groups and families alike. Featuring a cheeky script, stick-in-your-head tunes and sensational special effects - you'll be amazed by some of the most stunning 3D sequences ever created for pantomime.

Panto favourites Allan Stewart and Grant Stott return to create more mayhem and more mess. And, with the most fabulous flying carpet you've ever seen, prepare to join the cast on a magical, whirlwind adventure.

Based upon the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.

Paul Baumer is a butterfly collector - a dreamer abruptly cast into one of the greatest nightmares in history. That he endures at all is down to the deep bonds of comradeship forged in the trenches. Just as the brimstone butterfly thrives in the field of battle, somehow the men keep one another's spirits alive even amid the horrors of the Great War.

Erich Maria Remarque's novel is a universal anthem to the strength of the human spirit. Directed by Giles Croft, Robin Kingsland's faithful and theatrically inventive new adaptation brings the soul of a soldier to the stage.

Sir Peter Hall's highly acclaimed West End and Broadway production of Oscar Wilde's AN IDEAL HUSBAND returns to the stage.

Into the fashionable world of London parties, politics and diplomacy comes the worldly and devious Mrs Cheveley. She attempts to blackmail the British Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Sir Robert Chiltern, whom she accuses of building a career on dishonour by selling a cabinet secret.

The glamorous Kate O'Mara, star of such TV hits as Dynasty and Bad Girls returns to the role of Mrs Cheveley, a part she originally played in the West End. Kate is joined by Dynasty co-star and veteran of the television classic Robin of Sherwood, Michael Praed. Carol Royle has starred in numerous popular TV series including Heartbeat, Crossroads and most recently Doctors. Her various stage roles have included leads in Royal Shakespeare Company productions of A Woman of No Importance and Hamlet. Alongside them are Robert Duncan, best known as Gus from the Channel Four cult comedy hit Drop the Dead Donkey, Fenella Fielding perhaps best known for her roles in the Carry On and Doctor films, as well as distinguished theatre credits including Lady Fidget in The Country Wife and the title role in Hedda Gabler and finally renowned actor of stage and screen Tony Britton whose TV hits include Don't Wait Up and Robin's Nest.

Written with the wit and style expected of Wilde, the political intrigue amongst society's highest ranking figures gives us one of the most entertaining plays in the English language.

Sir Peter Hall's highly acclaimed West End and Broadway production of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband returns to the stage.

Into the fashionable world of London parties, politics and diplomacy comes the worldly and devious Mrs Cheveley. She attempts to blackmail the British Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Sir Robert Chiltern, whom she accuses of building a career on dishonour by selling a cabinet secret.

Written with the wit and style expected of Wilde, the political intrigue amongst society's highest ranking figures gives us one of the most entertaining plays in the English language.

Georgia Nicolson (Georgia Groome) is fourteen, lives with nosey parents who don't understand her, an annoying three year old sister and has to wear a beret to school. She would, however, rather be blonde, have a smaller nose and a boyfriend. Revolving around her hilarious journal entries, prepare to be engulfed in the world of the soaring joys and bottomless angst of being a teenager. This hilarious coming of age story is a very British take on American high school movies like Clueless and Mean Girls. Based on the international best selling series of books by Louise Rennison. Troubled by her ancient parents and buoyed by her cat Angus and her friends 'The Ace Gang' Georgia struggles through life in search of her main desires, to get a gorgeous sex god as a boyfriend and to throw the biggest and best 15th birthday party ever. When handsome brothers Tom and Robbie arrive at school she thinks that her boyfriend dreams have been answered but things are never as simple as they seem.

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging is the story of Georgia Nicholson, a 15 year old with all the same troubles in the world as her friends. As Georgia shares her hilarious journal entries, prepare to be engulfed in the world of the soaring joys and bottomless angst of being a teenager.

From the people that brought Bend it like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging provides a master class in story telling the most comedic of circumstances.

Georgia Nicolson is fourteen, lives with nosey parents who don't understand her, an annoying three year old sister and has to wear a beret to school. She would, however, rather be blonde, have a smaller nose and a boyfriend.

Revolving around her hilarious journal entries, prepare to be engulfed in the world of the soaring joys and bottomless angst of being a teenager. This hilarious coming of age story is a very British take on American high school movies like Clueless and Mean Girls and is based on the international best selling series of books by Louise Rennison.

Troubled by her ancient parents and buoyed by her cat Angus and her friends 'The Ace Gang' Georgia struggles through life in search of her main desires, to get a gorgeous sex god as a boyfriend and to throw the biggest and best 15th birthday party ever. When handsome brothers Tom and Robbie arrive at school she thinks that her boyfriend dreams have been answered but things are never as simple as they seem.

1809: momentous events occur one weekend at Sidley Park, Lady Croom's stately home. Lord Byron is a house guest. The beautiful gardens are being turned into Gothic chaos by landscape gardener Culpability Noakes. Teenage prodigy Thomasina (Lady Croom's daughter) invents the second law of thermodynamics, to the surprise of her tutor, the rakish Septimus Hodge. And discovering that someone has been interfering with his wife in the gazebo, poet Ezra Chater sends for pistols -- and disappears from history . . .

2008: ambitious academic Bernard Nightingale visits Sidley Park looking for evidence to support his theory about what really happened that fateful weekend - a theory which could make his fortune. Forming an uneasy alliance with writer Hannah Jarvis, who is researching a history of the gardens, and Valentine Coverley, a spiky mathematics student (and direct descendant of Lady Croom), Bernard attempts to piece together the mysterious events of 1809 . . .

Two worlds, two centuries apart, edge closer and closer together, until past and present collide. And finally, the truth is revealed . . .

A detective story, a historical romance, an ode to the art of landscape gardening and a comic celebration of human desire, Arcadia is a modern masterpiece: funny, intelligent, audacious and deeply moving. Winner of the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best New Play in 1994, PFT is delighted to be staging the Scottish première production.

By Laurence Boswell.

You can't beat Dundee Rep for its fantastic Christmas shows for all the family and this year is no exception, as our acclaimed Ensemble bring the delightful world of Beauty and the Beast to life. With fabulous costumes, glittering performances, wonderful sets and songs, Beauty and the Beast is a family delight not to be missed!

Beauty and the Beast is a heart-warming, beautiful and bewitching family show suitable for anyone aged five and over. Directed by Jemima Levick, this is one of the most popular and enchantingly romantic stories ever told. With lots of theatrical, funny and engaging moments, we can promise this fairytale will have enough thrills, spills and sparkle to guarantee you a feast of family fun!

In Beauty and the Beast we encounter two worlds: the domestic world of Beauty's family, safe and secure and another world, stumbled upon by her merchant father: a place of great riches, dominated by the tragic Beast. Beauty's adventurous spirit takes her on a journey into the strange world of the beast away from her family and ultimately to love.

Pinter has never written anything, simpler, sadder or funnier than Betrayal. This intriguing, delightful and dramatic play is a love triangle with a twist.

Jerry and Emma were lovers in the past. Emma's husband Robert never knew or did he?

Follow the web of lies from the end of the affair and back through time for 7 years to the start ... and the beginning, of Betrayal.

Betrayal, based upon Pinter's own affair with BBC presenter Joan Bakewell, has been described as 'an exquisite play, brilliantly simple in form and courageous' and also commended by critics as 'Pinter's most accessible and arguably his best play.'

A group of extraordinary women, members of a very ordinary Yorkshire WI, persuade one another to pose for a charity calendar with a difference - no more photos of Wharfedale Bridges or Norman churches for them. Overcoming their initial reserve, the friends drop their dressing gowns, modesty spared only by artfully placed cakes, knitting and flower arrangements.

Puzzling their husbands, mortifying their children, and riding the wrath of the outraged WI, they spark a global phenomenon. But as media interest snowballs, the Calendar Girls find themselves exposed in ways they'd never expected, revealing more than they'd ever planned.

A very English story with a very English heart, Calendar Girls is quirky, poignant and hilarious. Adapted by Tim Firth from the Miramax film of the same name, it is based on uplifting, inspiring true events.

A true classic, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel follows the story of carousel barker Billy Bigelow - his life, loves, downfall and eventual redemption.

Lesley Garrett CBE, Britain's most popular soprano, plays the pivotal role of Nettie in this brand new production. She is joined by Jeremiah James, best known as a member of theatrical 'supergroup' Teatro, as Billy Bigelow and Alexandra Silber as Julie Jordan.

In this gritty and courageous look at relationships you'll hear some of the most moving and celebrated songs of all time including If I Loved You, June Is Bustin' Out All Over and You'll Never Walk Alone.

Charming film adaptation of the classic tale of friendship between a timid piglet and a very wise spider.

Have A Ball Next Christmas!

The King's Theatre is delighted to announce next year's magical pantomime adventure Cinderella.

With sensational costumes, dazzling song and dance numbers and amazing effects, Cinderella will delight audiences of all ages.

See note for Edinburgh Festival Theatre below.

By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart;
Sung in Italian, with English supertitles.

Set in the Bay of Naples in the 18th century, Così fan tutte is an amusing story of pretence, seduction, disguises, flirtatious alliances and the 'fickle' nature of the female sex. This traditionally delivered story beautifully captures the Mediterranean setting with sun-washed imagery and stunning costumes, and features a score full of impeccable richness and variety.

Ferrando and Guglielmo are two officers engaged to Fiordiligi and Dorabella. Whilst in a coffee shop, the men state that their soon-to-be brides will always be faithful to them but a friend lays a bet with them claiming he can prove otherwise. An hilarious plan is concocted to test the true feelings of the betrothed.

Tobias Ringborg, Joel Prieto and Ville Rusanen make their UK opera débuts.

See note for Edinburgh Festival Theatre above.

See note for Edinburgh Festival Theatre above.

A new version based on Carlo Goldoni's Don Juan, translated by Robert David McDonald.
Directed by Jeremy Raison & Maxine Braham.

An unrepentant womaniser? Cruel seducer? Or a genuine lover of the beauty of women?

The Spanish legend of Don Juan has been immortalised by an array of writers, poets, playwrights, composers and filmmakers from Mozart to Johnny Depp. In a debauched world fuelled by lust, the infamous hedonist Don Juan leaves a trail of broken hearts, angry husbands and outraged fathers.

But not all women fall at Don Juan's feet, as they weigh up the odds of accepting the hand of the greatest lover of all time...

Bringing together a 21st century Don Juan with his sistorical counterpart, this is a bold collision of old and new in a radical new version of the timeless story.

To make your future, do you have to murder the past?

In the aftermath of a horrific civil conflict, a new country is preparing for the mass execution of its war criminals. Kate knows nothing and everything about it. She knew one of the guilty men for 15 years and never suspected a thing.

As the city burns and the new government struggles to look credible to the rest of the world, Kate gets tragically caught up in their conspiracy.

Politics, justice and revenge collide in a tense new thriller by Zinnie Harris and directed by the Traverse's Artistic Director Dominic Hill. Fall is the last play in a group of three individual plays that examine the transforming effects of war. Midwinter and Solstice were commissioned and performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2004 - 05. Fall is presented in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Zinnie Harris is a playwright and theatre director. Her stage plays include the award winning Further Than the Furthest Thing (Tron/National Theatre), Solstice and Midwinter (RSC), Julie (NTS) and Nightingale and Chase (Royal Court). As a director she has worked for the NTS, Tron Theatre and the RSC. Most recently she has been writing for screen including Spooks (BBC1) and Richard is my Boyfriend and Born with Two Mothers (Channel 4).

Dominic Hill was appointed Artistic Director of the Traverse in July 2007. His recent work has included Falstaff (Scottish Opera), Prayer for my Daughter (Young Vic) and Peer Gynt and Scenes from an Execution (Dundee Rep where he was Artistic Director 2003 - 07).

Set in Pittsburgh, FLASHDANCE tells the story of 18 year old Alex, a welder by day and 'flashdancer' by night, whose dream is to obtain a place at the prestigious Shipley Dance Academy.

Based on the Paramount Pictures film (Screenplay by Tom Hedley and Joe Eszterhas, story by Tom Hedley) FLASHDANCE is an unmistakably unique musical about holding onto your dreams and love against all the odds. The show features an iconic score including the smash hit Maniac, along with Manhunt, Gloria, I Love Rock and Roll and the Academy Award winning title track FLASHDANCE- What a Feeling as well as 10 original songs created for the musical.

Full of pulsating raw energy and breathtaking choreography by Arlene Phillips (Strictly Come Dancing, Grease, Starlight Express, aturday Night Fever) FLASHDANCE -- The Musical promises to be the theatrical event of the year -- so take your passion and make it happen!

Is this civilisation? I'm only thankful Kenneth Clarke isn't here to see it. I've been in the country three weeks and it's nothing but sex, sex, sex - well, I'm not having any! - Lady Rumpers.

Brighton, 1973: having watched the Permissive Society erupt around him, middle-aged GP Arthur Wicksteed is desperate to join in. When the extraordinarily nubile Felicity Rumpers walks into his surgery, he is dazzled - only to discover that he is competing with his hypochondriac son Dennis for her affections . . .

Meanwhile, Wicksteed's neglected wife Muriel plots an assignation with her old beau, Sir Percy Shorter, now head of the British Medical Association. Enter, at the same time, Lady Rumpers, champion of Empire and Felicity's mother, who has her own unique memories of Sir Percy. Something to do with an Anderson shelter during an air raid . . .

Simultaneously, Wicksteed's sister Constance, pursued by her frustrated (and none too bright) admirer Canon Throbbing, yearns for just one thing: a mountainous frontage. And once a certain - ahem - enhancement arrives in the post, spinsterish Connie is transformed . . .

As ethics (and trousers) are cast aside, Alan Bennett paints a mischievous and outrageously funny portrait of a world obsessed with sex. Written with all his characteristic wit and style, this rollicking seaside postcard of a play is not to be missed!

Will Smith stars in this action comedy as a Superman-like hero who, due to a series of high-profile blunders, has fallen out of favour with the public. Add to all of this the storming rows he has with his wife and an awkward relationship with wisecracking PR guy. Hancock now lives his life as a bum and has real trouble working out who to save and how to save them.

The ship of state sails the rolling waves of the South Downs. But is anyone at the wheel? This is England, in 1917. And the world is at war.

Not that you would know at Heartbreak House, home to the eccentric Captain Shotover, an ancient mariner turned inventor of exotic weaponry, and his bohemian daughter, Hesione, who lives off the royalties from her father's inventions with her handsome, incurably flirtatious husband, Hector.

Appalled that her protégé Ellie Dunn has chosen to marry for money, not love, Hesione invites Ellie and her fiancé, the industrialist Boss Mangan, for the weekend, intending to break up the match -- only to discover that Ellie's decision was prompted by a dalliance with another man . . . one known all too well to Hesione . . .

The sudden arrival of Shotover's estranged younger daughter, the entirely proper and un-bohemian Lady Utterwood, creates further uproar - particularly when she is pursued to Sussex by her adoring brother-in-law Randall.

As the weekend progresses, the house lives up to its name: engagements are broken, plots are hatched, the sea becomes rougher and the ship of state sails closer to the rocks -- until the crash of the breakers begins to sound alarmingly like gunfire . . .

Moving from sparkling comedy to darker drama with Shaw's typical wit and passion, Heartbreak House is a prophetic depiction of a society on the brink of a terrible awakening.

Winner of 10 Tony Awards including Best Musical, New York Drama Critics Circle Award for a Musical, 2 Outer Critics Circle Awards and a Drama Desk Award, Hello, Dolly! is the biggest show stopper in the history of musical theatre.

'And what do you do for a living, Mrs. Levi?' asks Ambrose Kemper in the first scene of this hit musical comedy.
'Some people paint, some sew...I meddle,' replies Dolly. And we are off on a whirlwind race around New York at the turn of the twentieth century, as we follow the adventures of this most beloved matchmaker!

Anita Dobson stars as the irresistible Dolly Levi, alongside Darren Day, David McAlister and Louise English. Hello, Dolly! is full of memorable songs including Put On Your Sunday Clothes, Ribbons Down My Back, Before the Parade Passes By, Hello, Dolly!, It Only Takes a Moment and So Long, Dearie.

Hello, Dolly! stormed the Broadway stage for 2844 performances and played for nearly three years in the West End - now it's back and, with a company of over forty and live orchestra, Hello, Dolly! is the show-stopping 'perfect match' for every musical fan.

Password: Smelly toads.
Motto: Down with Girls.
Enemies: Moody Margaret, Perfect Peter, evil grown-ups and teachers!
Run by: His Lord High excellent Majesty, Horrid Henry.

For the first time ever on stage, Henry takes his rightful place in the spotlight. Along with Mum, Dad, Perfect Peter, Moody Margaret, Rude Ralph and all your favourite characters. Only they're not going to be in the spotlight, of course, not if Henry's got anything to do with it.

An occasion not to be missed, unless you're a vegetable-eating, homework-loving smelly-nappy baby. In which case, you should stay at home!

Based on the much-loved books by Francesca Simon and the hugely popular CITV series by Novel Entertainment.

Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star as two hitmen hiding out in the picturesque city of Bruges in Belgium after a hit goes awry.

See note for Glasgow Theatre Royal below.

See note for Glasgow Theatre Royal below.

Sung in Italian with English Supertitles.

New co-production with Welsh National Opera.

Where do the gentlemen of 19th century Paris go once their wives have gone to bed? Scottish Director David McVicar and Tanya McCallin, the creative team behind Scottish Opera's Der Rosenkavalier, bring you this authentic take on one of the world's most famous operas. Bohemian artists, showgirls, courtesans ... the rich and the wretched mix together within the shady underworld of the Parisian demi-monde.

La traviata is the impassioned story of Violetta Valéry, a famous courtesan who falls in love with Alfredo Germont, much to the distress of his father. Alfredo's father convinces Violetta that she must leave his son in order to avoid bringing scandal to the family name, forcing her to concoct a series of heart-breaking lies to forestall her lover. Once Alfredo discovers the truth of her selfless sacrifice, he rushes again to her side but it is too late - Violetta is dying of consumption.

This is the intimate story of a fallen woman, a tragic heroine and true unadulterated love. The setting perfectly encompasses the power and devastation of this passionate encounter in what is sure to be a deeply moving and immensely powerful production.

Carmen Giannattasio makes her Scottish Opera début playing the lead role of Violetta, Federico Lepre sings Alfredo, and Richard Zeller returns to Scottish Opera as Giorgio Germont. We are delighted to welcome back French conductor Emmanuel Joel-Hornak.

See note for Glasgow Theatre Royal above.

What is there to say about Macbeth that hasn't already been said a hundred times? It's a brilliantly exciting, thrillingly dark tale of power, ambition and the supernatural in medieval Scotland, told with all of Shakespeare's skill as a dramatist.

Confronted by three witches as he returns from battle, Macbeth, Thane of Glamis, is given a tantalising vision of the future - he will acquire great power in his homeland, first as Thane of Cawdor and then as King of Scotland. Intrigued by this prophecy, his personal ambitions are aroused - and when word arrives that his valour in the King's service has been indeed rewarded with the title of Cawdor, his thirst for power begins to control him.

Obsessed with the prophecy, he and his scheming wife set their sights on achieving this ultimate honour and authority. And when King Duncan comes to stay at his trusted nobleman's home, the scene is set for bloody murder, a power grab, and a dark period of tyranny and fear in Scotland. As Macbeth's powerlust, paranoia and guilt grow stronger by the day the bodies begin to mount up, and he finds himself haunted by the past and tormented by the fear of losing his new kingdom.

Meryl Streep leads an all-star cast in the feature-film adaptation of the beloved musical, bringing the timeless lyrics and melodies of iconic super group ABBA to cinema audiences.

Mamma Mia is the story of Donna (Streep) who is about to attend the wedding of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), the spirited daughter she's raised alone. For Sophie's wedding, Donna has invited her two lifelong best girlfriends - practical and no-nonsense Rosie (Julie Walters) and wealthy, multi-divorcee Tanya (Christine Baranski) - from her one-time backing band, Donna and the Dynamos. But Sophie has secretly invited three guests of her own.

Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper join Streep in this celebration of a mother, a daughter and three possible dads.

Mamma Mia the stage musical was a massive hit around the world, and this is a great opportunity to see a brilliant performance brought to the big screen.

See note for Edinburgh Odeon Lothian Road Bove.

Based on the hit West End musical, featuring the music of ABBA about an independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island, Donna (Meryl Streep) is about to let go of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), the spirited daughter she's raised alone. For Sophie's wedding, Donna has invited her two lifelong best girlfriends - practical and no-nonsense Rosie (Julie Walters) and wealthy, multi-divorcee Tanya (Christine Baranski)- from her one-time backing band, Donna and the Dynamos. But Sophie has secretly invited three guests of her own. On a quest to find the identity of her father to walk her down the aisle, she brings back three men from Donna's past to the Mediterranean paradise they visited 20 years earlier. Over 24 chaotic, magical hours, new love will bloom and old romances will be rekindled on this lush island full of possibilities. Sophie's father could be any of her mother Donna's past suitors: Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan), Bill Austin (Stellan Skarsgård), or Harry Bright (Colin Firth). The only way for her to find out is to invite all three to her wedding to see what happens.

Based on the hit West End musical, featuring the music of ABBA Mamma Mia tells the story of Donna, an independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island. Donna is about to let go of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), the spirited daughter she's raised alone.

For Sophie's wedding, Donna has invited her two lifelong best girlfriends -- practical and no-nonsense Rosie and wealthy, multi-divorcee Tanya -- from her one-time backing band, Donna and the Dynamos. But Sophie has secretly invited three guests of her own. On a quest to find the identity of her father to walk her down the aisle, she brings back three men from Donna's past to the Mediterranean paradise they visited 20 years earlier. Over 24 chaotic, magical hours, new love will bloom and old romances will be rekindled on this lush island full of possibilities. Sophie's father could be any of her mother Donna's past suitors: Sam Carmichael, Bill Austin, or Harry Bright. The only way for her to find out is to invite all three to her wedding to see what happens...

See note for Glasgow Theatre Royal below.

Sung in French with English Supertitles;
A Scottish Opera première and a new production.

First performed in 1884 at the Opéra Comique in Paris, this 19th century tragedy is Massenet's most famous opera and is a passionate and compelling account of one woman's turbulent life.

Manon, a beautiful young girl, is travelling to a convent. En route she stops at an inn where she makes the acquaintance of Chevalier des Grieux. The couple fall in love and elope to Paris but are soon tracked down by her cousin and his friend, the nobleman de Brétigny. Seeking to procure Manon's affections for himself, de Brétigny persuades her to leave des Grieux with promises of wealth and luxury. Later, having realised that she cannot be without her former lover, Manon seeks him out and they are re-united. However, de Brétigny ensures that there will be no happy ending and takes his revenge with devastating consequences.

This large-scale production is a Scottish Opera première and includes fully choreographed ballet scenes and an impressive chorus adding maximum dramatic impact to Massenet's moving score.

Anne Sophie Duprels makes her Scottish Opera début playing the part of Manon and Scottish Opera welcomes back internationally acclaimed tenor Paul Charles Clarke. Scottish Opera Music Director Francesco Corti conducts.

Brecht's epic masterpiece of struggle and survival.

A war rages on while the worldly-wise Mother Courage seeks her fortune selling goods to the soldiers. But the war exacts a price - as war always does - and Mother Courage's soaring profits are tempered by searing loss. Directed by Gerry Mulgrew (Peer Gynt), Dundee Rep Ensemble present Brecht's deeply moving and powerfully relevant production.

Using only her wits and sheer will Mother Courage determinedly follows a series of faceless armies across the land in an effort to make a living for herself and her family; though, one by one, her children are lost to the very violence from which she profits. In Mother Courage we are reminded of the dreadfulness of war and that virtues are not rewarded in corrupt times.

First performed in 1941 Mother Courage is often hailed as Brecht's best work.

Island life turns into a high seas adventure when young Nim takes on a gang of menacing bucaneers!

A young girl named Nim (Abigail Breslin) leads a tropical existence that mirrors that of her favourite literary hero: Alex Rover, the great adventurer. When her home island is threatened she reaches out to her hero for help.

Written by Alan Wilkins;
Directed by Morven Gregor.

Where the land meets water, where the urban meets rural, Alan Wilkins's new play explores what happens when a landscape changes, when a town loses its young people and the sea loses its fish. As the spotlight falls on this small Scottish community, a complex web of interdependencies is revealed - life in this rural idyll is far from straightforward.

A mother is struggling to make ends meet running a chandlery and a whale-watching boat. Her daughter is torn between her ambitions and supporting her mum and boyfriend. Then there are the two newcomers. Why have they chosen this quiet coastal town? Where does their money come from? All is not what it seems!

On the eve of the Second World War, two fresh-faced Cambridge ornithologists, are sent by the government to survey the bird population on a remote, uninhabited Scottish island. Left alone for a month on this scrap of rock with the authoritarian Kirk, the island's leaseholder, and his niece Ellen, a young woman in thrall to the stars of the silver screen, they begin to study the birds. And each other.

Initially full of enthusiasm for their task, the two young man are appalled when they discover the real reason for the government's interest in the island - an interest that would see the island turned to dead, desolate rock.

But not so Kirk, who sees in the Ministry's plans only an opportunity for compensation and escape - escape from a lifetime's work tending the grazing sheep and the seasonal harvest of cliff-top birds, escape from a place which has a dark pagan history. A history which seems to resonate strongly with the free-spirited Ellen.

As the petrels and fulmars whirl around the cliff tops, unaware that their future hangs by a thread, tensions build inside the ruined chapel that houses the expedition. To the point where something has to give . . .

Poetic, intense and gripping, Outlying Islands is a glimpse of an innocence, a way of seeing and of being young, that is about to be destroyed forever.

It's never too early to book for our 2008/09 panto! Over 40,000 tickets released for sale ... book now!

Following the record-breaking success of the highly-acclaimed production of Aladdin at His Majesty's Theatre, don't miss the chance to hook your seats early for this year's swashbuckling pantomime adventure, PETER PAN!

Staged by the same team that presented Aladdin, PETER PAN will have His Majesty's Theatre hallmark of outstanding and quality entertainment for the whole family, with lavish sets, fabulous costumes, an abundance of comedy and stunning flying sequences. PETER PAN will take you on a spectacular and unmissable journey to Neverland! Cast details will be announced soon.

A bare stage; several sharp knives; 23 actors and some of the most hot-blooded poetry ever written.

The Royal Shakespeare Company presents a boldly theatrical new staging of Shakespeare's fast moving story of two teenagers torn apart by their families' vendetta.

The production reunites director Neil Bartlett and designer Kandis Cook, the creative team behind the RSC's acclaimed 2007 production of Twelfth Night.

Sarah Jessica Parker and friends reprise their famed New Yorker roles in a tear-jerking adventure on the big screen. Also starring Chris Noth, Jennifer Hudson and Evan Handler.

Mrs. Hardcastle is determined to marry her decidedly spoiled son from her first marriage, Tony Lumpkin, to her glamorous niece, Constance Neville - if only to keep the fabulous Neville jewels in the family. Constance, however, has other plans . . . which tend to involve the dashing George Hastings . . .

Likewise, Squire Hardcastle has arranged a match for his daughter, Kate, with the son of his old friend, Sir Charles Marlow. Neither the Hardcastles nor the bridegroom-to-be have ever met - so the Squire has no way of knowing that while young Marlow is hopelessly bashful in the presence of society ladies, he becomes a veritable Casanova at the sight of a serving wench . . .

Marlow invites Hastings to accompany him to Liberty Hall, the Squire's country house. When the young bucks stop at a rowdy alehouse seeking directions, a well-oiled Tony Lumpkin decides that fun is to be had. Telling the visitors they can find rooms for the night at a nearby inn, complete with grumpy landlord and gorgeous barmaid, he directs them to . . . Liberty Hall, their intended destination . . .

With its outrageous mix of secret elopements and nocturnal confusions, Goldsmith's classic comedy has delighted audiences for over two centuries. A ribald and hilarious portrait of life and love in town and country, this promises to be a season highlight!

Martin Scorsese's concert documentary shows the world the Rolling Stones as they've never been seen before. Taking place at the famed Beacon Theatre in New York City in autumn 2006, the film captures the raw energy of this legendary band.

Speed Racer is the best racing driver of his time, fearless and instinctive he was born to race cars and fulfil his family's legacy. But the time has now come for Speed Racer to defend his family's racing business from collapse and compete in the world's most dangerous race 'The Crucible' and avenge his brother's death.

Sunset Song was voted the most popular Scottish novel of all time in 2006, and this revised adaptation by Alastair Cording tells the story of Chris Guthrie through her country childhood and marriages before and after the First World War.

Sunset Song is an examination and celebration of a rural life fast dying out. It tells how it feels to be a girl growing up on a farm in in the early 20th century, how it feels to be in love and in lust, how it feels to be a young mother on her own, and how it feels to lose a lover in the war.

Marking a major artistic milestone, this will be the first solo production by His Majesty's Theatre since the refurbishment and the launch of the HMT Studio in 2005.

Sunset Song was voted the most popular Scottish novel of all time in 2006, and this revised adaptation by Alastair Cording tells the story of Chris Guthrie through her country childhood and marriages before and after the First World War.

Sunset Song is an examination and celebration of a rural life fast dying out. It tells how it feels to be a girl growing up on a farm in in the early 20th century, how it feels to be in love and in lust, how it feels to be a young mother on her own, and how it feels to lose a lover in the war.

Marking a major artistic milestone, this will be the first solo production by His Majesty's Theatre since the refurbishment and the launch of the HMT Studio in 2005.

London, 1959.
Aston (a quiet reserved man) has helped an old tramp to escape from a café brawl and brought him back to his scruffy one-room flat. Mick (his taunting younger brother) isn't too happy about his older brother's act of kindness. As the old man struggles where to place his trust, he is made Caretaker of the assorted junk and despite his obsessional fears of draughts, gas leaks and ill-fitting shoes, strives to secure his new position - by playing off one troubled brother against the other.

Harold Pinter's The Caretaker brought him his first major artistic and commercial success, and has been adapted for television and film. With a masterful use of dialogue, this is a brutally funny play that endures today as a modern classic.

Directed by Philip Breen whose previous work at the Citizens' includes the acclaimed Shadow Of A Gunman and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.

Christian Bale once again embodies the man behind the mask in The Dark Knight. The film reunites Bale with director Christopher Nolan and takes Batman across the world in his quest to fight a growing criminal threat. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, the new 'white knight', Batman has been making headway against local crime ...

... that is until a rising criminal mastermind known simply as The Joker unleashes a fresh reign of chaos across Gotham City. To stop this devious new menace -- Batman's most personal and vicious enemy yet -- he will have to use every high-tech weapon in his arsenal and confront everything he believes. There is still plenty of work to be done for Batman if Gotham is ever to rid itself of its villainous underbelly.

Christian Bale is back as the legendary crime fighter Batman, who is taking on Gotham's evil new mastermind, The Joker (Heath Ledger).

The Dark Knight follows on from Batman Begins seeing Bruce Wayne's alter ego taking to the streets and one by one putting the bad guys behind bars while making Gotham a safer place. But there's a new criminal in town with every intention of ruining Batman's crusade and bringing the city under his own control. The Joker's psychotic insanity spreads fear across the city, rallying an army of followers to join his campaign and kill Batman in the process.

The Dark Knight also co-stars Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman as key figures supporting Bruce Wayne in his crusade against crime. Gary Oldman returns as Commissioner Gordon and Aaron Eckhart leads as the new District Attorney, Harvey Dent.

Book online today and you'll get an exclusive mobile tone featuring the voice of The Joker! (Not available in the Republic of Ireland) We'll tell you how in your booking confirmation page. Remember to pick up a combo when you arrive at your local ODEON - you'll get a scratchcard with the chance to win a top prize of The Bruce Wayne Experience, and every scratchcard wins a prize! For more details and terms and conditions, check out our Great Offers page.

Se note for Aberdeen Vue Cinema above.

See note for East Kilbride Odeon Cinema above.