Game Masters, National Museum of Scotland, until Mon Apr 20
An incredible exhibition celebrating the (relatively short) history of video games, with roughly 120 arcade machines, handhelds, consoles, PCs and apps available to play (accompanied by equally cool stuff like game concept art and original scripting notes).
Robin Ince, The Stand, Tue Jan 13
The intellectually rigorous stand-up questions the concept of free will in his latest show, ‘Blooming Buzzing Confusion’.
Poets Against Humanity, The Banshee Labyrinth, Wed Jan 14
Following a successful debut, the live poetic panel show inspired by the game ‘Cards Against Humanity’ returns to the Banshee with special guests Miko Berry (Loud Poets), Suky Goodfellow & Heckler Hand and Siân Bevan.
The Faith Healer, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Wed Jan 14-Sat Feb 7
Join the Fantastic Francis Hardy as he travels among the UK’s small towns, healing the lame and unfortunate and seeking his own form of redemption.
Chastity Brown, The Pleasance, Thu Jan 15
You could make a strong argument that Minneapolis resident Brown is mainly on these shores to appear at Celtic Connections, where her well informed take on rootsy Americana will fit right in. Fair play to the young woman for booking a few days on either side of her CC engagement then, including this one at Edinburgh’s Pleasance.
Away Game, Summerhall, Thu Jan 15
An evening of music and poetry to raise money for Scotland’s food banks, this event features a line-up of rising Scottish writers including Gordon Legge, Cee Smith, Samuell Best, Bethan Ruth Anderson, Dickson Telfer, Karyn Dougan, Paul Tonner, Elyse Jamieson and Stephen Watt.
Whiplash, general release from Fri Jan 16
JK Simmons and Miles Teller star as the tyrannical jazz maestro and his under-pressure percussion protégé in this intense dramatic thriller.
Southern Tenant Folk Union, Scottish Storytelling Centre, Sat Jan 17
The left-leaning, ever-changing roots collective launch their sixth album, ‘The Chuck Norris Project’, as part of Celtic Collections in Glasgow this week – luckily, residents of their hometown can catch a more intimate set in Edinburgh the night before.
FameLab, National Museum of Scotland, Sat Jan 17
We all love science now, yeah? This international offshoot of the Cheltenham Festivals aims ‘to find and nurture scientists and engineers with a flair for communicating with public audiences’ – which basically means you get to watch the next Brian Coxes show off their science knowledge and presentation skills in the flesh.
Christopher Orr: The Beguiled Eye, Talbot Rice Gallery, until Sat Feb 14
There's a contrast of style and content in this exhibition, as Orr uses the artistic grammar of the Old Masters to depict anachronistic scenes from 1950s postcards and National Geographic magazines, overlaying the whole with a sinister, spectral element.