And Then We Danced  ★★★★ Directed by Levan Akin Paralleling the thematic beats of the highly acclaimed Portrait of a Lady on Fire , And Then We Danced is a well-realised tale of modern romance set in the Orthodox Christian country of Georgia. Though religion seldom factors into the narrative, the sense of persecution towards the minimised LGBTQ+ community holds autocracy, as the toxic values of the conservative, ‘normal’ male archetype cripple our protagonist, making his coming out seemingly impossible.   Merab and his dance partner / sort-of-girlfriend Mary have trained all of their lives to be professional Georgian dancers. They practice the ancient, ritualistic movement daily, auditioning to join a travelling band, particularly so that Merab can escape his underprivileged family. When Irakli, a strong, carefree dancer from another part of the country joins the group, a rivalry soon forms. Through their competitive friendship, the two find themselves discovering...

RHA TrueConnect In Ear Bluetooth Earbuds Now, this is a rare treat, we don’t normally get technology to review but here I have a pair of RHA TrueConnect wireless Earbuds to check out, so let’s see what they’re like? The first thing I notice is how beautifully designed they are, they come in a robust metal and plastic charging case with three lights to show the level of charge which is incredibly useful if you’re on the move a lot or have long journeys, the earbuds themselves hold a five hour charge whilst the case holds 20 hours of power. The buds also have an array of eartips, ten in total sorted into three different sizes so there’s no doubt that you’ll be able to find the most comfortable fit and comfortable they are. In my case, I used the foam tips which you squeeze down before inserting and they expand which kept them in my rather small ears and helped with noise cancellation, I also tried the rubber tips which had a lighter feel. The buds themselves sit comfortably in ...

Cornershop - England Is A Garden ⅘ It's a shame that for the most of the nation Cornershop are those blokes that did ‘Brimful of Asha’ which while being a magnificent pop song is only one tune in a dazzling catalogue of excellent music and ‘England Is A Garden’ joins those ranks easily. Tjinder Singh has always been experimental in his songwriting and production and this new album is no different. Treated vocals on songs like ‘Slingshot’ make it almost impossible to hear what he’s singing whilst a psychedelic swirl of music floats prettily around him while ‘One Uncareful Lady Owner’ goes full on sixties with a rocking sitar blasting it's way throughout. Interestingly enough, and particularly for these trying political times, ‘England Is A Garden’ is a hugely upbeat and positive record and God knows we need it. In fact single ‘St Marie Under Canon’ is one of the band’s finest singles to date. Huge thumping Roy Orbison drums sliced through with scattershot fills and a big h...

Luke Haines & Peter Buck - Beat Poetry For Survivalists 3/5 There’s something about pairing the super-English Luke Haines with the very American Peter Buck that somehow makes him even more English. Ever since Haines appeared in the form of The Auteurs back in ‘93 he’s been a constant music maker in several guises. This album of his cast of oddball characters has all the hallmarks of Haines’ previous works. The cool, nervy feel of anxiety with pretty music and xylophones. Peter Buck lends his gnarly R.E.M. style guitars to bolster and frame Haines’ collection of tall tales although the music stays very much in Luke Haines’ area of stiff upper lip alt-rock/pop. There are diversions into bhangra like on ‘Last Of The Legendary Bigfoot Hunters’ and full glittery attacks on glam rock (one of Luke’s favourite musical styles) with ‘French Man Glam Gang’ which is scuzzy and languid, in a good way of course. Possibly the closest we come into the area of R.E.M. is on ‘Bobby’...

Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott - Manchester Calling 3/5 At 16, (yes 16!) tracks long there’s a lot of music on the new Heaton/Abbott album, this seems to be a purple patch for the two former Beautiful South singers, obviously, they bounce off each other within the songs and it must spill into the songwriting process but does it need to be such a long album? It has all the hallmarks of his collaboration with Abbott, the swaggering faster songs, the shuffling midtempo songs and the wistful slower tunes. Ditties like ‘The Only Exercise I Get Is You’ and ‘So Happy’ have that trademark northern wit while country gets to influence the music on ‘You & Me (Were Meant To Be Together)’ but the general feel of the album is so familiar that you keep thinking you’ve heard these songs before and that may be a flaw in Heaton (and songwriting partner Johnny Lexus’) process that there are no real surprises which is pretty much the reason the Beautiful South split up so it's odd...

Deacon Blue - City of Love ⅘ Glasgow’s Deacon Blue have been around for decades so you’d forgive them for slowing down or retreading old glories, I mean if they just paraded the greatest hits out for the rest of their career it’d be acceptable. However, they have other plans and on their 9th studio album, they’ve created all new magic. "City of Love’ is a charming album, full of heart and warmth. It's almost completely unburdened by angst, even the vocal performances have a more fluid, easier feel to them. The histrionics have been dialed all the way back and this album is all the better for it. Songs like ‘In Our Room’ and ‘Intervals’ flows gently past the ears, deceptively simple, Ricky Ross and Lorraine MacIntosh intertwining their vocals playfully it's very laid back. The title track grows from an orchestral seed into a windswept, technicoloured epic, it's like something from their early works but with a measured maturity and it suits them rather well. Wh...

Elaine C Smith and Steven McNicoll are comedy duo gold  Mrs Puntila and her man Matti By Bertolt Brecht, adapted by Denise Mina Directed by Murat Daltaban Starring Elaine C. Smith 28 February – 21 March 2020, The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh 25 March – 11 April 2020, Citizens Theatre at Tramway Updating Brecht's play with a gender swap gives us the best comedy performances I've seen on stage in a long time, mainly due to the verbal duelling of Smith and Nichols. When sober, Mrs Puntila is a ruthless capitalist mill and landowner, but once she has a drink the Jekyll and Hyde characteristics kick in and she becomes a loving kind generous benefactor with a hint of loneliness . Her  chauffeur Matti’s main job is to save her from herself when she's drunk, which he does most of the time.  But, when she is sober, he has to suffer the downtrodden treatment of being her servant, and a servant who knows his place. The set by Tom Piper is just a big frame ...

Jane McDonald last week announced her departure from  Channel 5's travel shows  Cruising With  and  Holidaying With and today it has been revealed that Susan Calman will be taking over both shows after success with  Channel 5 series  Secret Scotland With Susan Calman.   She will now be "exploring the high seas and popular holiday destinations" via  Cruising With Susan Calman  and  Holidaying With Susan Calman .The comedian says: "I'm over the moon to be working with  Channel 5  on such a prestigious group of shows."I can't wait to go on exciting voyages and incredible journeys and take the wonderful viewers with me. It's the start of a magnificent chapter and I can't wait to get going."Ben Frow, director of programming at  Channel 5 , comments: "Susan was my first and only choice for these shows and I am absolutely cock-a-hoop that she is doing more with  Channel 5 .