59 Best Performing Arts in Scotland

In a former church, Glasgow's hugely successful lunchtime theater series called "A Play, a Pie, and a Pint" (and you do get all three) showcases new writing from Scotland and elsewhere. Doors open at 12:15 pm and shows begin at 1 pm Monday through Saturday. Performances sell out quickly, particularly late in the week, so book well in advance on the website.

Continually expanding, this music festival is held throughout the second half of January in venues across the city. Musicians from Scotland, Ireland, and other countries celebrate Celtic music, both traditional and contemporary. There are a series of hands-on workshops and a popular late-night club at the Royal Concert Hall.

This is home to the award-winning Dundee Rep Ensemble and to Scotland's preeminent contemporary-dance group, Scottish Dance Theatre. Popular with locals, the restaurant and bar welcome late-night comedy shows and jazz bands.

The varied program at this excellent local filmhouse and theater includes movies, musical theater, comedy, ballet, and even pantomime. Check out the art gallery and the bright café, and take a walk around the magnificent Bishop's Palace. In summer, there's also regular live music on the lawn.

During the world's largest arts festival in August, most of the city center becomes one huge performance area, with fire eaters, sword swallowers, unicyclists, jugglers, string quartets, jazz groups, stand-up comedians, and magicians all thronging into High Street and Princes Street. Every available performance space—church halls, community centers, parks, sports fields, nightclubs, and more—is utilized for every kind of event, with something for all tastes. There are even family-friendly shows. Many events are free; others start at a few pounds and rise to £15 or £20. There's so much happening in the three weeks of the festival that it's possible to arrange your own entertainment program from early morning to after midnight. Be aware that hotels get booked up months in advance during the Fringe and bargains are virtually impossible to come by, so plan your trip as far in advance as possible.

Nowadays most capital cities put on decent New Year's celebrations, but Edinburgh's three-day-long Hogmanay festivities are on a whole other level. There's a reason this city is famous around the world as the best place to ring in the New Year. Yes, it's winter and yes, it's chilly, but joining a crowd of 80,000 people in a monster street party, complete with big-name rock concerts, torchlight processions, ceilidh dancing, and incredible fireworks, is something you won't forget in a hurry. The headline city center events are ticketed (and can be pricey), but there are free First Footin' parties happening all over the city.

An independent operation, the three-screen Glasgow Film Theatre shows the best new releases, documentaries, and classic films. It has several programs for young people and hosts the annual Glasgow Film Festival.

This alluring multipurpose cinema and arts center was built from a dilapidated 1950s swimming pool. Along with its three cinema screens, Montrose's community hub hosts events, talks, and workshops. Pop into the fab Reel Café Bar to refuel and see what's coming up.

A unique spectacle, Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre is the brainchild of Eduard Bersudsky, who came to Glasgow from Russia in 1989 to continue making the mechanical sculptures that are his stock in trade. They are witty and sometimes disturbing, perhaps because they are constructed from scrap materials. They move in a kind of ballet to haunting, specially composed music punctuated by a light show. The shows are 45 or 70 minutes.

Usually held in the third week of June, Kirkwall's St. Magnus International Festival is a world-class celebration of classical music, opera, chamber music, ensemble and solo performances, dance, and drama, performed in inspiring venues including St. Magnus Cathedral.

This midscale venue hosts plays, musicals, poetry readings, and exhibitions by professional, amateur, and youth companies.

Experimental plays, small-scale operatic performances, contemporary dance, musical performances, and film screenings are on the bill at the Byre. There's also coffee and comfy seating in the revamped Byre Living Room.

One of Scotland's finest concert halls, Caird Hall stages a wide range of music and events.

The center hosts regular major art exhibitions and other arts events and regularly screens classic, independent, and children's films. It also has a restaurant, the Saramago, which serves vegan dishes; an upstairs bar; and a very good small independent bookshop.

An 18-screen facility, this is Glasgow's busiest movie multiplex. A glass-walled elevator whisks you to the top of the 170-foot-tall building, which is also the world's tallest cinema. Book your tickets online and collect them from machines at the venue to avoid the often very long queues.

One of the top music venues in the Merchant City, the stone-fronted City Halls hosts orchestral, jazz, and folk concerts.

More than 10 Borders communities have reestablished their identities through the annual summer gatherings known as the Common Ridings. In medieval times it was essential that each town be able to defend its area by "riding the marches," or patrolling the boundaries. The Common Ridings that celebrate this history are more authentic than the Highland Games concocted by the Victorians. Although this is above all a celebration for native Borderers, you will be welcome to share the excitement of clattering hooves and banners proudly displayed.

Celebrated every year since 1979, this festival with music, theater, dance, and other events is usually held at the end of May at several venues throughout the region.

A year-round program of films, concerts, and theater as well as community activities for adults and children are on offer here. The theater also has a very pleasant café, which is open throughout the day.

This two-week-long event held every August pulls together a heady mix of authors from around the world, including Nobel laureates and best-selling fiction writers, and gets them talking about their work in a magnificent tent village. There are more than 750 events in total, with the workshops for would-be writers and children proving hugely popular.

Running throughout August, this flagship traditional arts festival attracts international performers and audiences to a celebration of music, dance, theater, opera, and art. Programs, tickets, and reservations are available from the Hub, set within the impressive Victorian-Gothic Tolbooth Kirk. Tickets for the festival go on sale in April, and the big events sell out within the month. Nevertheless, you'll still be able to purchase tickets for some events during the festival; prices range from around £4 to £60.

Held over a week in late July, the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival attracts world-renowned musicians playing everything from blues-rock to soul music, and brings local enthusiasts out of their living rooms and into the pubs, clubs, and Spiegeltents (pop-up performance spaces) around the city.

Held around Easter each year, the Edinburgh Science Festival is one of Europe's largest, and aims to make science accessible, interesting, and fun for kids (and adults) through an extensive program of innovative exhibitions, workshops, performances, and screenings.

For five days in late June, Glasgow hosts jazz musicians from around the world in venues throughout the city, though mainly in the City Centre.

The 2,500-seat Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is the venue for a wide range of concerts, from classical to pop. It also hosts the very popular late-night club during the annual Celtic Connections music festival.

This popular, compact cinema has two screens and extremely comfortable leather seats (some of them big enough for two). It's part of a small complex in the always busy Ashton Lane, immediately behind the subway station, that also includes bars, cafés, and restaurants.

Aristocratic Haddo House hosts a range of events in summer, from performances by the Haddo Choral and Operatic Society to opera, recitals, ballet, Shakespearean drama, and puppet shows on the grounds and in the salons of the mansion. The season runs from spring through fall.

Located in the heart of the town near the Drumlanrig Bridge, this arts and entertainment complex has a cinema and a performance space that regularly hosts cultural events. Book tickets through the website.