The longest day has vanished over the horizon and it won’t be long before people start saying “the nights are fair drawing in”. In other words, it’s July. Of course with the schools off and – hopefully – the sun shining it’s holiday time so Glasgow’s theatres have slowed down a little with far fewer productions in July than in previous months but as per usual, what there is on show is still top notch entertainment. So when you’ve tired of ice-cream and you want to rest your flip-flops, pop into one of Glasgow’s theatres and enjoy this month’s treats.

The Arches’ calendar is a little slimmer than it ought to be this month due to a couple of cancellations so there’s a three week gap between Belle Jone’s continuing production of Aesop’s Fables and a celebration Independence Day from Love Club, featuring American performance artist Markus Markevellian, and the Arches new Associate Artist Tom Pritchard’s cross artform work, the intriguingly named As Yet Untitled.

Fortunately, squeezing in between these shows is the Surge Festival of street arts, physical theatre and circus; and finishing off the month at the venue is Tabby Cat and Rekindle Theatre’s production of Immaculate – a comedy of confusion and conception and doubt.

Over at the Tron there’s a tongue in cheek tribute to a silver screen classic with Casablanca: The Gin Joint Cut. Meanwhile a star of the small screen gets a reassessment from Grant Smeaton in Whatever Happened to Benny Hill (both of these productions are also part of the Merchant City Festival). For those too young to know about either of these cultural icons there’s Cloud Man – a beautiful mix of puppetry and storytelling from Ailie Cohen for kids aged 4-7, although parents are welcome too.

The Tramway features the National Theatre of Scotland’s brilliant production of David Harrower’s Knives In Hens. Later in the month there’s the chance to see the world premiere of writer David Leddy’s Untitled Love Story from Fire Exit Ltd. A mix of soundscape, stunning visuals and powerful performances set within the sultry background of Venice, it’s a show that promises to be a unique and intriguing experience.

The CCA continues to put on boundary challenging work this month with Cryptic Nights’ Inhabitants. A mix of dance, film and theatre, choreographer Abby Warrilow’s show, set in a desolate future world, creates a sense of unease, isolation and fear.

The Merchant City Festival contains – alongside the productions at the Tron – Louna presenting The GRIM(M) Tales (for adults and kids) – a look at the Brothers Grimm’s lesser known folk stories taking place in the suitably spooky Ramshorn Graveyard. Also using the same venue is Strathclyde Theatre Group providing bite-sized chunks of the Bard with Shakespeare at Large.

Outside of this sepulchral setting, NOH takes the intricacies of Japanese traditional theatre and mixes them with ideas of space and transience.

Oran Mor alongside providing some of the best live music in the city also takes time to play host to the National Theatre of Scotland’s interactive and highly entertaining show The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart.

The King’s mixes twisted entertainment for kids in the shape of David Walliam’s Mr Stink with a little bit of Rock n’Roll in the form of Buddy – the tribute to the Lubbock Texas’ favourite son and the genre’s first superstar.

Lovers of brothel creepers, drape jackets and quiffs are also in for a treat at The Pavilion with their musical tribute to the fifties Jukebox Memories 2.

Finally the Theatre Royal takes on one of the most fascinating stories from the depression with the tale of The Pitmen Painters – a group of North Eastern miners who became friends with the greatest avant garde artists of the time – from Newcastle’s Live Theatre. A show that’s already garnered critical praise on both sides of the Atlantic hits Glasgow prior to a West End run.

So perhaps it’s not the biggest list of productions we’ve ever previewed, but hey even theatre folk are allowed to play with their sandcastles and there’s no doubt that even in condensed form there’s still there’s something for every taste on offer in Glasgow this July.

FULL LISTINGS:

Aesop’s Fables: Thur 30th June – Sat 2nd July @ 12:00 & 15:00

Love Club: Mon 4th July @ 20:00

Surge Festival: 18th – 24th July – Various times

As Yet Untitled: Mon 25th July @ 19:00

Immaculate: Thurs 28th – Sat 30th July @ 19:00

Casablanca: The Gin Joint Cut: Tues 7th – Sat 23rd July @ 19:45

Whatever Happened to Benny Hill: Wed 20th – Sat 23rd July @ 20:00

Cloud Man: Sun 24th July @ 13:00 & 15:00

Knives In Hens: Tues 5th – Sat 9th July @ 19:30

Untitled Love Story: Thur 28th – Sat 20th July @ 19:30

Inhabitants: Thur 7th July @ 20:00

The GRIM(M) Tales – for adults: Fri 22nd July @ 19:00, Sat 23rd & Sun 24th July @ 20:00

The GRIM(M) Tales – for kids: Fri 22nd July @ 12:00, Sat 23rd & Sun 24th @ 18:00

Shakespeare at Large: Fri 22nd & Sun 24th July @ 14:00

NOH: Fri 22nd – Sun 24th July @ 12:00

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart: Thur 21st – Sat 30th July @ 19:30

Mr Stink: Tues 12th July @ 19:00, Wed 13th & Thur 14th July @ 14:30, Fri 15th & Sat 16th July @ 14:30 & 19:00

Buddy: Mon 4th – Sat 9th July @ 19:30, Wed 6th & Sat 9th @ 14:30

Jukebox Memories 2: Tues 21st – Sat 30th July @ 19:30, Sats 23rd & 30th 14:00

The Pitmen Painters: Mon 25th – Sat 30th July @ 19:30, Thur 28th & Sat 30th @ 14:30