Showing @ various venues across Glasgow – see below for full listings

Spring is here, the snowdrops are out in the park and the first daffodils are peeking their heads above the ground. The trees will soon be full of pink and white blossom and the bees beginning their honey-making task can be heard in the fields and parks. Ghastly isn’t it? However, you can block out all this colour, noise and fragrance by hiding yourself away in one of Glasgow’s dark theatres to enjoy the dramatic and comedic treats on offer.

Sylvester McCoy opens March at the Tron with a performance as the desperate grieving father of a terrorist victim in a world premiere of J.C. Marshall’s play Plume. Barflies, fresh from its success in Edinburgh, turns up later in the month and the great Stellar Quines in conjunction with Imago Theatre bring Clare Duffy and Pierre Yves Lemieux’s imaginative identity drama Ana. Tron Young Company have developed I Was Always Behind You, a tale of romance, error and salvation – and the Tron Theatre give Scottish audiences the chance to catch David Harrower’s family drama A Slow Air before it takes to the London and New York stages.

Over at The Arches there is, for the venue, a rare dip into traditional theatre with The Man Who Lived Twice from Birds Of Paradise which tells the tale of the meeting between the young John Gielgud and blind and paralysed playwright Edward Sheldon – an almost forgotten figure of 20th century theatre.

The Tramway continues to be one of the most innovative and diverse arts spaces around and this month, as there often is at the Tramway, there’s a focus on dance with Errol White Company in iam – a journey through light and movement as well as the equally experimental I Not I from Colette Sadler and Stammer Productions. Junction 25, The Tramway’s youth theatre, have created Anoesis, a show looking at the tricky and nebulous idea of the pursuit of happiness while the theatre also plays host to the final part of Akira 12.

Harold Pinter’s love triangle drama Betrayal with Cal MacAninch and Neve McIntosh takes up much of March at the Citizens Theatre alongside Declan Feenan’s one woman play about the power of love, Limbo. The Cottiers brings Glasgow’s secular religion to the stage with The Lions Of Lisbon which looks at the permanent effects of Celtic fans’ trip to the Portuguese capital in 1967.

Julia Donaldson’s charming kids book The Snail & The Whale is brought to life at Eastwood Park by Tall Stories whilst EPT Youth Theatre take a theatrical approach to the flood of information in everyday life in Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics. Their fellow young performers in Harlequin go for foot-tapping more than arithmetic with Eurobeat. Also on the bill at Eastwood is a Theatre South performance of Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida.

There are musical treats on offer at the King’s this month with hit packed sixties based show Save The Last Dance For Me as well as a touring production of very silly fun with Monty Python’s Spamalot. Finally, the Theatre Royal is offering a month of classic works of both music and drama with Scottish Opera’s production of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress and what should prove the highlight of the month, Eugene O’Neill’s semi-autobiographical masterpiece Long Day’s Journey Into Night featuring David Suchet and Laurie Metcalf.

So the sun may shine, the flowers may bloom, the birds may twitter in the trees, but don’t let that get you down – there are still plenty of places in Glasgow you can hide away from all this vernal fecundity and as you see there’s also plenty to enjoy when you get there.

LISTINGS:

Plume: Thurs 1st – Sat 17th March @ 19:45

Barflies: Wed 14th – Sat 17th March @ 21:00

Ana: Thurs 22nd – Sat 24th March @ 19:45 + Sat 24th @ 14:30

I Was Always Behind You: Thurs 29th – Sat 31st March @ 20:00

A Slow Air: Thurs 29th March @ 14:30

The Man Who Lived Twice: Wed 7th – Sat 10th March @ 19:30

iam: 2nd – 11th March @ 19:30

I not I: Fri 9th & Sat 10th March @ 19:30

Anoesis: Thurs 8th – Sat 10th March @ 19:30 + Sat 10th @ 15:30

Akira 12 Part 3: Fri 23rd – Sun 25th March @ TBC

Betrayal: Fri 2nd – Fri 9th, Tues 13th – Sat 17th & Tues 20th – Sat 24th March @ 19:30 + 17th March @ 14:30

Limbo: Thurs 8th – Sat 10th March @ 18:30

Lions Of Lisbon: Thurs 22nd – Sat 24th March @ 19:30

The Snail & The Whale: Tues 13th March @ 10:30 & 13:30

Lies, Damned Lies & Statistics: Wed 28th March @ 20:00

Eurobeat: Wed 21st – Sat 24th March @ 19:30 + Sat 24th @ 14:30

Aida: Tues 6th – Fri 9th March @ 19:30 + Sat 10th @ 14:30 & 20:00

Save The Last Dance For Me: Mon 5th – Sat 10th March @ 19:30 + Wed 7th & Sat 10th @ 14:30

Spamalot: Mon 12th – Sat 17th March @ 19:30 + Wed 14th & Sat 17th @ 14:30

The Rake’s Progress: Sat 17th, Wed 21st & Fri 23rd March @ 19:15 + Sun 24th @ 16:00

Long Day’s Journey Into Night: Mon 25th – Sat 31st @ 19:00