Showing @ various venues across Scotland, see below for full listings

What do you think of when you think of November? For most people it’s probably celebrating the brutal torture and execution of a 17th Century Catholic radical with bonfires, fireworks, toffee apples and overcooked baked potatoes. For others it’s the ticking clock of Christmas and the list of un-bought presents; but instead of tinslely panic, colourful explosions and indigestion you could make November a month to remember with one of these fine shows on offer in Glasgow.

As well as providing many of the highlights of this year’s Glasgay Festival, The Tron also offers up  a number of excellent shows including The National Theatre of Scotland’s co-production with Company of AngelsTruant, a tough, provocative piece of theatre based on interviews with kids, families and community members. Also on show is a double bill of interpretations of the work of American avant-garde composer David Lang, the Pulitzer Prize winning Little Match Girl Passion and the Scottish première of World to Come. Later in the month there’s another co-production at the venue, this time from Theatre Royal York and Pilot Theatre with their take on David Harrower’s dark story of the unburied past in Blackbird.

Across at the Arches, the one woman play Home Run performed by Lisa Nicoll deals with freedom, memory and family and like Truant is based on true stories. Dance is also very much on show in Ballet Lorent’s la nuit intime an exotic, an erotic and immersive piece mixing different dance styles and physical intimacy in a celebration of the night.

The Citizens continues it’s contribution to Glasgay with Ch Ch Changes and Spain as well as their acclaimed production of Peter Nicoll’s A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg featuring Miriam Margolyes and Miles Jupp.

Visual artist David Shrigley, composer David Fennessy and Director Nicolas Bone combine with the Red Note Ensemble at the Tramway to produce Pass The Spoon, a ‘sort of opera about cooking’. Meanwhile Scottish Dance Theatre bring two shows by renowned young American choreographers Kate Weare and Benjamin Levy to the theatre with Letters From America.

There’s an interesting pairing of shows on at The Cottier’s this November starting with Victoria Wood’s musical take on Acorn Antiques followed by Arthur Miller’s tale of paranoia and jealously The Crucible.

Eastwood Park offer a feast of family fun with Tall Stories, presenting Toby Mitchell’s magical tale The Snow Dragon and National Theatre Of Scotland indulging in a bit of storytelling magic with Tall Tales for Small People. The venue also feeds the imagination with The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean from Shona Reppe Puppets.

For those of more advanced years there’s a production of Barry Hines’s classic drama of working class transcendence Kes from Catherine Wheels Theatre, as well as NTS and Communicado Theatre’s co-production of Calum’s Road (Roger Hutchinson’s David vs Goliath island tale).

It’s an all singing, all dancing November and into December for the Theatre Royal. The Rambert Dance Company will be celebrating their 85th Birthday with a new work from Artistic Director Mark Baldwin – Seven For A Secret, Never To Be Told and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, featuring ex-Eastender Samatha Womack, will be knocking them in the aisles with its raft of familiar showstoppers.

The Apollo Players deliver a musical version of J M Barrie’s Peter Pan – always popular at Christmas, and speaking of the festive season, it comes early this year to the Royal with Tommy Steele in Scrooge.

Across at The King’s the musical vibe continues with Dirty Dancing followed by Disney’s Beauty and The Beast. The only non-singing production of the month goes to Hormonal Housewives, a less gynaecologically specific version of the Vagina Monologues featuring TV’s own Carol Smilie.

So there you have it: more than enough entertainment and variety to take your mind off the fireworks – especially the ones still going off weeks after Guy Fawkes – and plenty of wonderful performances to, hopefully, make you forget about ordering the turkey and what to get Auntie Doris.

FULL LISTINGS:

Truant: Sat 5th – Wed 9th Nov @ 19:00

Little Match Girl Passion/World To Come: Thur 10th – Sat 12th @ 19:45

Blackbird: Tues 15th – Sat 19th @ 19:45 & Sat 19th @ 14:30

Home Run: Tues 1st – Wed 2nd @ 19:30

la nuit intime: Mon 14th @ 19:30

Ch Ch Changes: (Continues) Tues 1st – Sat 12th @ 19:30

Spain: (Continues) Tues 1st – Sat 12th @ 19:30

A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg: (Continues) Tues 1st – Sat 12th @ 19:30 & Sat 5th @ 14:30

Pass The Spoon: Thu 17th – Sat 19th @ 19:30

Letters From America: Wed 23rd – Thu 24th April

Acorn Antiques: Tues 1st – Sat 5th @ 19:30 & Sat 5th @ 14:30

The Crucible: Fri 11th – Sat 19th @ 17:30 & Sat 12th/19th @ 14:30 – (no performance Sun 13th)

The Snow Dragon: Tues 8th @ 10:30 & 13:30

Tall Tales For Small People: Sat 12th Nov @  10:30

The Curious Scrapbook Of Josephine Bean: Wed 16th @ 13:30 & 19:00

Kes: Thur 3rd @ 19:30

Callum’s Road: Fri 11th @ 19:30

Seven For A Secret, Never To Be Told: Thur 3rd – Sat 5th @ 19:30

South Pacific: Tues 8th – Sat 19th @ 19:30 & 9th, 10th, 12th, 17th & 19th @ 14:30

Peter Pan: Mon 21st – Sat 26th @ 19:30 – Wed 23rd & Sat 26th @ 14:30

Scrooge: Mon 28th – Sat 3rd Dec @ 19:30  – 1st & 3rd Dec @ 14:30

Dirty Dancing: (Continues) 1st – 12th Nov @ 19:30 (except Fri 4th and Fri 11th – 17:00 & 20:30 & Fri 5th @ 14:30)

Beauty & The Beast: Tues 15th – Sat 19th @ 19:30 (except Wed 16th @ 11:00, Fri 18th 17:30 & 20:30 and Sat 19th @ 14:30)

Hormonal Housewives: Mon 21st – Thur 24th @ 19:30 – Fri 25th & Sat 28th @ 17:30 & 20:30