THEATRE/CIRCUS: No Show 

The Wee Review * * * * *
 "A breathtaking piece of contemporary circus"
 
The Herald * * * *
 "A generously funny, ultimately moving display of grit, determination and athletic prowess"
 
Broadway Baby * * * * *
 "This show is thoughtful, empowering and awe-inspiring.  It cannot be missed"
 
The List * * * *
 "Exposing circus' ugly side while celebrating feminine strength"
 
What do you expect when you go to the circus?
 
The greatest show on earth?
 
The glitzy smiles, the glitter of sequins, the drum rolls as performers who seem superhuman effortlessly perform death-defying acts?
 
No Show joyously and heartbreakingly reveals what lies hidden beneath the showmanship. There will be desperate attempts and heroic failures, glorious achievements and bruised bodies and egos as the performers push themselves to their physical and mental limit. See behind the flawless smiles and perfect execution of the traditional circus performance to show the wobbles, the pain, and the real cost of aiming for perfection.
 
A show for anyone who has tried, failed and failed better.

Sunday 23rd September
Time: 7:30pm 
Doors: 7pm
Tickets: £8/ £6
Box Office: 01896 756 852
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/galashiels 
​
There will be a beginners circus skills workshop during the day which is available for ages 7+ . This will last for approx 1 hour and spaces are limited to just 15 so book quickly! £5 per person

To book the workshop:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/galashiels 

*Image by Chris Reynolds*

Community/Creative: Pechakucha

CABN’s first PechaKucha Night of 2018 is here! Celebrating the Year of Young People, there will be inspiring presentations from new graduates and young creatives.  This is a great networking opportunity and the bar will be open!

The evening will be hosted by Mark Timmins and there will be 7 fabulous young people presenting on the night.
This is one of a series of official PechaKucha Nights at MacArts.  PechaKucha is a simple presentation format where creatives present 20 images for 20 seconds per image, to showcase their work. 
For more information on PechaKucha please have a look at the global PechaKucha website.

​Thursday 27th September
Time: 7:30pm
​Doors:7pm
Tickets: Free! 
To RSVP for this event, contact:
CABN cabn@liveborders1.org.uk or please go to the Eventbrite link to book your free ticket:
http://ow.ly/n7NY30lvBc2

Community: See Me/ Walk A Mile with Depressed Cake Cafe

Walk a Mile in Galashiels

Galashiels is set to host its next major walk, to help change the way people think about mental health.

The Walk a Mile event is being arranged by See Me Community Champion Bridget Dickson from Peebles, who wants to get the town talking about mental health. She is arranging it along with Freda Douglas who will be organising a Depressed Cake Cafe, so there will be tea, coffee and cake with plenty of opportunity to discuss mental health in a safe environment.

The funds raised from the Cafe will be donated to Inspiring Life: Evie Douglas Memorial Fund. Following 21 year old Evie's suicide in 2014 this Trust was set up to fundraise money to support the improvement of mental health and wellbeing.
Walk a Mile is about bringing people together to talk about mental health. There are no uniforms, no barriers, everyone is on a level playing field.

The Walk a Mile campaign was created by See Me, the national programme to end mental health discrimination, with activist Chris McCullough Young.

So far thousands of people have taken part in Walks across Scotland, bringing together health professionals, carers, people with lived experience of mental health problems, students, or anyone who cares about tackling mental health discrimination, to break down barriers as they walk a mile in each other’s shoes.
Bridget said: "Talking more openly about mental health is the only way to stop the stigma that so many people still attach to it, and it is so much easier to talk while having a walk with likeminded people."

See Me director Calum Irving said: “Mental health affects all of us, but there is still a stigma around it. To tackle this properly, people need to understand that it is okay not to be okay.
 
“One of the best ways to change how people think and behave is to make mental health a topic in day to day conversation, rather than a taboo subject people don’t want to talk about.”

 Saturday 29th September 
Time: 11am 
Walk: 12:30pm
Tickets: Free 
Box Office: 01896 756 852

Music: Le Cafe Parisien 

Le Café Parisien is a musical and cultural journey throughout the streets, cafes and terraces of Europe…
 
Expect to hear Hot Club Swing, Classical Themes, adventures into Romany and Celtic music and vintage songs- all delivered with a fresh new twist.
 
A veritable melting pot of astounding musicianship and novel arrangements, all flavoured with a sense of warmth and fun to make for a cracking night’s entertainment!

Licensed Bar 

Saturday 29th September 
Time: 7:30pm
Doors: 7pm
Tickets: £10
Box Office: 01896 756 852
 https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/galashiels ​
          
​                     www.andylawrensontrio.co.uk
 

Theatre: The Macbeths by The Citz

“...a rich evening of theatre for anyone who loves Macbeth, and also loves to see it reborn, in ever more challenging forms.”
 
​The Scotsman ★★★★
 
At the heart of Shakespeare’s darkest play is a disintegrating marriage. This new adaptation using a radically cut-down version of the text focuses on the relationship between one of the most famous killers in literature and his ambitious wife.

‘O full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife’

Returning from battle, Macbeth hears a prophecy emboldening him to murder and betray. Compelled by his equally ruthless wife, Macbeth ignores his creeping sense of guilt and hopelessness and attempts to hasten the hand of fate, unwittingly ushering in the downfall of them both.

Recommended 14+. Scenes of a sexual nature.

What the critics said...
​
"Dominic Hill of the Citizens’ is one of the finest directors of main-stage classic productions ever to work in Scotland; but for this new vision of Shakespeare’s Macbeth...he turns to the most intimate kind of studio theatre....
...a rich evening of theatre for anyone who loves Macbeth, and also loves to see it reborn, in ever more challenging forms." 
Joyce McMillan, Scotsman
 
One can't help but wonder whether this abridged version of the Scottish Play is the kind of
thing Shakespeare would be writing if he were embarking on his career in an era dominated by small-scale studio shows.
Alan Radcliffe, The Times

"In scaling down the production, Hill’s ability to support striking performances is made more explicit. "
Gareth K Vile, Stage

"...a thrilling and visceral new way into one of Shakespeare’s most familiar plays."
Anna Burnside, Daily Record

"...a sweaty, erotic and breathlessly self-destructive re-imagining that casts the Macbeths as serial killers driven to extremes by their own distress...this is a play for today’s desperate times as much as its classical source. "
Neil Cooper, Herald
​
"...this is Shakespeare's play delivered in powerfully concentrated form, as if straight into the bloodstream. Cleverly set and superbly acted, it is a reminder of the possibilities of studio theatre at the Citizens."
Mark Brown, Sunday Herald 

Recommended 14+. Scenes of a sexual nature.

Friday 5th October 
Starts: 7:30pm
Doors: tbc
Tickets £10/ £8 
Box Office: 01896 756 852
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/galashiels 

MUSIC: Aidan Moffat & RM Hubbert Support from Siobhan Wilson

Hear Lies the Body:
​
​“The album title has a dual meaning – sex and death.” These are common themes from Aidan Moffat; since his early days with Arab Strap, he has explored these subjects with a grace and grit that plunges deep into the human soul. But this is no re-hash of the past, rather a further leap forward for Moffat, now teaming up with fellow Scot, singer and guitarist extraordinaire, RM Hubbert, for this new project.

“It can be read as romantic surrender, but of course it’s also a phrase you’ll find on a tombstone,” Moffat elaborates. Equally multidimensional is the music contained within, weaving beautiful, spidery guitar work, haunting piano lines, lush strings, delicate percussion, fizzing 808 beats, synth pop, samba, and moments of jazz, while Moffat’s rich voice carries the narrative in rich grumbles, hushed whispers, and revealing spoken word.

The album begins with first single Cockcrow and a chance encounter of two old flames as they enjoy hen and stag parties in Blackpool – the album follows their story as it moves forwards (and backwards) with wit and wisdom, exploring themes of love, family, fortune telling, deceit, death, Schrodinger’s cat, the multiverse … and marshmallows. The narrative was influenced, Moffat says, by “an article I read about mothers who abandon their families, and how that still remains a pretty taboo subject in our times. When marriages break down, it’s almost always the man who leaves.” 

The video for Cockcrow was directed by Paul Fegan, who made 2016's 'Where You’re Meant to Be' Scottish folk doc with Moffat and is based solely around a performance by Dundee ballet dancer Jack Webb. "It was inspired by a dance piece I saw performed last year by Scottish Ballet. Aidan, Hubby and Siobhan's song felt both tender and cold, vulnerable and hopeful. Jack Webb, Julian Schwanitz (Cinematographer) and I decided on a simple one-shot idea based on these conflicting emotions. Something dream-like. And we wanted to include a bed given it's a prominent element in the singles cover art. Bridging a traditional music video and a performance piece, it's lit in a way that makes the dancer appear like a living painting, specifically an old master, obscured by time - but fierce." Says Fegan.

Siobhan Wilson, whose vocals you can also hear on Cockcrow, along with former Arab Strap drummer David Jeans, will be joining Aidan Moffat & RM Hubbert

Website http://www.hereliesthebody.com/

Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGk8Lp1gPLY


Friday 19 th October 
Time: 8pm
Doors: 7:30pm
Tickets: £12.50 (+ bf)
Box Office:  ​01896 756 852
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/galashiels 

​Licensed Bar 
Over 14s (under 16s must be accompanied by an adult) 

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THEATRE: Stuff by Sylvia Dow

We are what we build around us 

Stuff is about the hoarding of memories, emotions and things. Today the Council is coming to clear Magda’s house. She must find a way to deal with the constant shifting of stuff in her house and her head, as she revisits the past and struggles with the present to find a way to face the future. Told with humour and tenderness this will resonate in its view of our attachment to things, and our need for attachment to each other.

Following on from the success of their collaboration on Threads (2015), award-winning director Muriel Romanes (The List) and acclaimed writer Sylvia Dow are joined by the creative team of Designer John Byrne, Lighting Designer Jeanine Byrne and Sound Designer Philip Pinsky.

Wednesday 24th October 
Time: 7:30pm
Doors: 7pm
Tickets: £10 / £8
Box Office: 01896 756 852
 https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/galashiels 
                   
 Recommended for ages 12+

MUSIC: Neives + support tbc

                   

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Glasgow-based alt-rockers NEIVES released their debut album 'Exist and Expire' to much critical acclaim earlier this year.
 
Catch them at MacArts!


Friday 16th November 
Doors: 8pm
Doors 7:30pm
Tickets: £6
Box Office: 01896 756 852
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/galashiels 

​Licensed Bar
 
Over 14s (under 16s must be accompanied by an adult)  

MUSIC: Turin Brakes + support

After an impressive 19 years together, seven studio albums and over a million records sold worldwide, they might be excused a bit of downtime. But no…….the estimable London 4-piece Turin Brakes released their eighth studio album ‘Invisible Storm’ in January 2018 on Cooking Vinyl.
 
The band - founder members Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian, along with long-time bandmates Rob Allum and Eddie Myer - returned to their favourite bolthole Rockfield Studios in the Monmouth Valley where with producer Ali Staton they could absorb the vibes left hanging in the air by a long line of musical mavericks, sit down at the piano where Freddie recorded ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and let the music take shape, revealing the next stage in the journey.
 
Invisible Storm is big-picture music played on a small screen, refracted through lyrics that embrace the personal and the universal. Formed in Balham South London, Turin Brakes released their Mercury Music Prize nominated debut album The Optimist in 2001 followed by Ether Song in 2003 which featured the top 5 hit single Pain Killer (Summer Rain). One of the finest indie bands of the last decade with 7 top 40 hits to their name Turin Brakes are a band that’s weathered many Invisible Storms, are sure of who they are and what they’ve set out to do, and know that there’s always a story left to tell…
 
www.turinbrakes.com



Saturday 27th October 
Time: 8pm
Doors: 7:30pm
Tickets: £20 (+ bf)
Box Office: beyondpresents.co.uk
​                      01896 756 852
 https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/galashiels 
​Licensed Bar 
Over 14s (Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult)

COMEDY: Ray Bradshaw - 
                  Deaf Comedy Fam

1 in 6 people suffer from hearing loss.
 
2 of those people are Ray’s parents.
 
Full of hilarious, eye-opening tales about growing up with deaf parents, Deaf Comedy Fam presents a very first for comedy, as each show will be performed by Ray simultaneously in both spoken English and British Sign Language – which just so happens to be Ray’s first language.
 
There were only 6 BSL-interpreted Comedy shows when Ray debuted at the Fringe in 2015, and he has since made it his personal mission to make comedy more accessible for deaf people – if only to take the pressure off himself when it comes to making his parents laugh.
 
Having launched his comedy career in 2008, Bradshaw has quickly established himself as one of the brightest and most exciting acts on the UK comedy circuit. A two-time Scottish Comedian of the Year finalist, Bradshaw had a total sell-out, smash-hit run with I Dare Ray To… in 2015, as well as two sell-out seasons at Adelaide Fringe in 2015 and 2016. In the past year alone, Ray has performed at Adelaide Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Singapore Fringe and the Kuala Lumpur Comedy Carnival, amongst others. Ray has numerous radio credits under his belt with BBC Scotland and Radio 4, supported Ardal O’Hanlon on his recent tour, and is a regular guest on Frankie Boyle and Friends. Deaf Comedy Fam debuted at Glasgow International Comedy Festival and completely sold out, before moving to the Edinburgh Fringe for a critically acclaimed, fully sold out run – so don’t miss out on the first ever comedy set at to be spoken and signed by the stand-up themselves!
 
Adelaide Fringe Weekly Innovation Award 2018.
 
'Has a clear comedy gift' ★★★★ Edinburgh Evening News
 
‘Captivating, funny and sharply executed… Bradshaw’s brilliance truly comes to the fore [as] the show is a winning combination of substance and humour’ ★★★★★ Broadway Baby
 
‘Deaf Comedy Fam takes stand-up comedy into a new realm… a show I’ll remember for years – take a bow, Ray Bradshaw’ ★★★★★ Short Com
 
‘I grinned from ear to ear for the entire hour… the result is wonderful’ ★★★★ Voice Mag
 
‘Ray Bradshaw will have you laughing out loud… a mix of dry Scottish humour and great storytelling which might just teach you something in between your giggles’ ★★★★ Fringe Guru
 
‘Like the natural raconteur he is, Bradshaw makes each and every story into pure hilarity… Go on, I dare you to see Ray, and I defy you not to have a good time’ ★★★★ One4Review
 
★★★★ The Scotsman

Friday 2nd November
Time: 7:30pm
Doors: 7pm
Tickets:  £8/ £6
Box Office: 01896 756 852
  https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/galashiels 
                    

MUSIC: The Urban Voodoo Machine

"furiously energetic and versatile" THE GUARDIAN
 
​“The band veers into mariachi-influenced blues, whiskey-soaked country rags and punkabilly-style rave-ups.” — THE WASHINGTON POST
 
The Urban Voodoo Machine is a collective of shadowy, London based, ne’er do wells, led by Norwegian born songwriter/frontman Paul-Ronney Angel. Featuring up to nine musicians at any given time, The ‘Machine mash-up guitars, twin drummers, fiddle, trumpet, tuba, banjo, washboard, upright bass, gong, mandolin, accordion, harmonicas, saxophone, sousaphone and even empty bottles and tie racks to create their unique brand of Bourbon Soaked Gypsy Blues Bop’n’Stroll. 
The stars were very much aligned the night Paul-Ronney Angel was begged by a promoter to be the filling in a triple-bill band sandwich. Never one to turn down a knees-up, P-R realised he had 48 hours to put a band together. No problem! Trawling the dives and doss houses of London, he called in some favours, cracked some whips and so it was that The Urban Voodoo Machine lurched into life.
In 2008 The Urban Voodoo Machine opened for The Pogues on their American tour after a personal invitation from Spider Stacy, which in turn led to them being offered The Pogues full UK & Ireland X-Mas tour later the same year. The following year saw the release of their debut album ‘Bourbon Soaked Gypsy Blues Bop’N’Stroll’, on Gypsy Hotel Records. The album scored top reviews in all the major music magazines and made ‘Albums of the Year’ lists in Classic Rock and Big Cheese magazines. This was backed with lots of live shows and touring including headlining East London’s prestigious and beautiful Hackney Empire and joining the legendary New York Dolls on their UK tour.
 
“Drawing deep from a dirty well where Tom Waits, Nick Cave and Dick Dale are enjoying a burlesque all-nighter with Ennio Morricone.” — CLASSIC ROCK
 
Notable live events since then have included prestige shows in Norway, Hungary, Spain, Finland, Holland, Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland, Germany and France.
Major festival appearances include Glastonbury, Download, Latitude, Edinburgh, Sziget, Hard Rock Calling alongside Paul McCartney, Bestival, Bulldog Bash and Ukraine Stadium alongside Goran Bregovic and they have performed everywhere from prisons, schools and churches!

​Audio https://soundcloud.com/theurbanvoodoomachine
 
Full Bio http://theurbanvoodoomachine.com/about/biography/

Website http://theurbanvoodoomachine.com/
​
Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/TheUrbanVoodooMachine
​
Sunday 11th November
Doors 7:30pm
Starts: 8pm
Tickets: £10 +BF
Box Office: 01896 756 852
 https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/galashiels 

Licensed Bar 
​Strictly over 18s

MUSIC/FILM: 
Hazel O'Connor
and Breaking Glass                                          
The Film,  Q&A and Live Performance

A very special evening with award-winning singer songwriter Hazel O’Connor, featuring a rare screening of the digitally re-mastered uncut version of the film followed by an intimate Q&A and live performance of some of the films best loved songs.
 
Striding into the spotlight and catapulted into fame in 1980 in the iconic movie Breaking Glass, Hazel not only made the lead role her own, but also wrote all the songs. The soundtrack album Breaking Glass went on to go double platinum during its 38-week chart run, defining Hazel O'Connor as a powerful passionate performer and a force to be reckoned with. Joined onstage by Clare Hirst  (Bellestars, Communards, David Bowie) on sax, Sarah Fisher (Eurhythmics) on keyboards and Josh Blackmore (Troyka /Strobes) on percussion, the superb blend of the three voices and stunning musicianship add a sweet touch of class to their vibrant performance.
 
Live onstage, her unforgettable songs from the  film including Eighth Day, Will You, Big Brother, Decadent Days, If Only and more seem even more relevant in our present times. 
 
Meet and Greet with Hazel immediately after the show

 
Friday 23rd November 
Doors: 6:30pm 
Starts: 7pm
Tickets: £20 + BF
Box Office: 01896 756 852  
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/galashiels ​
 * Licensed Bar open during film and Meet and Greet only*                   

MUSIC: The Vaselines

The Vaselines were formed in Edinburgh in 1987 by singers/guitarists Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, soon signing to Pastels frontman Stephen Pastel's newly formed 53rd & 3rd label.

Nirvana's Kurt Cobain regularly cited the Vaseline’s influence in interviews with the music press and Nirvana would go on to cover the Vaselines' ‘Molly's Lips’ and ‘Son of a Gun’ (both later compiled on their Incesticide collection) as well as perform ‘Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam’ on their legendary MTV Unplugged appearance. 
​
Cobain's gospel-spreading no doubt accelerated their rise to cult sainthood, but the Vaselines would have gotten there sooner or later on their own accord. Lewd but naïve and abrasive yet tender, the band's shambling, primitivist squall remains a perfect distillation of pop at its most guileless and euphoric.
 
Eugene Kelly later went on to front Captain America / Eugenius, while McKee spent the better part of the decade out of sight, resurfaced in Suckle, and released a solo album in 2006. The Vaselines reunited proper in 2010 to record their second full album Sex With An X which was released on the Seattle label Sub Pop.

This was followed by V for Vaselines in 2014. The Ramones-inspired album featured many of the same players who helped make 'Sex.....', including Belle and Sebastian's Stevie Jackson, the 1990's Michael McGaughrin and Teenage Fanclub's Francis Macdonald.
​
“Even those too young-or not yet born-for the Vaselines' heyday can appreciate the earnest fun of Sex With an X” – Billboard

“A welcome return, then – let's hope they stick around for a bit longer this time.” – BBC Music

Saturday 1st December 
Time : 8pm
Doors: 7:30pm
Tickets: £19 +BF
Box Office: 01896 756 852
 https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/galashiels 
​
Vaselines Website http://www.thevaselines.co.uk/

 MUSIC: The Wedding Present- Tommy 30th Anniversary Tour + support from Melys

The Wedding Present are touring to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the release of their first singles collection, Tommy. Fans can expect to hear tracks from the compilation, as well as favourites from across the band’s career.
 
The Wedding Present have had eighteen UK Top 40 hit singles… not bad for a band that has, from its inception, stubbornly refused to play the record industry’s game. It all started in 1985 when David Lewis Gedge boarded a National Express coach in London with 500 records packed into a pair of his mother’s suitcases and, in this fashion, delivered the band’s debut single GO OUT AND GET ‘EM BOY! to a distribution company in Yorkshire. That pioneering spirit has been at the core of the band’s philosophy ever since. From GEORGE BEST, “an unmitigated delight” [NME], the first full-length release on their own Reception Records onwards, the band has charted an appealing, if often eccentric, course of its very and in 2017, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of this debut album,The Wedding Present released GEORGE BEST 30. This album featured brand new versions of the original twelve songs recorded by Steve Albini and mixed by Andrew Scheps.
 
Tuesday 11th December
Time: 8pm
Doors: 7:30pm
Tickets: *£20 (*booking fee applies)
Box Office: 01896 756 852
 https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/galashiels 
​
 

MOD / SOUL CLUB NIGHT: Kitten Casino

Kitten Casino was established in 2011 by Trisha & Bruce Wagener and since then they have been having regular events throughout Scotland with visitors coming from as far afield as Spain!  
 
Kitten Casino is an exciting and amaaaazing club night full of fantastic people who love to dance to original sixties vinyl with a mixture of classic mod, soul, northern soul, r&b, boogaloo and original ska.  With the colourful set up at Kitten Casino you will not be disappointed. And don't forget the licensed bar, open throughout the evening!
 
Resident DJs and guest DJs from all over the UK and beyond will keep you on your feet or you can take it easy in the chill out area that overlooks the dance floor.  You will get to hear various tunes to keep you entertained and meet a real friendly bunch of people in this incredible venue!
 
We don't have a strict dress policy but we do dress to impress.  All we ask is that you come along and enjoy yourselves. 
 
We look forward to welcoming you if this is your bag, cats! 

Saturday 9th February
Time: 7pm to 12am 
Tickets: £6 (only available on door so get along early)
DRESS TO IMPRESS!
Over 18s only