Listings: Critic's choice

PRIVATE LIVES
Byre Theatre, St Andrews, until Sep 11 (01334 475 000)
Noel Coward’s timeless and witty love story was an immediate hit when first staged in 1930, with its celebrated cocktail-fuelled repartee between the central characters being pillaged for amusing dinner party quotes. Set in France in the late 1920s, the plot centres around Amanda and Elyot, a divorced couple who are honeymooning in the same hotel with their new spouses. This chance meeting rekindles some old feelings and reminds them why they fell in and out of love. Performed by the Byre Theatre company.

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISSOCIA
Tron, Glasgow, until Fri (0141 552 4267)
A week-long preview run of the new play from Anthony Neilson, the award-winning writer and director of Penetrator, The Censor and Stitching. Neilson has set the marker high, describing his new work as The Wizard of Oz with sex and violence. The play follows a young woman on an episodic journey through the mythical world of Dissocia, an allegory for mental illness, where she encounters many strange and colourful characters and situations. The Wonderful World of Dissocia plays at the Lyceum Theatre as part of the Edinburgh International Festival from Sep 1-4.

MUSIC

DEAN FRIEDMAN
Cottier Theatre, Glasgow, today (0141 204 5151)
A New Jersey native, Friedman has always enjoyed a high profile in the UK where songs like Lucky Stars, Lydia and Ariel and his album Well Well Said the Rocking Chair are considered pop classics. His song McDonald’s Girl was banned by the BBC for publicising the name of the well known fast food restaurant in its chorus but Friedman found further fortune in Britain when he was asked to compose and perform the music to hit television series Boon.

NEW FOUND GLORY
Barrowland, Glasgow, Mon (0141 204 5151)
Florida emo-punk rockers New Found Glory are Blink 182 clones with a sensitive side. They alternate puerile lyrics and gnarly riffs with solemn songs about loss and longing. A huge inspiration to British faux-punk boy bands like Busted and McFly, the band has just released a fourth album, Catalyst.

BERT JANSCH
The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen, Tue (01224 647 999); Tolbooth Arts Centre, Stirling, Fri (01786 274 000)
Bert Jansch has been enjoying a spell of renewed interest in his back catalogue over the past few years as new fans scramble to hear one of the greatest British guitarists of all time. A concert with the former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler at last year’s Celtic Connections was rapturously received and the once rare Bert Jansch live performance is now more common. A newly discovered live album, Bert Jansch – the River Sessions, recorded at City Hall in Glasgow in 1974, was released last month

THE RASMUS
Barrowland, Glasgow, Wed (0141 204 5151)
Finnish rockers the Rasmus had to wait until the release of fifth album, Dead Letters, before finding success in the UK. The band’s previous albums made them big stars in Scandinavia but it was hard to see how their mopey continental metal would translate to British shores. Like an anaemic Evanescence, they sing of alienation and doomed love affairs over the crash of a swooping goth orchestra. Mercifully this usually drowns out most of lead singer Lauri’s excruciating lyrics, which rarely progress past inane rhyming couplets.

50 CENT
SECC, Glasgow, Tue & Thu (0870 040 4000)
He’s been stabbed, he’s been shot nine times but in the proud tradition of all great gangsta rappers he is still around to tell the tale. The hard-knock life of 50 Cent has been well documented and was clearly spelt out in last year’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’ album which was a huge international success. The patronage of Dr Dre and Eminem helped catapult 50 Cent to fame but it’s fair to say most critics expect him to eclipse the achievements of his mentors. Even at his most brutish, like Marshall Mathers, 50 Cent loves a melody which goes a long way to explaining his huge mainstream appeal.

DOUGIE MCLEAN
Aros Hall, Isle of Mull, Thu (01688 302 415); Bunessan Hall, Isle of Mull, Fri (01688 302 211)
Dougie McLean is one of a number of folk stars combining an appearance at this year’s fringe with a handful of other Scottish dates. The singer-songwriter from Dunkeld, most famous for his rousing Scottish anthem Caledonia, is a seasoned performer who manages to fuse his live concerts with the kind of intimate atmosphere you would expect to encounter down the local pub.

DIDO
SECC, Glasgow, Sat (0870 040 4000)
Fresh from a sell-out gig at this year’s T on the Fringe, the soft-spoken singer finishes off this leg of her UK tour with a Glasgow date.

ART

THE GENTLE ARTIST: WORKS BY EDWARD EADE
Tweedale Museum, Peebles, Fri-Oct 30 (01721 724 820)
Edward Eade studied under Henry Moore but became disillusioned with the art world after failing to sell enough of his art to make a comfortable living. His work lay hidden away in an old garden shed until after his death when it was released into the hands of the Eade family by the new landlord. This exhibition includes sculptures, paintings and drawings by the artist.

THE GLASGOW GROUP
Collins Gallery, Glasgow, until Aug 28 (0141 548 2558)
Founded in 1957, the Glasgow Group is an artists’ co-operative whose members live and work in the city. This, the Group’s first major show, comprises paintings and sculptures.

THE WORLD OF CHAUCER: MEDIEVAL BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow, until Aug 28 (0141 330 4221)
An exhibition of rare books and manuscripts from the time of the great medieval writer. Most of the 31 works on display were part of the collection belonging to the 18th-century library of Dr William Hunter, the distinguished anatomist, male midwife and physician extraordinary to Queen Charlotte. They include manuscripts and early printed editions by Chaucer and a collection of English and European printing from the 15th century.

THE SMITHSONS
The Lighthouse, Glasgow, until Aug 31 (0141 221 6362)
Drawing on Alison and Peter Smithson’s private archive, this exhibition charts their careers as pivotal figures in the early British pop art movement and as the architects behind eminent London landmarks such as the Economist Building and the Robin Hood Gardens housing complex.

HERO OF CAMPERDOWN
Camperdown House, Camperdown Country Park, Dundee, until Sep 5 (01382 432 356)
This exhibition marks the bicentenary of the death of Scottish naval hero Adam Duncan who, as admiral of the British fleet in the North Sea, defeated the Dutch navy at the battle of Camperdown in 1797. His exploits were commemorated in a series of paintings, portraits and engravings.

ARTISTS AT GLENFIDDICH 2004
The Gallery, the Glenfiddich distillery, Dufftown, until Sep 30 (01340 821 565)
A group show of work by eight leading European artists including Christine Borland, Louise Hopkins, Matthieu Manche and David Blyth’s Sonic Deer.

STUBBS AND THE HUNTERS
Hunterian Art Gallery, Glasgow, until Oct 2 (0141 330 5431)
The works of animal painter George Stubbs are assembled for the first time in more than 200 years. The paintings were commissioned by John and William Hunter, two of the most prominent medical figures of the British Enlightenment.

NAHUM TEVET: SEVEN WALKS
Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee, until Oct 3 (01382 909 900)
Constructed using simple shapes and household materials, Nahum Tevet’s room-size sculptural installations combine elements of architectural models and vast abstract paintings.

ERGIN CAVUSOGLU
Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee, until Oct 3 (01382 909 900)
Bulgarian-born installation artist Cavusoglu is best known for his searching video works, often filmed in urban and ambiguous locations such as borders and no-go areas. Entanglement is a multi-screen video projection of helicopters flying over cities at night.

CHILDREN

DIG IN THE DIRT
National Park Gateway Centre, Balloch, Sat (01389 722 199)
Budding Indiana Joneses can learn about archaeological digging.

DAYS OUT

STRATHAVEN BALLOON FESTIVAL
John Hastie Public Park, Strathaven, Sat & Sun
Hot air balloons from all over the UK convene in John Hastie Park for a flight over the Clyde valley.