Arcadia Scotland

Art and Culture

Game Masters: Throughout March, National Museum of Scotland
Massive touring exhibition celebrating the varied history of computer gaming. With more than 125 playable games to work your way through, get stuck into arcade games, physical games (thinkDance Battle et al), consoles, PCs and many more. On top of this, there's also displays of concept art, interactive displays and in-depth interviews with game designers.

Indian Encounters: Throughout March, National Museum of Scotland
An exploration of the changing relationship between Britain and India during the 18th and 19th century, in which period India went from being a fiefdom of the privately-owned East India Company to being directly ruled as part of the British Empire. The exhibition focuses on the stories of two men: East India Company officer Archibald Swinton and Maharaja Duleep Singh, the last maharaja of the Sikh Empire and the first resident Sikh in Britain. The exhibition features dazzling jewellery, miniature paintings and a new artwork from the Singh Twins.

The Age of Improvement: Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Throughout March
Portraits from the century of Scotland's great transformation, 1750–1850, including Nasmyth's deliberately and stylishly unfinished picture of Robert Burns, Danloux's all-action portrait of Admiral Duncan keeping a cool head in the middle of a sea battle, Raeburn's picture of Walter Scott as king of the hill, before bankruptcy forced him to work himself to death, and Richard Dadd's unnerving, hyper-detailed picture of Sir Alexander Morison, the 'alienist' who was consultant to the Bethlem psychiatric hospital where Dadd was confined.

The Pirates of Penzance: 24 March, King's Theatre, 7:30pm
An Edinburgh Gilbert and Sullivan Society production of this entertaining tale by the celebrated Victorian double act.

ARTIST ROOMS: Roy Lichtenstein: Beginning 14 March, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art One
A three-room display of the work of Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997), the man who made Ben-Day dots into his signature style. This display brings together for the first time works by the wittiest of the pop artists.

Beauty by Design: Fashioning the Renaissance: Throughout March, Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Work by contemporary fashion designers inspired by Old Master paintings, using materials such as lace that are associated with earlier periods, together with an exploration of Renaissance ideas of beauty and cosmetics.

Gold: Beginning 27 March, Queen's Gallery
Why is gold so scarce? Because it's so heavy: most of the planet's gold sank to the core millions of years ago, with the stuff near the surface coming chiefly from meteorites. This look at the metal's amazing beauty, versatility and symbolism uses objects drawn from the Royal Collection, such as the Rillaton Cup, a Bronze Age funerary object; a gold crown from Ecuador and an 18th century tiger-head made of gold and rock crystal from India.

Imagining Power: The Visual Culture of the Jacobite Cause: Throughout March, Scottish National Portrait Gallery
An exhibition looking at the way the Jacobites presented themselves in portraiture.

Music, Comedy and Dance

Time for Traditional Tunes: 9 March, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 2pm
A workshop organised by Live Music Now for older people, including those with dementia. Robyn Stapleton and Claire Hastings lead the singing of traditional tunes.

Michael McGoldrick, John Doyle & John McCusker: 12 March, The Queen's Hall, 8pm
Traditional music from master flautist McGoldrick (Flook, Lunasa and Capercaillie), McCusker (Battlefield Band) and guitarist Doyle.

John Shuttleworth: A Wee Ken to Remember: 13 March, The Queen's Hall, 8pm
Versatile singer/organist, John Shuttleworth, wants to share fond memories of his favourite past weekends. However, a typo on the poster means John is obliged to spend the evening paying homage to his next-door neighbour and sole agent, the diminutive Ken Worthington.

Stewart Lee: A Room with a Stew: 15 March, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 8pm
The latest show from Lee to promote his next Comedy Vehicle DVD. A series that won him Best Male Television Comic and Best Comedy Entertainment Programme at the British Comedy Awards in 2011.

Brendan Hendry: 18 March, Edinburgh Folk Club, 8pm
Hendry was liveIreland's 2012 Musician of the Year and shows off his fiddle skills, accompanied by Johnny Toman on guitar and five string banjo.

Scottish Ballet: Streetcar Named Desire: 18-21 March, Festival Theatre, 7:30 or 2pm
Tennessee Williams' classic play is fused with dance from Scottish Ballet, featuring a jazzy score by Peter Salem.

Martin Simpson: 23 March, Traverse Bar & Cafe, 8pm
Brilliant mix of English tradition and American music from the virtuoso fingerstyle guitarist and singer, a former BBC Radio 2 Folk Musician of the Year.

Lectures, Sports and Local Festivals

Edinburgh's Festival of Ireland: 11-15 March, Various venues and times
A little bit of Ireland descends upon Edinburgh in the run-up to St Patrick's Day. Edinburgh's Festival of Ireland is a multi-arts, family-friendly celebration of the Emerald Isle, with storytelling, music, dance, talks, comedy and food & drink events.

Edinburgh International Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace: 7-29 March, Various venues and times
For the twelfth year the Middle East Festival draws together people from a wide range of spiritual backgrounds, cultures, traditions and communities to celebrate peace and mutual understanding via spiritual, educational, artistic and cultural events.