5 feelgood things to do in Inverness this weekend

Need to perk up your weekend? Inverness company Starlight presents the musical Sunshine On Leith, film director Jane McAllister is in town for a QnA after her movie To See Ourselves, big-screen blockbusters Dumb Money and Expend4bles are here (and are you brave enough for a Highland horror?) plus – something different – the Hip Hop Yacht Rock Afterparty in Cromarty!

1 No need to walk 500 miles, head for Eden Court!

There is still time to catch Sunshine On Leith which opened on Wednesday and is on now at Eden Court until Saturday, September 23 presented by the city's own Starlight Musical Theatre presenting the popular musical based on the songs of The Proclaimers. In a show about family, friendship, and love, we first meet best pals Davy and Ally when they return home to Leith from duty in Afghanistan. Romance is sparking between Ally with Davy's sister Liz, and Davy with Yvonne. As the 30-year wedding anniversary of Liz and Davy's parents, Rab and Jean, brings everyone together, a revelation from Rab's past threatens everything. Set to the songs of The Proclaimers, expect to hear I'm On My Way, It's Over And Done With, Let's Get Married, and I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) in the show written by Stephen Greenhorn. Shows start at 7.30pm (and 2.30pm for Saturday's matinee).

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2 Night at the movies?

If the referendum seems a long time ago, this film will bring memories flooding back as it looks back at when Scotland stood on the brink ... To See Ourselves is a documentary and a personal story set during the pre-referendum days of the summer of 2014 and the impact it had on one family in Scotland. The film is being screened throughout the country after a sold-out premiere at the GFT in Glasgow on Monday.

It is described as "... an unexpected, deeply personal account of the referendum as seen through the eyes of a pregnant filmmaker, as she follows her idealist father’s relentless activism and reveals the heart behind the politics during this historic crossroads for Scotland." The film comes to Inverness with a screening and Q&A with director Jane McAllister at Eden Court Cinema, at 7pm on Friday, September 22. Trailer:

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3 All aboard for special hip hop fundraiser

The Hip Hop Yacht Rock Afterparty is a unique music event coming to Cromarty on Saturday, September 23. It is testament to the resilience of one of the main organisers Kojo Agyei who is recovering from a shock life-changing diagnosis and emergency operation earlier this year. His planned event with his partners in events and music company 8 Arms is celebrating 50 years of hip-hop with guest in at the start of UK hip hop KGee (Karl Gordon) from Outlaw Posse to including working on the 'hip-pop' hits of All Saints and multi-platinum 1997 album. Find out more as Kojo interviews KGee about his career HERE:

There is also the chance to hear singer Cameron Jay (herself recovering from a serious illness) – and DJs, including Butterscotch from Dingwall and Naphtali.

The event – in what is hoped might be the first of many – is dedicated to raising funds for Highlands Youth Development (HYD), a non-profit organisation launched in 2022, aiming to build purpose-built sports, fitness, and dance facilities on the Black Isle. Host for the night is Kojo, with a career in professional dance that took in genres from street to ballet to West End musicals and pop tours – moving into sport and fitness and now a role as a football coach in the Highlands with Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

The Hip Hop Yacht Rock Afterparty! is at The Stables, Cromarty, from 8pm. There will be a licensed bar, beer provided by Cromarty Brewing Co and cocktails by Highland Mixology.

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4 Book into NessBookFest free events

From Thursday, September 28 NessBookFest returns with a selection of events at a variety of Inverness venues with authors including Robin Ince, a poetry slam and the Stories of Scotland podcast duo Jenny Johnstone and Annie Gilfillan presenting Queer As Flokore: LGBTQ+ Legends Of The Highlands And Islands. They will share some of their favourite legends, myths, and traditional stories from the Highlands and Islands retold through a queer lens.Their event is next Thursday (Sept 28) at 7.30-9pm at the Beaufort Hotel. Free entry with a ticket (and donations are welcome!). Check all events here:

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5 Big movies out this week

And the big Hollywood movies out this week include from Friday, September 22 for both at Vue Cinema, Dumb Money (15). The verdict on the black comedy from our regular reviewer is "polished picture is a safe bet". In January 2021, prominent American hedge funds faced eye-watering losses when avid readers of online social network Reddit triggered a 'short squeeze' of the stock of American video game retailer GameStop which Wall Street had been betting heavily against, expecting losses in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic. But an impassioned movement of individual investors – dismissed as “dumb money” by the big institutions – created a tidal wave of stock purchases that propelled the company’s value to more than 200 US dollars per share!

Or you could try Expend4bles(15) with the return of Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren and co as the team square up to arms dealer Suarto Rahmat (Iko Uwais) and his private army, who are planning to inflame global tensions with smuggled nuclear warheads. Various times at Vue Cinema, as mentioned, from Friday, September 22.

HEADS UP

Horror in the Highlands!

Mercy Falls (15) is set in the Highlands and includes Lauren Lyle (Karen Pirie), with an unexpected tragedy at the heart of the film which comes to Eden Court Cinema on Sunday, September 24 at 7.45pm and on Monday, September 25 at 6pm.

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