Music and storytelling are two of Scotland’s great passions, and that’s reflected across the arts of Tay Country, from the provocative drama of Dundee Rep (with a full-time company of actors, the last of its kind in the country) and the contemporary beauty of Scottish Dance Theatre productions, to the simple pleasure of live traditional tunes down the local.
Ewan McGregor, got his start treading the boards of the Perth Theatre stage, but would perhaps barely recognise the building now after a sleek £16m transformation, which created a state of the art space for enjoying live dance, opera, stand-up comedy and theatre, as well as the preservation of the B-listed Edwardian auditorium, now a riot of red and gold. Clubbers, meanwhile, will enjoy Dundee’s old public library, turned underground club recently namechecked by i-D magazine and the Wall Street Journal.
And remember to save an evening of your holidays to soak up the local culture. Ask your hosts where they go to hear music, plenty of our pubs and clubs will find a performer pulling out a fiddle and bodhran of an evening for some acoustic entertainment, and everyone has a favourite tune they like to play.