Planning for the New Year Ahead?
We’ve got some brilliant events lined up already for this year, from acclaimed guitarist and singer-songwriter John Smith to live theatre productions taking to the cinema big screen, there’s a lot to look forward to.
Keep an eye out for more events popping up throughout the year - you can see everything that's happening at any time in the What's On section of our website!
Ragged Wood in Association with Shetland Arts present John Smith.
John Smith is an acclaimed guitarist and singer-songwriter hailing from the south of England, but influenced as much by Americana sounds as by the folk music of his native country. He has toured Britain, Europe and America extensively both as a solo artist and with acts including John Martyn, David Gray, Gil-Scott Heron and Jools Holland.
John will make his debut performance in the islands in conjunction with a major headline show at Celtic Connections 2025 in Glasgow.
Friday 17 January / 7:30pm / Mareel
Fiery Sessions returns for 2025, this year taking to the stage in Mareel's Auditorium!
The popular annual concert will, as usual, showcase some of Shetland's finest musical talent on Lerwick's Up Helly Aa day and include a visit from the Junior Jarl Squad.
Hosted by the ever-entertaining Andy Kain, this is an event not to be missed!
Tuesday 28 January / 1:15pm / Mareel
Artie's Singing Kettle is coming to Shetland for the very first time, and he's bringing the original Singing Kettles packed full of clues to his Greatest Hits!
Join us for a fun-filled show where classics like "Bunny Fou Fou," "Aiken Drum," "Ten in the Bed," and "The Eelly Alley O" will take adults on a nostalgic trip back to their youth while delighting a whole new generation of children. Which song will make it into your Top Ten?
Don't miss the chance to enjoy this unforgettable experience - bring Granny along too, and we promise not to "Shove Granny Aff the Bus"!
One price for all attendees - children and adults. Infants under 6 months (babes in arms) are admitted free of charge.
Special Notes: We encourage everyone to dress up in their favorite color! Arrive early to get the best seats and enjoy a morning full of fun and music!
Saturday 22 February / 11am (SOLD OUT), 1pm (SOLD OUT) & 3pm / The Garrison Theatre
Following on from the success of 2024's "Any Port in a Storm" tour, King Creosote's 2025's follow-up "Any Storm in a Teacup" promises a night of modular synth, I DES tracks and KC 'classics'.
Saturday 12 April / 7:30pm / Mareel
Celtic superstars and power-couple Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy are back on the world stage for the first time since their marriage in 2000.
The early 2000s saw both Natalie and Donnell busy raising their seven children (all world class musical talents in their own right), running a fully operational farm, and building a thriving farmers market in Lakefield Ontario - all while still playing over 75 shows a year in North America. With most of the children now in their early to late teens, it's time to spread their wings again and bring their electrifying live performances to audiences everywhere.
Tuesday 27 May / 7:30pm / Mareel
GLK Promotions presents The AC/DC Experience at Mareel!
Get ready to rock as The AC/DC Experience, the UK's top AC/DC tribute band, takes the stage at Mareel for the perfect night out for fans.
Don't miss your chance to hear all the classics in an electrifying standing gig that will blow you away and leave you shook all all night long!
Saturday 15 November / 8pm / Mareel
Seen by over 120 million people worldwide, LES MISÉRABLES is undisputedly one of the world's most popular musicals. In 2019, Cameron Mackintosh produced a spectacular sell-out staged concert version at the Gielgud Theatre featuring an all-star cast including Michael Ball, Alfie Boe, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Matt Lucas and John Owen Jones.
Now cinema audiences can experience a unique encore of this incredible show to celebrate Les Misérables 40th Anniversary.
Sunday 2 February at 7:15pm / Tuesday 4 February at 6pm / Mareel
The Importance of being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, directed by Max Webster.
Three-time Olivier Award-winner Sharon D Clarke is joined by Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who; Sex Education) in this joyful reimagining of Oscar Wilde's most celebrated comedy.
While assuming the role of a dutiful guardian in the country, Jack lets loose in town under a false identity. Meanwhile, his friend Algy adopts a similar facade. Hoping to impress twoeligible ladies, the gentlemen find themselves caught in a web of lies they must carefully navigate.
Max Webster (Life of Pi) directs this hilarious story of identity, impersonation and romance, filmed live from the National Theatre in London.
Thursday 20 February at 7pm / Saturday 22 February at 1pm (Subtitled) / Mareel
Opera Highlights is back on the road in 2025, touring to 24 venues across Scotland with a brand new piano-accompanied production.
This season's snappy, playful show by director Rebecca Meltzer and designer Kenneth MacLeod explores and celebrates Scotland's rich landscape. The operatic snapshots, curated for the first time by Fiona MacSherry, Scottish Opera's Head of Music, form scenes taking place at the country's many varied train stations - places of greetings and goodbyes, reunions and setting off on new adventures, where all walks of life can coexist and interact equally.
Singers Robert Forrest and Scottish Opera's 2024/25 Emerging Artists Ross Cumming, Chloe Harris, and Kira Kaplan bring classic operatic excerpts by Beethoven, Bizet, Handel, Donizetti, Tchaikovsky, and more to life under the musical direction of Joseph Beesley.
Saturday 22 February / 7pm / Mareel
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock classic Jesus Christ Superstar returns to its roots with this sensational performance filmed in the UK during the Live Arena Tour.
An incredible cast including Tim Minchin as Judas Iscariot, Melanie Chisholm as Mary Magdalene, Chris Moyles as King Herod and Ben Forster as Jesus Christ, perform hit songs including "I Don't Know How to Love Him," "Gethsemane," "Heaven on Their Minds," "Everything's Alright," "King Herod's Song" and "Superstar" in an exciting and contemporary interpretation.
Sunday 2 March at 7:15pm / Tuesday 4 March at 6pm / Mareel
Based on the Academy Award® nominated film, Billy Elliot the Musical has won the hearts of millions since it opened in London's West End in 2005.
Set in a northern mining town, against the background of the 1984/85 miners' strike, Billy's journey takes him out of the boxing ring and into a ballet class where he discovers a passion for dance that inspires his family and whole community and changes his life forever.
Sunday 30 March at 7:15pm / Wednesday 2 April at 6pm / Mareel
Through The Shortbread Tin is a brand-new show, performed in Scots with Gaelic songs, which explores Scottish culture, myths, history and identity.
Join Martin and Macpherson on an oral odyssey spanning centuries of Scottish history, exploring the myths we tell each other and the stories we tell ourselves. Because It takes a lot ae imagination tae tell a true story.
A National Theatre of Scotland Production.
Monday 28 April at 7:30pm / Tuesday 29 April at 2:30pm / Mareel
Larry’s been spending a lot of time with his granny lately. He wants to tell you about it.
Join the thrice Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated, two-time star of Live At The Apollo for a hilarious new show about identity, heroes and the benefits of being a dafty.
Thursday 13 March / 8pm / Mareel
A show about the body. Marjolein embarks on the second instalment of her standup trilogy by looking at a health condition that, left unspoken about in the past, was almost fatal. Now, shaking off the shame and armed with knowledge, Marjolein talks through menstrual health with humour and another Shetland folktale. This time the oldest story of Shetland about the deity Sea Midder.
This show is not for the faint-hearted, with 9 audience members fainting and another 18 walkouts during its run at the Fringe. However, this is not gore for gore's sake. This show has the potential to save lives. Also: JOKES.
Saturday 14 June / 7pm / Mareel
On 23rd January 2024 I was diagnosed as being neurodivergent which was kind of a surprise to me, funny enough not to anyone that knows me. Although surprising, this pretty much answered my full life and why I am the way I am.
So come join me in a show where I'll give you a 1st hand insight from my delusional eyes to what goes on in my ever expanding mind with stories of how I've manage to survive through a life of total confusement to how and why I now prefer to be alone, mostly!
Sunday 26 October / 8pm / Mareel
What does 'Violence' mean in performance? How can an actor safely, authentically and respectfully approach stage combat with others? Just how does one deliver a realistic stage slap, receive a punch or kick someone without actually causing injury?!
This one-off practical theatre workshop with drama instructor Stephenie Georgia will explore these questions and provide an opportunity to try out some stage combat techniques in a safe and supported environment.
Saturday 18 January / 10am / Mareel
Led by theatre-maker Flora Emily Thomson, this free interactive session will engage you in the process of powerful storytelling through opera, using scenes from Scottish Opera's Opera Highlights tour as inspiration.
Together with a music director and two singers, Emily will explore how music can illustrate dramatic context on stage. In this session, we explore the mechanics of staging and directing scenes from an opera, with your help to influence the direction and staging of the story.
Friday 21 February / 6pm / Mareel
Genevieve White will guide participants through creative writing tasks in an informal and fun manner.
These are social classes allowing participants to explore their creativity and feel part of a welcoming space. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t taken part in Creative Writing sessions before – these are open to people of all ages and abilities.
Every Wednesday* at 7:30pm / 5 February - 19 March / Mareel
*Please note: There is no session on Wednesday 26 February.
