The wait is over for Herald readers champing at the bit to know how to get up close and personal with US comedian Doug Stanhope when he warms up for his UK tour and a brace of evenings at Glasgow's O2 Academy with an intimate show at one of his favourite venues: Edinburgh's Tron on the Royal Mile. Supplier of a Stateside take on the news for Charlie Booker on television, Stanhope, pictured, is also a declared favourite of Sarah Silverman, Ricky Gervais and the late Robin Williams, and his popularity with Fringe comedy-goers will ensure that this one sells out fast.

Tickets are only available via this link: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2327717 and are limited to two per person at a cost of £30 each. Doors open at 7pm for an 8pm show, and tickets buyers have to be in the venue by 7.30pm in a move designed to prevent a black market.

dougstanhope.com

The director of Dundee Rep's hit revival of 7:84 Scotland's The Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black Black Oil, Joe Douglas, is also at the helm for rehearsed readings of a new play to mark the 25th anniversary of German reunification which has rehearsed readings this week. Ensemble is the fruit of a collaboration between researchers at the University of Edinburgh and playwright Peter Arnott and is based on first-hand accounts of East German theatre censorship in the years between the construction and fall of the Berlin Wall.

The readings are tonight at the Traverse in Edinburgh (7.30pm), tomorrow at Websters in Glasgow (7.30pm), and on Saturday at the Byre, St Andrews (3.30pm).

traverse.co.uk; byretheatre.com

With its £8.5m refurbishment over two years poised to begin, the stylish 1938 building that is Rothesay Pavilion on the Isle of Bute is set to celebrate its glorious past with a grand closing weekend. Tomorrow evening the Bute Players present Pavilion People, a show based on stories and memories of the Pavilion from local people created by writer and director Linda Duncan McLaughlin and choreographer Natasha Gilmore. On Saturday, the focus is on music with a gig by Orkestra De Sol and Woodenbox, while Sunday see the launch of #Rothesaylive, an initiative teaming up and coming musicians with professional mentors and producers. A photography exhibition runs throughout the weekend.

rothesaypavilion.co.uk