Arts Diary : Challenge of the curliest - local boys go head-to-head with Sir Simon's coiffure

tHE ultimate curly mop contest beckons. With the BerlinPhilharmonic being screened in Scottish cinemas in 3D next month,can conductor Sir Simon Rattle's swinging grey locks outdo tousle-headed locals Stephane Deneve and Robin Ticciati?BerlinerPhilharmoniker - A Musical Journey in 3D promises to take the recenttrend of cinema screenings of major opera a step further (though itis pre-recorded rather than live). There will be screenings inGlasgow and Dundee, though not Edinburgh, in May.The Berlin Phil'sperformance of Mahler's Symphony No 1 was filmed in Singapore usingeight 3D and HD cameras, and Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances is alsoon the bill.Sceptics may note that Scottish audiences can watch ourown leading orchestras in 3D, live, in person, at a number ofconcert dates this season - albeit not, as the Berlin versionpromises, "from a seat in the middle of the orchestra".Importantly,however, the Berlin Phil's virtual visit to Scotland offers a realopportunity to rate Sir Simon's curls against the local contenders.As any music critic will tell you, the modern mark of a conductinggreat is not how they wave the baton but how they toss themop.Deneve, of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, is arguablythe strongest local contender for his "corkscrew hair, and puppyishenthusiasm" (the Guardian) and "his shock of wild hair" (TheScotsman). "Flamboyant, French, and with wild red hair," is how theRSNO's website introduces him.However, the Scottish ChamberOrchestra's Robin Ticciati shouldn't be discounted. Critics areconstantly singing the praises of his "curly-haired youthfulness"and "boyish curls".The artist David Mach would have got short shriftat the hands of King James VI, says Melvyn Bragg, the reigningmonarch of cultural broadcasting.Mach plans to set light to matchsculptures of the faces of Jesus and Satan, as part of his summerexhibition at the City Art Centre in Edinburgh celebrating 400 yearsof the King James Bible. Mach has pulled similar flaming stunts withthe likes of Robert Louis Stevenson, but the Christian Institute - abody which campaigns against secularism - has called it"appalling".Next Tuesday Bragg will be at St Giles Cathedral talkingabout his book, The Book of Books, the Radical Impact of the KingJames Bible 1611-2011. The event launches a book tour of several UKcathedrals.Bragg looks at the influences of the KJB, taking inlanguage, religion and the abolitionist movement. He makes the casethat many people are indifferent to or sceptical about religion andhave "airbrushed" out its influence. He says that King James, whilein Scotland, would draw on his divine right to order summaryexecutions. "He did that in Scotland with witches," he says. "Ithink that Mr Mach is lucky he is not living 400 years ago."Askedabout Mach's plans, he says: "I think it's a tired idea. He isrelying on a profoundly tolerant society, which Christian societyhas become."The Arches is claiming Scotland's first "Skyped" play.Happy D-Day will be staged by Chilhowie Theatre at the venue tonightas one of its Scratch nights for new projects. It tells the story ofthree long-distance friends who use Skype's internet video telephoneto keep in touch. They gather to celebrate a birthday in thisproduction, by Mairead A Martin, claimed as "the first in Scotlandto use Skype both thematically and practically".Director StasiSchaeffer says, "Skype is a technology we use every day. Animportant part of theatre is that it reflects our current lives, andI find it very exciting to be able to integrate this technology intoa theatrical work."