Saturday 21st March 2026

Culture

‘Comedy is very deceptive’: Seán Carey on ‘Operation Mincemeat’

As a history student, you occasionally come across stories so strange they feel almost fictional. Operation Mincemeat is one of them.

How 2025’s biggest films made their mark through music

The recent Oscar nominations have allowed us to reflect on how fundamental musical scores are to film, and the highlights of last year’s film soundtracks.

Translating Oxford into Urdu

It’s a different emotion whenever I read the Urdu language. I’m not a native speaker, nor have I actively pursued learning the language, but as someone who finds solace in reading shayari (Urdu poetry), I wanted to follow it even in Oxford.

Stitching the world together: GFC’s London Fashion Week show

A few weeks ago we, the Cherwell fashion editors, were lucky enough to be extended an invite by the Global Fashion Collective to their London Fashion Week show.

Brakes review – ‘ticklingly funny and quietly frightening’

A refreshingly home-made and honest depiction of break-ups

Disposable Perspectives – Hope and despair in the margins of Paris

Amateur photography by refugees give a personal insight into the refugee experience

Victory review – ‘Julia Pilkington’s direction places us on a knife edge’

Victory is a reminder of student theatre's capacity to thrill and chill in equal measure

Girls and Boys review – ‘a drama that not only strikes, but leaves us sizzling’ 

Tony Wilkes is wowed by an unexpected trip to see the Royal Court's latest show starring Carey Mulligan

Black Panther celebrates black culture in all its glory

Examining the social power of Marvel's latest release

‘Artivism’ review – avoidance and awkward silence

The first half had the art but the second lacked the activism.

50 Shades Freed confines and confuses its viewers

The final chapter of the sex-fuelled saga encounters problems during its climax

Don’t give up on America

There’s much more to America than the current administration. John Mainland still has faith in the US

The changing face of the Virgin

Chris Ofili's new depiction of the Virgin Mary is shocking and enticing in equal measure

Two views on love compete for our heart

A medium must be found between unreal romanticism and cold rationalism

A woman who made a difference – for better or worse

Letters from Baghdad is a film about a colonialist woman who changed the history of the Middle East

The Polycephaly Monologues Review – ‘seamlessly combines the surreal with the naturalistic’

Tom Mackie is left amazed, but confused, by Nick Smart's juicy, absurdist work

Sia and her wig: disguise or clever marketing tool?

Wearing a wig allows Sia to hide away from fame, but it may also serve another purpose

Victory preview – ‘a truly fantastical world’

Sumptuous visuals, dark comedy and literary flair make this production one not to miss

The Kite Runner review – ‘a choreographed exuberance prose cannot achieve’

The Kite Runner is taken from page to stage in this masterful adaptation. Izzy Troth reviews.

It Happened One Night – merely antiquated, or timelessly great?

Exploring whether this classic film stands the test of time

A slow descent to hell

Cramped seating, culinary complaints and clapping for a landing. Becky Cook hates planes.

Vengeance, violence, and why I lost faith in Game of Thrones

There's nothing more devastating than the downfall of your favourite show... (WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD)

Downsizing review – ‘leaving the audience more bored than scintillated’

Alexander Payne's latest film loses its way between its big ideas and its tiny characters

The trouble with sex in fiction

Fiction presenting sex as pornography is dishonest and ridiculous

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