Wednesday 22nd July 2026

Culture

Caught Between Grief and Hope: ‘On Some Far Shore’ Reviewed

Fresh off the back of Our House and Macbeth, Cross Key Productions presents an original three-hander focused on the complexities of grief and young love. Produced by Madi Boutcha...

The road to reckoning: ‘The Slip’ reviewed

Sharp, unsettling, and emotionally intelligent, 'The Slip' is a striking showcase of the ambition and talent behind Wide Eyes Productions, while establishing Wyatt as a writer-director to watch.

How an Oxford undergraduate made a name in choral music

When he arrived at Oxford, he expected his future to lie primarily in orchestral music. Instead, it was choral music that transformed his direction.

‘Scenes With Girls’ and complicated female friendships

'Scenes with Girls' deserves to be seen as one of Labyrinth Productions’ (Rosie Morgan-Males and Emily Cullinan) most impressive accolades.

Form, function, and art in the cultural weight of architecture

With roughly 55% of the world’s population living in cities, the urban world – the brainchild of architects – has become what most people...

The cantatas of Bach with New Chamber Opera

Recently, students from the University of Oxford have blessed the city with several performances of cantatas by the great Johann Sebastian Bach. On Wednesday...

Review: Crocodile Tears – ‘Techno-futuristic, but why?’

There is a lot to like about Natascha Norton’s Crocodile Tears. Female lead Elektra Voulgari Cleare is both electric and effortlessly elegant, and male...

Review: ART – ‘Charm, jazz, and friendship at its wittiest’

ART is charming. Centred around long-time friends Yvan (Ronav Jain), Marcus (Rufus Shutter) and Serge (Jem Hunter), the play not only raises pertinent questions...

The Journal of a Chambermaid: The greatest novel you’ve never heard of

It is easy to suppose that the greatest authors of the 19th century have all already been discovered. Especially when it comes to French...

The Oxford Cinema & Café: A profile

"The opening of The Oxford Cinema & Café marks a new chapter in Oxford’s cinema scene: a move further towards independent cinema."

W.H. Auden at the Bus Stop: In Praise of Intellectual Delay

It’s a damp Tuesday afternoon, and W.H. Auden is waiting patiently at the bus stop...

The Case for Reincarnated Romances

"Reincarnation romance films are sometimes silly, mostly melodramatic, but always overlooked as a subgenre."

Review: All My Sons – ‘At the end of the American Dream’

Joe Keller, played by Tristan Hood, represents the American dream. He is a wealthy businessman with a traditional family with a surviving son that...

Review: The Tempest – ‘Power looks good on her’

All the guests arrived and promptly took their seats, as one of the directors (Seb Carrington) announced the play would begin in 5 minutes....

Review: Bush! The Musical – ‘Is our actors singing?’

While the genre of historical musical theatre centred around US politicians may be dominated by Hamilton, Bush! The Musical has earned a place in...

Review: So Far, So Good – ‘Counting down the fall’

Student theatre has always thrived on experimentation, collaboration, and the courage to speak up. So Far, So Good, a new piece of original writing...

The writer behind ‘The Writer’

Tucked away in a room at Worcester College, I sat in on a rehearsal of Ella Hickson’s The Writer (2018), which Fennec Fox Productions...

Reframing Oxford’s controversial portraits

“All art is quite useless,” declared Oscar Wilde in the preface to The Picture of Dorian Grey. It’s a provocative claim, inviting us to...

‘Love in the face of hate’: A closer look at ‘Blood Wedding’

Emma Nihill Alcorta is the director of a new adaptation of the Spanish masterpiece Blood Wedding, running at the Oxford Playhouse. With flamenco rhythms and...

Duplicity, infidelity and loyalty in ‘Crocodile Tears’

“An Italian summer romance that goes wrong” – this is how Crocodile Tears was first pitched to me by its writer, Natascha Norton, when...

Review: The Great Gatsby – ‘Indulge the extravaganza’

Sophia Eiden’s production of Simon Levy’s script of The Great Gatsby is an undoubted triumph. I was, if only for a moment, transported back...

Barry Lyndon – Kubrick’s ultimate antifilm?

Barry Lyndon has always been dismissed within Kubrick’s filmography. While he is a filmmaker known for his versatility across genres, Barry Lyndon still sits...

Cinema’s hidden gems: Daisies (1966)

Whilst mainstream cinema more often favours the safe and the familiar, some of the most remarkable films ever made are those that dismantle the...

Review: Troilus and Cressida – ‘A missed opportunity to appeal to the brain rot generation’

Having heard on the grapevine (and even receiving word from the producer himself) about Troilus and Cressida falling victim to a last-minute casting upheaval,...

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