Thursday, March 20, 2025

Culture

Persuading the public: The play as propaganda

The play as propaganda has a long history. From the regime-affirming productions of Hieron, tyrant King of Syracuse, to Lucy Prebble’s play The Effect, we can understand that theatre has...

Something is rotten in the state of San Andreas: Grand Theft Hamlet in Hertford

‘Hamlet: “O’, that this too too solid flesh would melt, thaw…” ’ Don’t quite remember...

The Ghosts She Felt Acutely

This year, with the inaugural Blackwell’s Short Story Prize, Cherwell aimed to reconnect with its roots...

Letter from the Orient

This year, with the inaugural Blackwell’s Short Story Prize, Cherwell aimed to reconnect with its roots...

Oxford Horror Soc, un-earthed

The Oxford Horror Soc, led by Izzy Reese, is Oxford’s first and only society dedicated to the on-screen horror genre.

The com(m)e(n)t

Scrunching it into a ball,  you toss it atmospheric, out of sight. 

Candles

Dreams are made of candles, pinpricks of a deeper light.

Charity shop pirates: Is second-hand shopping as sustainable as we think?

We're applying a more-is-more attitude to what ought to be a sustainable resource.

The sounds of student protest

Their monopoly on the sonic space means that they are in charge of disseminating information to the public. In other words, they were not walled off. 

Lights, camera, Liaisons

It will undoubtedly be the one of the most all-out, technically spectacular shows that Oxford student drama has seen in a long time.

Review: May We Be Forgiven by A.M Homes

Weird and wonderful. Heavy at times, strange throughout, but uplifting to the end. An incredible read.

The best books I read this summer

In a desperate attempt to extend the holiday, here are the best books I read this summer...

‘Glitz, glamour, pizzazz’: In conversation with The Great Gatsby

This weekend, I sat down with Mina Moniri and Peter Todd, the co-writing/co-directing duo of a brand-spanking new adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

Review: The Safe Keep by Yael Van der Wouden

In not necessarily liking Isabel, we are free to understand her, even if this understanding does boil down to something rather simple.

Ticketmaster hurts student concert culture

Competitive, difficult, and opaque. All words associated with the Oxbridge admissions process. More recently, however, they have been used by disappointed Oasis and Coldplay fans in relation to Ticketmaster.

Celebrating two centuries of the National Gallery

Flo Wolter reflects on the impact and legacy of the iconic institution, now in its 200th year.

‘warþ gasric grorn, þær he on greut giswom’ [Fish sad when washed to shore] – The Franks Casket

hronæsbansorrowful, weeping tears of salttaken, hunted, harpoonedfrom my blue lagooncrafted by you into this box. hronæsbancarve me, recalcitrant though I ammay my banhus tell both...

Review: Joker: Folie à Deux

Joker: Folie a Deux is ultimately too disjointed and unnecessary to win Oscars or make headlines.

The Graduate took on generational divides

From its start, The Graduate shows its audience that Ben is alienated from the older generations. At the party his parents throw to celebrate...

Dame Maggie Smith’s Oxford beginnings, from Mansfield to McGonagall

Now nearly a month since the news of the actress’ death, aged 89, we can reflect on Smith’s extraordinary career and her connections to the city that started it all. 

Books you can’t sink your teeth into: A brief look into unsolvable manuscripts

If there’s one thing that most people appreciate, it’s a good mystery with a clever solution. It is no accident that Agatha Christie is...

Review: Will Heaven Fall on Us? A Béla Tarr Retrospective

Will Heaven Fall on Us? A Béla Tarr Retrospective, which aired in cinemas this summer, confirms the status of the Hungarian director as an...

Has the romantic comedy lost its charm?

The romantic comedy genre is often criticised for its overreliance on tropes. The romcom is, after all by, designed to be light and fun....

Palimpsest

This is a secular city, built on holy bones. We’re on the edge of another fissure. Nothing so grand as a revolution. But the grey...

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