Monday 18th August 2025

Culture

HOLE IN THE WALL L’HOPITAL at Fringe

★★★☆☆ Everything I write ends up being about grief – I suppose this review only proves that point. HOLE IN THE WALL L’HOPITAL, created by Chicago-based comedian Brendan Tran, pays...

Beyond the binary: Leigh Bowery’s radical individuality

Tate Modern's "Leigh Bowery!" refuses easy categorisation—much like its subject A fashion student from Sunshine,...

St Anne’s goes All-Steinway: A purposeful and bold commitment to music

In a move that lives up to its motto of ‘Consulto et Audacter’ (purposefully...

Just like the movies: An American’s notes on her Oxford year

Oxford occupies a mystical, almost fantastical place within the American psyche – so much...

“We’re going into a new territory”: interviewing theatre director Sally Cookson

Sally Cookson is a theatre director who has worked on productions for theatres including the Old Vic London, the Bristol Old Vic, the National...

Dick Whittington: not quite the win the National was hoping for

This version attempts to be the Hamilton of pantomimes, incorporating street dance, rap, pop ballads and frequent references to TikTok trends into an otherwise familiar tale.

Bodleian Bangers: Dame Helen Ghosh

"If you asked me “what am I proud of?”. I did Couch to 5k. Okay, so going with that for a running song I would say Tears for Fears “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” (1985). Definitely one of my pandemic songs."

Read, Listen, Learn: The Everchanging World of Books

Flash forward 100 years. Surprise! People still read — just not in the same way as we do now, and we can be pretty...

It is the light

"It is the light/That engulfs me/Its fingers of dust waltzing ever so softly"

It’s a Sin: a sublime and sorrowful social history

Davies understands that tragedy is awfulness plus its antithetical counterpoint

Debating the Preservation of Cultural Infrastructures: the Example of Tolkien’s Property

Fans of J.R. Tolkien have been troubled by the prospects of having Tolkien’s home sold to private buyers. Should it go on the market...

‘Ah, bitter chill it was!’: John Keats, the winter Romantic

If these next months feel dreary and dark, as they undoubtedly will, do seek solace in the strange, mysterious world of Romantics.

Backstage takes centre stage: a look behind the scenes

It is at this moment that it becomes obvious just how important backstage is; it can quite simply carry the play or allow it to flop, making the phrase ‘break a leg’ cut a bit close to the bone.

A Recipe for the ‘Great British Sitcom’

It seems difficult to think of anything so integrally British as the phenomenon known as the ‘Great British Sitcom’. Up there with scones, Big...

Biting the hand that so rarely feeds us?: an honest review of Happiest Season

*Spoiler alert* At some point during the festive period, without fail, I curl up on the sofa and binge watch Christmas films. The usual contenders...

Becoming Hir

The play’s cathartic nature hinges on New York playwright Taylor Mac’s darkly playful approach to gender issues.

Review: Playboi Carti’s ‘Whole Lotta Red’

The most interesting thing about Playboi Carti is that despite the immense attention and hype he draws, he remains a relative mystery. Past projects...

Bodleian Bangers: Alan Rusbridger

"If you want 45 minutes of music to die to, surely it's last bit of Act I of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro - as good as any 45 minutes of music." Alan Rusbridger, LMH Principal and former Guardian Editor-In-Chief, is the first to feature in Music's new series, Bodleian Bangers.

Time Alone

"The echo in the chapel chimes as I take my unlikely seat."

The Potter

"Did you ever meet the man, Who lived once in this place?"

The Crown’s Unspoken Words

'I think, when it comes to any biopic, "real history" has to be deprioritised. If an accurate and chronological rendering of history is what you're looking for, watch a documentary!' Maebh Howell writes on the dichotomies of the biopic, asking which is to be prioritised; accurate truth-telling or entertaining story-telling.

The Beginning of the End

Maybe we like the idea of being the protagonist of a gritty Doomsday story?

Atonement

'I rue the lost hours and days: a finite life, this one'

A Love Letter to Living With Scientists/An Apology to My Housemates

'I am not sure what broke me. I think it's a close tie between the discussion around NaCl when I asked for the salt to be passed down the table or when someone genuinely asked the group what their favourite way to measure the centre of mass was.'

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