Friday 24th October 2025

Culture

‘A team of criers’: Behind the scenes of ‘Uncle Vanya’

Nothing makes me more excited about a theatre production than hearing a director talk passionately and intelligently about their chosen text. In a conversation with Cherwell, director Joshua Robey’s...

Grappling with ‘grief that’s half formed’: Your Funeral

“Meeting up with a partner so soon after a breakup is an awkward time...

“NOR GLOM OF NIT?”: ‘Going Postal’ reviewed

“NEITHER RAIN NOR SNOW NOR GLOM OF NIT CAN STAY THESE MESENGERS ABOT THEIR...

On Gravel and Quads: Woolf’s Oxbridge in ‘A Room of One’s Own’

Virginia Woolf’s extended essay A Room of One’s Own is probably the most important...

(Re)call Me Maybe: Re-evaluating Carly Rae Jepsen

"By putting on Katy Perry or Jessie J, you’re probably not looking for a quasi-religious experience. There’s no need for overly philosophical lyrics or boundary-pushing orchestral accompaniments; rather, you want catchy hooks, relatable lyrics, and, above all else, fun. Jepsen does this all flawlessly." Katie Kirkpatrick advocates for justice for Carly Rae Jepsen

Narratives of Grief: Creating ‘Opera for One’

This is a strength of the performance: with a range of experiences of grief explored by a variety of composers and librettists, no one singular experience is presented, but instead the performance looks at the nuances of the emotions of grieving.

Be

"Travelling into The sunset, a new cowboy ready to ride"

The Felling of Yggdrasil

"Worlds branch off like capillaries From an oaken aorta"

Ten Days Troilus Waits for Cressida

"Above me, the Milky wheel turns round and round"

Seen and not heard: the film industry’s troubled relationship with female directors

Scarlett Colquitt responds to the claim that "women directed films have a softer tone" with an examination of role of female directors in today's film industry.

Dip your toe into Schitt’s Creek

Schitt’s Creek is a show where the main character talks to her many, many wigs. It is a show which manages to make a...

Bodleian Bangers: Tom Fletcher

"You’re not going to get high quality from me today, nor a sophisticated taste. But I’m going to give you the honest truth." .

Album Review: Black Country, New Road: For the first time

"The songs that have now been crystallised on 'For the first time' have always existed, and will always exist, in a state of perpetual evolution – they talk to each other, to their own predecessors, and to the rest of the cultural sphere in which they exist."

Making “Magic”: A Revival of an Edwardian Fantasy-Genre Play

Magic lends itself well to the online format. It is a play of voices, of witty exchanges and mystifying, unseen events. The audience is called on to construct the setting from their imagination, inspired by the actors and the sound effects, resulting in a final product which is a collaboration between players and listeners.

Literary Loves: What fictional romance has taught me about real-life relationships

For the first 17 years of my life, I felt like everything I knew about love I learned from books. Sure, as a self-conscious...

Fun Home?

CW: sexual assault, child abuse, suicide, homophobia. 2015 was a great year in the history of musical theatre, possibly the greatest year of this century...

Alice Phoebe Lou: A Listener’s Guide

"What kind of living is this? I don't wanna simply exist. I wanna punch with my fists…grab life by her wrists…and say I want this". After lockdown number three was announced, the lyrics hit me in a completely new way, as if I was listening to the song for the first time again.

Emo-ology: An Introduction

"'Emo’ music did not suddenly materialise when Gerard Way screamed ‘IM NOT O-F*****G-K’ into a microphone."

Review: ‘Breaking and Mending’ by Joanna Cannon

For me, it is Cannon’s complete honesty and authenticity which make this an astounding read ... 'Breaking and Mending' is the perfect book to read as a medical student, a doctor, or anyone who wants to have their heart warmed by tales of genuine compassion and kindness.

Review: Arlo Parks’ ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’

"Collapsed in Sunbeams is a tender portrait of her microcosm of the world that feels universal."

Zoom cuppers – a new sub-genre of theatre?

This was an entirely new experience, a mode of art barely explored before 2020 and something that I believed would benefit me to be a part of.

The comedy bug

No sympathy laughs from your mate when the joke doesn’t quite land; no in-jokes to fall back on; no new haircut to make fun of. Comedy is a savage mistress.

Revisiting ‘All The King’s Men’ in the Post-Trumpian Era

Much like the 1920s and 30s, we live in a period of great change when all previously-held cultural norms and precedents seem to be shifting under our feet. All the King’s Men speaks to this time of turmoil, questioning how the individual responds to that, whether they challenge it or become corrupted by it.'

The Most Anticipated Books of 2021

In light of the disaster that was 2020, many of us are looking towards 2021 with hope. Amongst the reasons to be excited about...

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