Thursday 23rd 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.

Avonlea Revisited: what children’s classics offer for adult readers

"Revisiting these childhood classics gives us an important reminder for these definitely non-normative times: seek happiness in the unlikeliest places. Love is patient, love is kind, but it is also a little shy and very, very funny."

Music in a foreign language: short-lived novelty or here to stay?

When it comes to most music, you realise quite quickly that the language it’s written in isn’t really that important. Maybe you wouldn’t get...

Hooks and Hardbacks: a summer music reading list

For the music obsessives among us, the pieces of literature that stick longest in our minds are overwhelming those which take music itself as a subject....

Setting the Scene: When location becomes character

I can remember the first time I watched The Revenant in an empty screening at my local cinema. It was during the height of...

Review: The Places I’ve Cried in Public

"The book tackles abusive relationships in a way that allows younger (and older) readers to realise the many forms abuse can take."

Theroux thick and thin

Louis doesn't just question those he is filming but seems to become part of their journey

A Fresher’s Guide to Oxford Drama

Everyone feels on the outside, until they don’t anymore

Friday Favourite: The Cairo Trilogy

“A historical allegory that mirrors political events through the livelihood of the Al-Jawad family, it is a seminal work of modern Arabic literature and is crucial to understanding Egypt’s modern history, society and culture.”

Arcade Fire’s ‘Funeral’: an underappreciated album built for times like these

It is a fact of the universe that, in difficult times, people turn to music. It often seems somewhat counterintuitive that in states of...

When Will We Be “Satisfied”? – Hamilton And Its Discontents

Four years after the now familiar opening thumps of Hamilton were first heard, the White House has met the Mouse-House; Disney+ allows subscribers to...

The language of Pride: five books I read in the closet

"As well as the direct dialogue from writer to reader, I realised that I was just one of a larger readership: an intoxicating mix of individual and collective experience that was validating above all else."

In defence of self-help

"It took my own experience of trauma to recognise that maligning self-help can contribute to disempowerment, and to think non-judgementally about the traumas which might have led other people to seek self-help and self-care."

Review: The Chicks’ ‘Gaslighter’

Fourteen years since their last album, and 17 since they were effectively shut out from the country music industry, The Chicks (formerly known as...

Review: Bladee’s ‘333’

Bladee’s music is either airy transcendence...or the worst thing you’ve ever heard.

“But where are the bonnets?”: Little Women and historically inaccurate costumes

In case you didn’t know, Little Women (2019) won Best Costume Design at the most recent Oscars and there are a good number of...

‘Lockdown made me do it’: the sustainable benefits of getting crafty

"If people were making a small fortune on Depop and Etsy (occasionally funded by me) by selling vintage and up-cycled clothes, I might as well try doing it for myself on a budget." Sophie Wright discusses how she turned old into new by upcycling during lockdown.

Culture in crisis: the impact of the pandemic on theatres

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on countries around the world. A huge number of services and businesses are struggling: the NHS, airlines, retail...

Comfort Films – Stand By Me

"Immature boyishness and naivety are never glamorised..."

Of bops and bargains

“I mean we are doing something to slow it down, but this fashion is still going very fast.” With this statement hanging in the air,...

Review: Haim’s ‘Women in Music Pt. III’

As with other albums scheduled for 2020, the release date for Women in Music Pt. III experienced an upheaval. Having moved from its original...

Follow us