Saturday 4th July 2026

Culture

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.

‘The Moro Affair’: Astonishingly original, but not quite a story

The acting in 'The Moro Affair' was superb across the board, with Harriet Wilson’s Pope as a standout, and Rosie Sutton’s direction was flawless.

‘Music can be everything’: Aurora Orchestra’s Jane Mitchell on the narratives around classical music

The Aurora Orchestra, who are playing at Oxford’s Schwarzman Centre on the 19th June, are best known for performing their orchestral repertoire from memory.

“Clue” as a Chamber Piece for Our Time

I’ve only been away from Oxford for a week. I’ve only spent a week in isolation at home with my parents. But a week...

‘Food For Thought’: The Buffa

What do buffet staff think about as they watch you stuff down your fourth plate of chicken chow-mein? Maybe they’re questioning why anyone drinks cows’ milk...

Dramatics in Isolation: The Nightly Met Opera Streams Reviewed

On the 13th of March, the Met Opera’s Twitter announced that they would begin a series of ‘nightly live streams’ of beloved operas for anyone with...

Comfort Films: Cars

Last summer a friend recommended I watch Shaun of The Dead. The idea of walking around London now, surrounded by potentially asymptomatic people, does...

A Nation Under Siege

Darius Parvizi-Wayne spent three weeks in lockdown at the end of his five month stay in Italy. Here he recalls the empty streets with a mixture of verse and visuals.

Culture and isolation: the silver linings

I’ve found myself – an English undergraduate – reading for fun again.

Electronic Music: the Sound and the Sceptics

A look back over the history of - and our attitudes towards - electronic music today.

Is the coronavirus killing culture?

Arts and culture, sectors which have already faced significant funding cuts, may have to adapt to a new normal if we are to welcome them back to our stages, screens, and books.

‘and all manner of things shall be well’

Jack Glynne-Jones explores how T.S. Eliot provides solace in periods of stress

In Conversation: Enter Shikari’s Rou Reynolds

A chat with Enter Shikari's frontman ahead of the release of their highly-anticipated sixth studio album, 'Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible'

Review: For Sama

It is 2016, in Aleppo, Syria, and Waad al-Kateab is filming the world that unfolds around her, with a handheld film camera. This world...

In conversation: Chase Rice

US Country singer-songwriter Chase Rice has gone Platinum multiple times, co-written a Diamond-certified hit, and last year reached No. 1 with his single...

Review: Diary of a Murderer and Other Stories by Kim Young-Ha

‘It’s been twenty-five years since I last murdered someone, or has it been twenty-six?’ A serial killer suffering from Alzheimer’s attempts to protect his daughter...

Review: Dr Faustus

“Why this is hell, nor am I out of it.”  As clawing hands ooze from behind a bookshelf, as twisted shadows creep against the walls,...

Interview with Musician and Neuroscientist Izzy Frances

Musician and neuroscientist Izzy Frances loves to play on your heartstrings. Propelled by a desire to understand herself and others, Izzy has burst onto...

Picasso at the RA and the experience of solitude

The curved, sick, and boney fingers are everywhere. The Frugal Meal (1904), one of Picasso’s early paper engravings, is immediately striking.

C’est la Brie: why we love cheesy music

Few would care to admit that the dated tunes of 'cheese' make up a significant portion of our listening habits, and yet music once...

Where Things Turn Out Different

Bombay is an Anglicisation of the Marathi word Mumbai. For this reason, it has become a source of awkwardness.

A Hard Day’s Nightmare: Music and Sleep Paralysis

A typical depiction of sleep paralysis may be found in Henry Fuseli’s 1781 painting ‘The Nightmare’. A woman in a clingy white dress sprawls...

Review: Conversations with Friends

At one point in Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends, the protagonist, Frances, tells her best friend and former girlfriend, Bobbi: ‘If I could talk like you...

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