Sunday 18th January 2026

Culture

‘Beautifully we may rot’: ‘Madame La Mort’ in review

In a small, black-painted room on the top floor of a pub in Islington, known as The Hope Theatre, Madame La Mort was staged for the public for the first time.

Damaging detachment: Reflections on the Booker Prize 

This Christmas vac, I made up my mind to get out of my reading slump using the Booker Prize shortlist, revealing toxic masculinity as a key theme.

In defence of the theatrical release

If film, like all art, nourishes itself on its own œuvre, I don’t think we can afford to sever the association between the cinema and the film.

Falling out of Louvre

In spite of recent events, the expected heightened security was nowhere evident.

Festive flicks: the best films to watch at Christmas

Get into the Christmas spirit with a .. Harry Potter marathon

Christmas adverts: capitalist emotional blackmail or festive escapism?

Although spreading Christmas cheer, making viewers laugh and cry, and even tackling social and environmental issues are all well and good, the ultimate aim of Christmas adverts is to make more money for the company.

The Tragedy of King Richard the Second – ‘stripped-down Shakespeare’

The timing of many lines elicits genuine laughter from the audience; in these interesting times we live in, such a take feels intensely necessary.

Jersey Boys Review – ‘the drama falls flat’

The lead actors march around on stage like four dads thrown together on a charity tour of the YMCA.

The Cellar Forever – Why The Cellar’s survival is integral for the Oxford music scene

The Cellar is matching listener with artist and artist with opportunity, but more than anything it is bringing music back to the forefront of nights out.

Silent Night Review – ‘a story very relevant to our time’

The multilingual reimagining of the Christmas Truce at Leeds Town Hall feels particularly timely

The Bookshelf: Charlotte Brontë’s ‘Villette’

In the first of our blog series on your favourite books and poems, Jenny Scoones finds the passionate love and faith in Bronte’s later, lesser-known novel to rival the author's more canonical works

Milkman by Anna Burns: a pertinent portrait of life during the Troubles

An exploration of Anna Burns' The Milkman and its chilling relationship to the violence of the Troubles.

Frantz: a wrenching tale of remembrance

The French-German film Frantz, however, has gone unnoticed by many English-speaking viewers, despite being one of the most powerful films released to explore the after-effects of World War I.

Film Firsts: Nothing gets lost in translation with my first foreign film

Beyond even the sprawling shots of the Indian landscapes, Hirani’s film achieves the quality of epic.

Dirty Dancing Review – ‘gives fans exactly what they want’

Maxim Mower enjoys a touring production of Dirty Dancing at the New Theatre, which he says will satisfy lovers of the 1987 movie.

“After three hours in an Omniplex I am, at least, still alive” – livestreaming from theatre to cinema

Dorothy McDowell sees potential in livestreaming theatre, but it still fails to reach a mainstream audience

True West Review – ‘this is truly sweet suburban silence’

Sam Shepard's play explores the tensions behind the American Dream.

Poetry in motion: the nature of lyrics

Should lyrics be given the same respect as poetry?

Armitage’s Gawain: translating in wylde wayeȝ

"Translation is not without flaws – it cannot help but alter authorial voice, although the degree to which this takes place is certainly not consistent."

The Winter’s Tale review – atmospheric and otherworldly

Nicole Jashapara is charmed by this production's aesthetic and comic performances

Auditioning – what it’s actually like

Beata Kuczynska provides a look behind the curtain at the highs and lows of the auditioning process

The Admirable Crichton Review – ‘a light-hearted antidote to eighth week’

Simone Fraser finds Corpus Christi Owlets' new production to be effective comic relief in eighth week.

The natural world: unconventional spaces for art

"The natural world enhances both creator’s and viewers’ experiences of the art in a way that the setting of a gallery could not."

Blood Brothers Review – ‘truly exceptional theatre’

Katie Sayer is wowed by the quality of a touring production of the 1983 musical.

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