Thursday 13th November 2025

Theatre

On the edge of honesty: ‘The Man Who Turned into a Stick’

To rehearse and perform an entire student production before the second week of Michaelmas term is no easy feat - and The Man Who Turned into a Stick struggled...

Erotic suspense and trickery: ‘Twelfth Night’ at St Hugh’s 

Lovers mismatched, siblings detached, and plans of trickery hatched: it is the time of...

Sin and nectar: Behind the scenes of ‘Women Beware Women’

I arrived at a rehearsal of Women Beware Women and found Hippolito (Kit Parsons)...

Well-managed complexity: ‘In Praise of Love’ 

In Praise of Love by Terence Rattigan was a play well-chosen in today’s political...

Modern musicals and new writing: where did musical theatre leave off?

CW: Addiction, rape, homophobia, conversion therapy, depression. "While the apparent lack of original musicals can feel disheartening, there’s actually a lot of original work out there." Katie Kirkpatrick looks at the state of new musical theatre.

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.

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.

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...

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.

Creating theatre in a pandemic: Spoon River Anthology

Working with other people on Spoon River is definitely a welcome distraction from the monotony of being stuck in lockdown at home. It is truly inspiring to get to witness so many creatives coming together for this production.

“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.

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.

Becoming Hir

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

Review: Mischief Movie Night

"Mischief Movie Night is a funny and engaging show that is sure to brighten up even the darkest lockdown night."

Reinvention: rethinking gender and race on stage

"Marginalised actors should not just be shoehorned into pre-existing plays without any respect or provision for the stories they have to tell. To do so is to package diversity into commercially successful morsels that are digestible for largely white, middle-class audiences."

The Show Must Go On…but not in every region of the UK

Several regional theatres have struggled to cope in the pandemic, due to persistent negligence and underfunding for decades, both by regional funding bodies and the government themselves.

Review: The Dancing Men

"The whole crew behind this production are worthy of praise for their resourcefulness, having produced a piece which works with, rather than against, its unusual circumstances".

Lighting: the art of manipulating the audience

The effect of light is upon the unconscious, unacknowledged unless you are thinking about it, but it’s influencing you all the same.

Behind the BT

"What characterises Oxford drama? The energy and enthusiasm!"

Review: Simulacrum

Written and directed by Helena Aeberli and Riana Modi, Simulacrum is the first play on the Oxford drama scene specifically designed for online production,...

Review: V-Card

"an immersive play of laughter, vulnerability and truth"

Preview: V-Card

"V-Card looks to be one to remember"

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