The everyday materials of set construction also seem trip up the settie. Plywood rejects domination by nails, paint tins cling to their lids with the tenacity of a limpet in its shell, hammers develop a passion for your fingertips, and sawing causes bloodshed which, more often than not, stains the backdrop better than any cheap paint from the B&Q in Blackbird Leys. Bloodstains, at least, can generally be passed off as artistic license. And then, once the whole misbegotten, nailed, duct taped edifice is erect, it will come crashing down because some clod-hopping actor will lean on it, causing hysterics and general fury. This isn’t to say that wood isn’t a preferable staging material to the other possibilities a settie is presented with. Rumour has it Tom Richards is only now – and only just – being talked out of plans to build an actual brick wall in the OFS for his bid for Edward II next term.
Being a set designer is not a bundle of laughs. But the sight of a stage coming to life, backdrop glowing in the lights, the doors opening and closing smoothly, actors not falling over any protruding set or mauling themselves on any overlooked nails, must be one of the most gratifying parts of this whole theatre affair.

By Ben Lafferty 

Perhaps no play has ever dramatised the panic, the uncomprehending abhorrence, of the AIDS epidemic better than Angels in America. It does so in ways too subtle and moving to be explained here, except to say that the bitter medicine of its polemic is delivered in the sugar pill of its fantasy. Its juxtaposition of revelatory imagination and decaying, mortal reality cuts to the bone.

Chanya Button doesn’t believe in cliques, but that’s okay, because cliques believe in Chanya Button. I’ve never been able to ascertain whether she’s considered one of Oxford’s finest directors because she has surrounded herself with talented, versatile actors, or if her coterie only seem so good because they get to work with her. The whys and the wherefores don’t matter nearly as much as the result, which is the closest Oxford drama comes to professional quality.

The cast are not uniformly excellent, but each would shine in most student productions. Tim Hoare is beleaguered as only a gay Republican can be, treating his character’s conflict with acumen and sensitivity. Acting opposite him, Natasha Kirk gives some occasionally shallow characterisation by playwright Tony Kushner a sympathetic dimension. Charlie Morrison has a scowling aggression straight out the pages of Tom Wolfe. Leo Marcus-Wan, appearing here in a supporting role, seemingly shimmers onstage. In a play that goes helter-skelter from whimsy to tragedy, he adds a playful sparkle, a cinnamon swirl on the cappuccino froth.

One or two of the performers struggle with the demands of American diction. The otherwise excellent Ellie Nairne is somewhat let down by an overly broad "Neuw Yawk" accent that wanders imperceptibly into a Mel Brooks impersonation.

This is the first time I’ve seen a believable couple on the Oxford stage and I’d always suspected that when I finally did, it would consist of two chaps. Both Gareth Russell and Colin Warriner are fine individually, but their chemistry as a pairing is joyous. Russell, in his lighter moments, is particularly effervescent. In one scene he toys with Hoare’s repressed sexuality with such blithe delicacy as to tear the audience between squirming discomfort and sniggering schadenfreude.

Oh, and another thing. It takes place in the Union Debating Hall. I hold no special veneration for the Union as an institution, but as a performance space it offers a unique atmosphere that none of Oxford’s airport-terminal theatres can match. It isn’t all good news. The hall is plagued by cacophonous acoustics, and a discreet clearing of the throat sounds like a barrage of howitzer fire. While the press (all two of us) were assured that this echo would be absorbed by a full audience, it seems uncertain whether the problem can be resolved altogether.

I haven’t given this show five stars because it is flawless, it is anything but. Button has a ludicrous amount of potential, and if nothing else you can consider seeing this show an investment in future dinner table conversation. You ought to see it not because it is history-making in the most literal sense, but because it is a rare example of ambition realised.

Heard the one about the healers who can perform internal surgery on you with their bare hands – leaving not a mark behind? Or the woman who thinks we should have 12 strands of DNA, not just 2? It’s what the Atlanteans had – but don’t worry, a small fee and she’ll kindly restore them for you. You’ve got cancer? Don’t worry – if you eat nothing but liquidised grapes for a month, it’ll disappear.  Laughing? You shouldn’t be. These are all genuine ‘treatments’ offered to the desperate: people who have lost faith in conventional medicine, people whom conventional medicine cannot help; and the ‘worried well’: people who have been persuaded that they are ill despite being in the pink of health, by health scammers eager to make money off the gullible and the vulnerable.  Recently, channel 4 showed a two-part documentary, featuring Richard Dawkins, dramatically entitled, ‘The Enemies of Reason’ which targeted such scammers. He was determined to expose how the tricks of the quacks, and the damage they have done. Not content with that, however, he launched an attack on the ‘irrational NHS’, and proponents of all complementary therapy. Is all ‘alternative medicine’ a foolish waste of time? Or would we be fools, to dismiss it out of hand?  ‘Snake-oil under a different name.’It cannot be disputed that ‘alternative’ medicine peddlers have strong associations with quacks, charlatans, and showmen – exploiters of the vulnerable and ill, selling medicines that have no proven health benefits. An inventory of examples and cases can be seen on Quackwatch, a site dedicated to exposing fallacious or misleading health treatments, is part of a circle of sites which tackle a variety of common alternative health treatments, covering aspects as diverse as acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic practice, and nutrient scams.  Alternative medicine, the site states, often claims to be holistic, but in fact is extremely narrow: chiropractors believe all ill health is caused by poor posture: acupuncturists think that acupuncture can cure everything from short sightedness to impotence, while health-food advocators often encourage dangerous diets – in extreme cases, consumption of nothing but one food-stuff (grapes, milk, cabbage) for long periods of time in serious illness. And advocates are fond of using jargon or pseudo-scientific terms – ‘energy balance’ ‘quantum interactions’ ‘detoxification’ – to bewilder the potential patient – with possibly fatal results.  For those who think that’s a bit harsh, believing that alternative treatments are at the best helpful, at the worst, harmless, Dr Jarvis, President of the National Council Against Health Fraud, lists the ways in which such treatments harm cancer patients.  “Harm can be direct [as a result of treatment]…Cyanide poisoning from ingesting apricot pits or laetrile, Salmonella dublin infection from drinking raw milk, electrolyte imbalance caused by coffee enemas, internal bleeding from deep body massage, and brain damage from whole-body hyperthermia have all caused needless death of cancer patients.” He also warns that there is much  ‘indirect harm’: diets which weaken the patient, warnings not to trust ‘orthodox’ medical treatment which can lead to fatal delays in seeking professional help, and false reassurances and hope which can be psychologically devastating.  The ‘worried well’, too, don’t escape unscathed. Patients may be told they have cancer or other incurable illness and told to apply potentially harmful cures – for an illness they have not got. If they seek professional advice and are told they are healthy, the alternative practitioner may tell them that conventional medicine is often unreliable in detecting their particular disease. The psychological (as well as physical) damage, again, can be devastating. Even self-medication with over-the-counter herbs carries hidden dangers when their active ingredients interfere with other medication, and can lead to fatalities.  Homeopathy, one of Dawkins’ (and I admit, my own) pet hates, is a scheme of treatment where the active drug is diluted so much in water there is often not a single molecule of the original ingredient left by the time it is given to the patient. Its effects are, to say the least, controversial. Yet the NHS spends around £3 million on it a year, and 8.5% of the British population use it. Despite opposition from the scientific community, including protests from senior doctors and scientists, the NHS has continued funding a treatment that has no real evidence behind it.  Michael Baum is emeritus professor of surgery at UCL who organised one such protest letter last year. In an interview to the Guardian, he voiced his concerns. "My concern is the issue of opportunity cost. If the NHS is spending good money on placebos at the cost of not providing effective medicines, then it does matter. The UCL hospital trust has spent £20m on refurbishing the Royal Homeopathic hospital. If that sum of money was spent on making available Herceptin and aromatase inhibitors [to treat breast cancer], then it could be saving in my own health district 600 lives a year." Absence of evidence is not evidence of absenceThere is a danger, however, that science has a knee-jerk reaction to the sound ‘alternative’ which has resulted in lack of funding and research into very real therapeutic possibilities. There’s a fine line between a healthy and logical scepticism, and smug dismissal of anything vaguely outre.  Realising the potential of some alternative therapies, he National Institute of Health (USA) now has a research wing dedicated to investigating complementary medicine, and it has turned up some interesting results. Meditation has been shown to boost immune activity. Tai-chi may help preserve bone density (and thus fight osteoporosis). Acupuncture is now generally accepted to have a real and significant analgesic effect, possibly by physical stimulation of large sensory nerve fibres (though there are also cases where wrongly applied needles have caused serious injury…) Indeed, much of modern medicine is derived from active ingredients in herbal treatments – aspirin, for example, isolated from willow bark. St John’s wart is generally thought to have no side effects (apart from interfering with some prescription drugs), and effective in treatment of depression. Artemisin, extracted from ancient Chinese herbal remedies long dismissed by the West, turned out to be an excellent treatment for faciparum malaria – increasingly important in an age of chloroquinine resistance. The tricky thing is that medical science can be – and is frequently – wrong. Science, Kuhn proposed, moves in waves of fashion, is hounded by dogma, petty academic rivalry, and stubbornness to change – like the very religions, superstitions, and ‘alternative’ treatments scientists like Dawkins rave against. While no one doubts the tools that science uses are necessary for a rational life – investigation, experimentation, controlled trials – it is only reasonable to doubt that these tools may be misused, trials badly designed, or evidence poorly examined. Just because a treatment claims it’s based on ‘chi’ – and because, to our rational minds, ‘chi’ doesn’t exist – does not mean the treatment doesn’t work. Perhaps it works on perfectly sound physiological principles we in our smug superiority have not yet seen.  Western medicine also has its faults. It’s strongly biochemically based, and in practice often doesn’t take into account enough the patient’s mental outlook, diet, and general condition, preferring to focus on the specific site of injury, and treating symptoms individually as they come up. Wards are understaffed and doctors have little time to listen to patients. Misdiagnoses are understandably made. Sitting in on a GP consultant, I was struck by how many times he interrupted and misinterpreted what the patient was trying to say. Patients often feel undervalued, patronised, and coerced – and confidence and morale are hugely important in recovery. Even Dawkins conceded that alternative medical practioners often spend more time with their patients and that this could have a beneficial effect (‘but not enough to outweigh good science-based medical care.’) While alternative treatments are often in their own way narrow, aspects of their philosophy may still be helpful in providing better care.   It is not as simple as a divide – us against them, science against the 'enemies of reason'. The practitioners of science have their own weaknesses, blindnesses, irrational foibles and fashions. And one day treatments we consider alternative may become not so alternative after all. The real enemies of reason are those who dismiss any challenging idea out of hand, because it poses a threat to their own personal philosophy, whether they call themselves a scientist or not. Links and resources
http://www.quackwatch.com/ – Quack watch
http://www.skeptic.com/ – Sceptic net
http://nccam.nih.gov/research/ – the National Institute of Health (USA)’s funding body for research into alternative and complementary medicine, with current research findings, goals, and information
Cherwell 24 is not responsible for the content of any external links
 

By Srijanee Bhattacharyya

Is Angels in America, a Pulitzer prize-winning drama by Tony Kushner set during the Reagan era staged at the ‘site-specific’ Oxford Union, (which was itself once graced by Ronald Reagan himself), a match made in heaven?

The play, as ever, remains a fascinating blend of contrasts where fantasy meets gritty reality, stasis interacts with change and humour is irretrievably intertwined with emotion. It creates a harrowing, but worthwhile journey through the lives of the eight unique protagonists who deal with sexuality, identity and relationships with the flawed but understandable approaches of denial and despair. The link between the audience and the characters was enhanced through the intimate nature of the Oxford Union debating chamber, particularly with the highly commendable decision to have the actors already on stage and in character as the audience came in.

All members of the cast managed well the difficult task of acting two different roles and gave solid performances. Charlie Morrison (Roy), Colin Warriner (Prior) and Natasha Kirk (Harper) displayed wonderfully the conflicts that their characters faced.  My favourite performance came from Leo-Marcus Wan, whose Mr. Lies captured the idiosyncrasies of the play but whose portrayal of Belize maintained the gravity and humanity of the circumstances the characters found themselves in.  However, the performance was lacking in some other respects. The show might have benefited from a slower pace and unfortunately during a few crucial points in the performance the actors did seem to be shouting for effect. This combined with the theatre-in-the-round direction where the audience were sometimes behind the actors and the rapidity of the dialogue meant that audibility suffered and much of the nuances carefully built up to that point were lost.

Nevertheless, the staging of the play was impressive as a whole. The juxtaposition of the two confrontational scenes at the same time on stage was inspired, the first where Joe admits his homosexuality to his wife as she is gripped by mental illness and the second where Prior challenges his partner Louis, who has abandoned him while he is being ravaged by AIDS. The particular props chosen gave a distinct flavour to every scene allowing the audience to interpret exactly what was happening.  This avoided confusion and the minimalist set did not distract from the drama of the play and allowed the characters to flow in and out of the scenes without breaking the relentless drive to the climax of the play.

To answer the question posed at the beginning, the show was not so much a match made in heaven but an admirable, grounded performance.  It is worthwhile, especially to see some of the more poignant scenes take place in the unique setting of the Union chamber.

Oxford 12 – 52 Ospreys 

A PACKED house braved the bitterly cold elements on a crisp and clear Monday night to see the Oxford Blues take on welsh giants the Ospreys who currently lie third in the Magners Celtic League. The Ospreys fielded five Welsh Internationals plus one Tongan in their starting line-up while Oxford chose to rest their international star Joe Roff. Despite the greasy conditions, a scintillating, high octane game of rugby ensued providing the fans a welcome distraction from their ever-freezing extremities.

From the first set-play of the game the Ospreys demonstrated their class and wealth of talent in the backline. A nicely timed inside ball saw young Welsh international Aled Brew skip through virtually untouched for the first score within two minutes.

Things looked ominous for Oxford at this stage, but through the lively antics of scrum-half Henry and boot of fly-half McMahon they made their presence felt. Winger Jonan Boto threatened with a couple of half breaks and only some loose passes from the base prevented the Blues levelling up the scores.

As it was, a couple of raking kicks from Connor relieved the pressure for the Ospreys and set up another attacking platform. The Magners League champions succeeded where Oxford had failed in keeping the ball tight and retaining possession, successive phases eventually freeing up winger Phillips to dart over unopposed on the blindside.

As the half progressed, the gulf in class between the two back lines became apparent. The confidence of the Ospreys’ runners allowing them to attack at pace right on the gain line, putting Oxford on the back foot. The Blues, however, chose to attack from deep, allowing the Ospreys’ defence to advance and meet Oxford’s runners with real venom. The pressure this created meant Steve Hill’s side rarely completed set piece moves and attacks often broke down.

Although shaded in the backs, the Blues pack were admirably holding their own up front against a set of forwards whose front row consisted entirely of internationals. The back row worked tirelessly, time and again arriving first at the breakdown and securing turnover ball. Only some dubious calls from the referee prevented Oxford from stealing possession more regularly.

The pack’s efforts were rewarded on 26 minutes when a catch and drive saw fresher Chris Davies bundle over and reduce the deficit to just one score.

Any hopes of reigning in the Welshmen were quickly dashed however, as slick interplay in the backs saw the Ospreys reassert their authority over the game. A second try from winger Brew followed by a try from fly-half Connor brought the half-time score to 24-5.

The half-time substitution of Sam Humphrey-Baker into the centre injected some much needed physicality and aggression into the Oxford backline. He met the Ospreys’ attacks head on with bone crunching hits that seemed to lift those around him. With the ball in hand he also posed a real threat; unafraid to take on the Ospreys’ ferocious defence and running with steely determination.

Unfortunately he could do nothing about a wickedly bouncing cross field kick from Connor that gave the Ospreys the first score of the half. He was however, instrumental in the construction of Oxford’s reply. His driving run through the heart of the Ospreys’ midfield setting up the ruck from which Henry dummied and dived over for the Blues’ second score.

With ten minutes to go Oxford were drawing the second half, but some tired legs began to give way and allowed the Ospreys to rack up a slightly flattering scoreline. A push over try from hooker Hibbard was followed by a blistering finish from rapid replacement winger Ryan Bayliss. Substitute Ashley Beck completed the scoring after some silky offloading in the Osprey backline.

Director of rugby Steve Hill remained upbeat despite the heavy scoreline. "We competed well up front against quality opposition. If we can do that in Varsity we’ll have an excellent platform from which to play."He did concede that there are still problems to address, "We must make our first up tackles and try to show some of the ruthlessness in attack that the Ospreys displayed today."

CHERWELL school pitches are often the venue for hard fought conker fights, although they have rarely witnessed a battle of this intensity.

Before the game, both sides were eager to climb up the table, having dropped points in their first two games. In reality, this determination resulted in a scrappy affair, with neither side content with the eventual 2-2 score line.

The match was played with an astounding physicality, with Teddy Hall’s eager midfield assuming early dominance over their opponents. Following a strong tackle from Hall captain John Waldron, Mike Sopp was able to put the away side in to the lead, capitalising on a moment of hesitancy from the Wadham keeper. Despite the home side maintaining possession, Hall continued to pose difficulties, with Frost and Clarfelt missing well-crafted opportunities on the counter attack.

At the other end Hall’s goalkeeper, Nicola Ielpo, was proving to be a greater obstacle than his size would suggest. His commanding presence dominated his modest surroundings, and his full stretch dive saved a powerful shot from Bruno Versailles, only minutes after Hall had earned the lead.

Ielpo is comparatively small for a goalkeeper, although he is undoubtedly used to the bigger stage, having once played in the San Siro Stadium in Milan. With the experienced pairing of Waldron and Lefanu in front of him, he will not expect to concede too many goals this season, providing his team do not fall foul of the complacency that led to Wadham equalising before half time.

Teddy Hall restored their lead quickly after the break, when a well weighted through ball awoke sleeping giant, Wilfred Frost. The hit man responded with a perfect finish, tapping the ball passed the Wadham keeper to make it 2-1.

Having gained the lead once again, captain John Waldron will bemoan the second wave of complacency that broke over Hall. Instead of pushing forward for another goal, the Hall players allowed Wadham to gain momentum, before proving incapable of preventing Bruno Versailles from poking the ball over Ielpo’s outstretched arms.

Following Wadham’s goal, the tension between the two sides heightened, with neither willing to accept a point apiece. In between a series of fouls (most of which were committed by Hall’s right back), there were further chances at either end. Wadham’s keeper was fortunate in seeing the ball bounce off his crossbar and on to his head, before going out of play, whilst Versailles’ long range effort came perilously close to clinching the lead in the dying seconds. Wadham will regret wasting late opportunities to gain all three points, particularly as are set to face a very confident St. Anne’s on Friday. Teddy Hall, on the other hand, will hope to hang on to their keeper for all college fixtures, although it seems likely that he will abandon college level sport to appear in a university shirt before too long.

TOUTED as potential winners of the Premier Division at the start of term, New College have since struggled to pull off an uninspiring draw against newly promoted Wadham and suffered a league-cup double defeat by Worcester. Brasenose, on the other hand, went into this fixture undefeated, with the prospect of a lengthy cup run still a possibility. With the New team weakened by "Freshers’ Flu", it was easy to see which side was the more relaxed.

The opening exchanges were scrappy, but not without incident at either end of the park. First, a deflected free kick gave Brasenose successive corners with New struggling to clear their lines, but soon after they started asking questions of the Brasenose defence. A speedy break by James Sutton on the left wing was ended only by a trip on the edge of the area. Much to the dismay of the New players, who thought they had a good shout for a penalty, the referee awarded a free kick which skipper Tom Howell could only drill into the wall.

As the game settled down Brasenose’s own brand of attractive football started to fashion openings, but they still failed to take advantage of them. As the interval approached, however, Brasenose broke the deadlock. A cross from the left hand side was met by Elliot Kelly, who made no mistake in beating his marker and heading past New keeper, Simon Nowell.

But Brasenose weren’t going to wait until the second half to double their lead. McCormick chipped the ball beyond the New full-back for scorer Kelly to turn provider, with a brilliant cross that picked out Leviseur, whose header across goal gave the keeper no chance. It was was probably the move of the match, and left New staring down the barrel of a third consecutive defeat.

If New had doubts, they didn’t show at the restart, as the Brasenose defence was immediately under pressure. When they failed to clear the ball far enough upfield a New throw led to a brilliant cross from the right flank across the six yards box, leaving a simple tap in for John Cordle to give New a lifeline.

Brasenose kept playing the better football, but it was New who had the ball where it mattered and began to test the home side’s keeper. Tom Howell was proving a handfull up front, with a tight angle shot palmed at the near post for a corner followed by a a close range header which found the keeper’s hands.As the final whistle neared, New were unwilling to commit players forward and they seemed headed for defeat. Howell took the game into his own hands, latching onto a speculative ball up field by the New keeper. He bundled past the last defender before beating the keeper to the ball and slotted home to break Brasenose hearts and claim a hard-earned point against more skilled opponents.

NINE hundred years of heritage. A century of lacrosse. A dark blue side which has lost half its winning varsity squad. This was the position of OULC at the start of this term and I would be lying if I denied being apprehensive about assuming the captaincy of the women’s team.

However, respecting the consistently high standards that the crosse-wielding females of Oxford have achieved in past years, my vice captains (Oli Valner at Teddy Hall and Alex Carruthers of Univ) and I were determined that this year should be no different.

With a depleted yet strong body of players, we had high hopes that this year’s set of freshers would turn out in full force to replenish our squad, and to reverse last season’s situation when only six first years were competing for places. Our hopes were not misplaced; if any of you were wandering the streets of Oxford last Wednesday night, you might have been lucky enough to encounter a large rabble of rowdy animals being shepherded by their zoo keepers from Cowley to the town centre. This was, in fact, the 18-strong group of freshers being initiated into the lacrosse squad.

Whilst the coordination of the fresher group on that particular night might lead people to doubt the aptitude of this year’s squad, if you were to frequent the Iffley Road Astroturf on a Sunday evening, or stroll through Parks on a Friday afternoon (or even sunrise on Mondays morning if you are so inclined), a very different situation becomes apparent. Not only would you be able to see that the newcomers bring with them a great deal of talent and commitment, but, even more excitingly, a great deal of potential. With such a healthy influx of new players and a good start to the season, there is nothing to suggest that a defining memory of second year will not be another Varsity victory and, even better, this time at home.

IN a thrilling game against their main division two rivals, played with plenty of aggression and no small measure of skill, the Christ Church XV emerged resoundingly victorious. This win means that they have secured promotion for the third successive season.

The match was electric from the start, with a powerful run from the kick off by Christ Church prop Chris Hughes setting the tone for a solid forward display from his side. At the beginning of the game the Worcester fringe defence was tested to the limit by the strength and dynamic running of the Christ Church pack. However, despite this period of dominance, points were hard to come by as Worcester tackled hard, with plenty of committment. Their first real scare came when the Worcester wing dealt poorly with fly half Ashley Gillard’s kick, allowing his opposite number Chris Cole to steal the ball and make nearly 70 metres before being hauled down. Cole continued to look dangerous, and it was his menacing running that brought the first breakthrough, a score touched down by full-back Jamie Holdoway on the left touchline after an excellent break. When this was converted by sure-footed Gillard, Christ Church felt they had gained just reward for their dominance.

Worcester came back strongly however, exerting pressure on the Christ Church line, but some excellent tackling right on the line by open-side Ian Horn denied them a try. The importance of this missed opportunity was heightened when Christ Church captain Christopher Perfect finished off a period of sustained pressure to bring the scoreline to 12-0. However, the effort being put in by the Christ Church side was starting to tell, and when a couple of sloppy penalties were conceded, Blues footballer Lucian Weston stepped up to show off the full range of his skills. He converted both, and suddenly the game was right back in the balance. The Christ Church try-line was under siege, and when Worcester scrum-half Ben Battcock finally burrowed over on the stroke of half time, the successfully struck conversion gave them a lead of a single point. The momentum seemed to have swung Worcester’s way, and when Ian Horn was sent to the sin-bin for persistent infringement the game looked to be Worcester’s for the taking.

However, the Christ Church forwards dug in for a supreme effort, and when Dan Barnes went over for his team’s third try while they were still down to 14 men, it seemed to change the complexion of the game. It was at this point a Christ Church victory was secured. Despite the loss of inside-centre Duncan Chiah to a nasty head wound, the controlled rugby that they played during the last twenty minutes allowed them two more tries, including a second for Dan Barnes, securing their victory.Captain Chris Perfect was pleased with his side’s performance, telling reporters "It was a good win against a good side, and we will look forward to playing them again next season" He appeared enthusiastic about his side’s prospects for the next season, and looks forward to testing his side against the very best in college rugby. The disappointed Worcester side will be looking for a solid performance next week in order to secure their own promotion hopes, however Christ Church can start to plan their assault on the top flight of college rugby.