Friday 6th March 2026

Culture

Questioning the nation’s obsession with ‘Love Island’

Love Island’s formulations have begun to seem increasingly sinister. Last summer’s season (series twelve) saw a particularly high number of complaints.

The Hollywood blockbuster and what it says about us

Why do ‘dad films’, once popular and even good, not seem to have the relevance they used to?

Confronting the future of art: ‘Responding to AI’ at Christ Church

‘Responding to AI’ an exhibition curated by Aniq Shamshi and Alice King, confronted the question of how artists perceive artificial intelligence directly.

Lighthouse Productions on ‘Things I Know To Be True’

Fresh from the success of their debut production, Lighthouse Productions are set to deliver their second show: Andrew Bovell’s Things I Know to Be True (2016).

A masterclass in devising: ‘Noether’

This original play tells the story of the mathematician Emmy Noether and her struggles with the misogyny of her male peers against the backdrop of the rising Nazi state.

In defence of academic writing

In my year out before my postgraduate degree, I made the momentous decision to start writing fiction. I’d recently got back into reading novels, and thought becoming a novelist would be an ideal way to commit my name to posterity.

“Everything is political!”: How The Hot Mess Project is reviving Oxford’s creative communities

If you’ve been online recently, browsing in search of something to fill an empty evening, you will probably have run across The Hot Mess...

A show with bite: ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ reviewed

Ong and Bouchta have mounted an incredibly successful run at the O’Reilly. The commitment and love for the show comes across.

Kooky and self-assured: ‘Brew Hill’ in review

Pecadillo Productions’ latest show is (quite rightly) aiming for Fringe, but this kooky, self-assured tragicomedy has immediate cult classic potential.

Art is an argument, so argue back

Often, how much we like artwork comes down to ‘vibes’, initial gut-reactions we make, and then quickly negate by stating that surely it's all about taste.

Red soles, red flags: Jaden Smith and the celebrity takeover of high fashion

Smith’s appointment has raised some serious questions about the extent to which nepotism and celebrity is superseding artistic talent in the fashion industry at present.

The ‘Silent’ Film

Not speaking does not necessarily mean having nothing to say. As much can be said with an image, movement, or glance as with a word.

For those who like the idea of someone: In conversation with ‘Dreams’

Dreams is a piece of brand-new writing by Peter Hardisty and Charlotte Macari, produced by Crazy Child Productions.

A day in The Sun: ‘Ink’ at St John’s

James Graham’s Ink, directed by Georgina Cooper with the St John’s Drama Society, dramatises Rupert Murdoch’s acquisition of The Sun in the 1960s, tracing its astonishing surge to unprecedented popularity.

‘Cathy naur’: Emerald Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ in review

Although my Yorkshire identity and love of 19th-century novels make me inclined to defend Emily Brontë with all my might, I really did give this film a chance.

Remembrance, resilience, and reflection: Lubomyr Melnyk, the ‘continuous music’ pioneer

On the 23rd and 24th February, the Ukrainian composer and pianist, Lubomyr Melnyk, returns to Oxford for a performance at New College.

‘Crawling with personality’: ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ in conversation

Last week, I infiltrated a rehearsal for Cross Keys and 2046 Productions’ upcoming Little Shop Of Horrors.

Techno, tragedy, and medieval monologuing: ‘Brew Hill’ in conversation

Pecadillo Productions’ ‘Brew Hill’ watches the deterioration of the romance between Nat (Trixie Smith) and Gordon (Jem Hunter).

‘I don’t like the idea of hope’: An interview with Iya Kiva 

Iya Kiva is an award-winning Ukrainian poet, originally from Donetsk. Since 2014, when war first came to her region, she has lived in displacement.

A bold choice for limited space: ‘Tick, Tick…Boom!’

This ambitious take on a classic struggled in the space constraints of the Michael Pilch studio.

‘Fresh energy’: Corpus Christi’s Owlets on their revival

Abigail Lakeland interviewed Clara Woodhouse, Owlets President, to discuss its resurgence, and what audiences can expect.

From topping charts to ‘The Traitors’: An ode to Cat Burns

The chaotic new season of 'The Traitors' made me reflect on the celebrity version, and my personal favourite contestant, Cat Burns.

Spoonerisms and malapropisms: ‘You Got Me’ in review

Silent Tape Productions' 'You Got Me' is a hard-hitting story about memory, powerlessness, and the cyclical passing of time.

Will 2026 finally kill the clean girl?

The clean girl has become ubiquitous throughout celebrity culture, magazines, and social media in recent years. Her brand prescribes a lifestyle, a kind of idealised minimalism.

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