Sunday 21st December 2025

Culture

Graceful and self-assured: Circle Mirror Transformation reviewed

Boulevard Productions’ Circle Mirror Transformation is a faithful and competent take on Annie Baker’s 2009 tragicomedy.  The play follows a group of people of different ages taking a beginners’ drama...

‘We’re all mad here’: Alice in Won-DRE-Land at Tingewick 2025

When I wandered into Tingewick Hall on a cold, dark evening in seventh week,...

A comical approach to a classic text: ‘Hedda Gabler’ reviewed

Tiptoe Productions’ Hedda Gabler, co-directed by Ollie Gillam and Gilon Fox, delivered a strong...

‘Lux’ by Rosalía review: A breath of fresh air

'The Latin title ‘Lux’ perfectly embodies the concept and overall aesthetic of divine femininity, as well as the multilingual aspects that run throughout the work. With complex and meaningful lyrics written in 13 languages, and split into four movements, the record is a breath of fresh air for the pop scene'.

The strange death of Constable’s rural idyll

Daniel Villar explores how the English countryside has changed since John Constable painted The Cornfield

Five minutes with… Sos Eltis

This week, we chat to Sos Eltis, vice principal of Brasenose College and senior member of OUDS

Adolescent queer love in ‘Call Me By Your Name’

Angelica De Vido finds the rich exoticism of Italy a perfect compliment to this tale of summer homoeroticism

Fairytales can show us the horrors of Hitler’s Germany

The stories of Günter Grass bring Germany’s repressed trauma into the light

A gendered rewatching of The Silence of the Lambs

25 years on, Clarice Sterling's defiance of the patriarchy is as relevant as ever

The late Mr Salinger deserves his enduring reputation

The Catcher in the Rye encapsulates central tenets of our modern world, writes Barney Pite

A beastly tale of life and death

Josephine Southon reflects on the animals and beasts in Grimms' fairy tales

Those Who Follow review – “an appreciation of some too often ignored parts of this city we all call home”

Matthew Roberts explores the different faiths of modern Oxford, as presented in the exhibition Those Who Follow

Confessions of a Drama Queen: The Final Showdown

Our drama queen's term ends, not with a bang but a restraining order.

Passion over party in Pasternak’s Russia

Maria Minchenko marks the Russian Revolution centenary by casting her mind back to one of cinema's classics

Science fiction that shaped the Revolution

Daniel Antonio Villar looks at the impact of Red Star, by Alexander Bognadov

Philip Pullman’s La Belle Sauvage: His Darkest One Yet

Raffaella Sero reviews Philip Pullman's latest novel

Hollywood’s glamourising of Beauty and the Beast buries its troubling implications

21st century reimaginings of classic fairytales do not address the dark politics that underpin them. Susannah Goldsbrough explores.

Preview: ‘Lovesong’ – “one of the best pieces of student theatre this year”

John Livesey is blown away by a preview of the sold-out 'Lovesong'

Review: ‘Yellow’ – “sensitive and complex”

Zad El Bacha is highly impressed with 'Yellow', an adaptation of Charlotte Perkin Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper', at the Pilch

Five Minutes With… Hugh Tappin

In our final interview of term, we chat to Hugh Tappin, of Nitrous Cow Productions

Lucy Rose enraptures and comforts her audience in Oxford

Ollie Braddy reflects on an atmospheric evening of intricate vocals set against the backdrop of a 19th century church

No soggy bottoms, as Channel Four puts the icing on the cake

The move may have halved its viewing figures, but hasn't diminished any of its charm

The insincerity of the female nude

Women should not be afraid to reclaim their naked bodies, writes Priya Vempali

Memorable sax solos and individual flair at the Varsity jazz-off

If this show was about demonstrating the very best they can do, then Oxford delivered

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