Culture

Between beer gardens and picnics: Climate Culture Care at the Ashmolean

When I returned to Oxford this term, just as England teased us with the sixth heat-wave of the year, I found myself at a loose end. With the deadline for two vacation essays still far in the distance, the sun lit up the sign for Soma Surovi Jannat’s Ashmolean Now exhibition, Climate Culture Care.

“What is a good life?”: The Standard of Living in review 

“What is a good life?” This axiological question, asked earnestly in the opening lines of James Graham’s The Standard of Living – playing at Theatre Royal Haymarket until December 12 – is often overlooked by the fractured and hyper-specialised discipline of economics.

Diverse voices: ‘Inshallah, Madonna, Inshallah’ by Miljenko Jergović 

‘When he created Earth and these lands upon it, when he divided people into...

Art as protest on university campuses

CW: rape. This week, Cornell University has made headlines as prosecutors reopened an investigation into...

The changing face of the Virgin

Chris Ofili's new depiction of the Virgin Mary is shocking and enticing in equal measure

Two views on love compete for our heart

A medium must be found between unreal romanticism and cold rationalism

A woman who made a difference – for better or worse

Letters from Baghdad is a film about a colonialist woman who changed the history of the Middle East

The Polycephaly Monologues Review – ‘seamlessly combines the surreal with the naturalistic’

Tom Mackie is left amazed, but confused, by Nick Smart's juicy, absurdist work

Sia and her wig: disguise or clever marketing tool?

Wearing a wig allows Sia to hide away from fame, but it may also serve another purpose

Victory preview – ‘a truly fantastical world’

Sumptuous visuals, dark comedy and literary flair make this production one not to miss

The Kite Runner review – ‘a choreographed exuberance prose cannot achieve’

The Kite Runner is taken from page to stage in this masterful adaptation. Izzy Troth reviews.

It Happened One Night – merely antiquated, or timelessly great?

Exploring whether this classic film stands the test of time

A slow descent to hell

Cramped seating, culinary complaints and clapping for a landing. Becky Cook hates planes.

Vengeance, violence, and why I lost faith in Game of Thrones

There's nothing more devastating than the downfall of your favourite show... (WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD)

Downsizing review – ‘leaving the audience more bored than scintillated’

Alexander Payne's latest film loses its way between its big ideas and its tiny characters

The trouble with sex in fiction

Fiction presenting sex as pornography is dishonest and ridiculous

Our paradise is lost

Modern re-tellings of man’s original sin focus on its devastating environmental effects

The Brew that changed the direction of jazz

A look at how Miles Davis seismically shifted his genre

A long way home

Living 10,000 miles away can be both a blessing and a curse

Julius Caesar review – ‘two hours of pounding drama’

Nicholas Hytner's adaptation is makes you rethink the iconic tragedy

The 39 Steps review – ‘It is rare to see an Oxford play take itself as seriously as this 39 Steps – that is,...

Charles Britton is left with a smile on his face after an uncommonly fun night out in Oxford

The 39 Steps preview – ‘guaranteed to be a comedic spectacle of no small intensity’

Alice Taylor previews Antonia Hansen's interpretation of a Hitchcock comedy

Sweet Charity review – ‘Oh Mama, welcome to the 60s!’

Ela Portnoy applauds the strongest dance cast she's seen on an Oxford stage

Beautiful Thing review – ‘Ruckus Productions has certainly made some noise’

Franklin Nelson is impressed by this rendition of a thoughtful, timeless coming-of-age drama

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