Wednesday 21st January 2026

Culture

‘Songs, skits, and a third thing beginning with S’: Jack McMinn in conversation

If there’s one thing I believe Oxford’s theatre scene is missing, it’s a button-down-shirt-wearing ex-zoology student with a penchant for writing songs about Pret A Manger.

The Oxford art calendar: Hilary 2026

Oxford’s frosty Hilary term is best spent looking at new exhibitions. This art calendar will guide you through some of the upcoming highlights.

‘Beautifully we may rot’: ‘Madame La Mort’ in review

In a small, black-painted room on the top floor of a pub in Islington, known as The Hope Theatre, Madame La Mort was staged for the public for the first time.

Damaging detachment: Reflections on the Booker Prize 

This Christmas vac, I made up my mind to get out of my reading slump using the Booker Prize shortlist, revealing toxic masculinity as a key theme.

Home is where the art is—Doug Eaton and The Forest of Dean

Ewan Davis finds Doug Eaton’s unlikely colour palettes faithful to the landscape of the Forest of Dean

Brandon Flowers: “Nobody ever had a dream round here'”

Brandon Flowers is the most underrated musician of the 21st century, says Henry Shalders

Review: Bowie’s Lazarus

Julia Alsop is perplexed by the stellar complexities of this production at the King’s Cross Theatre

Holiday snaps

Photos submitted by Jessica Voicu, Catrin Haberfield and Andrew Wood. Keep an eye out for the next competition!

Time Tunnel: Edward II

Susannah Goldsbrough delves into the archive to discuss Marlowe’s Edward II

Writing winter from Shakespeare to Selvon

Ellie Duncan surveys the representation of winter in literature through the ages

Through the Looking Glass: The ‘modesty’ of Alan Bennett’s Oxford

Susie Finlay explores the relationship between Alan Bennett's political views and his time at Oxford

Remembering the King of Soul

Jeannie Stanley ruminates on the timeless power of Sam Cooke

Zoom In: the Hollywood sign

The recent rearrangement of the world's most famous sign is just the latest in a long and varied history

Spotlight: Basic Space

Natalia Bus delights in the Oxford duo's relaxing sound

Review: Silence

Surya Bowyer is impressed by Scorsese's latest cinematic venture, a long and taxing, yet beautifully moving work

‘The Prize most poets want to win’

Katie Mennis celebrates the strength and variety of the 2016 T. S. Eliot Prize shortlist

Single of the week: Ed Sheeran’s ‘Castle on the Hill’

Will Cowie predicts big things for Ed Sheeran in 2017

The richness of the materiality of books

Altair Brandon-Salmon discusses the importance of books as aesthetic objects

The connoisseur’s guide to 2017 in music

Will Cowie looks ahead to what’s shaping up to be a year of unlikely pop music comebacks

How to pass collections via the medium of film

Whether you study English or Engineering, Tesni Jones suggests a film for you to combine revising with relaxing

On the look-out: Hilary 2017 in art

Cherwell Visuals brings you this term's calendar of top exhibitions and events not to miss

Brutalist Russia and Bowie: Marlowe’s Edward II reimagined

Alex Barasch talks to the cast and crew of this radical new take on Marlowe’s masterpiece

Math rock for everyone

Dom Saad marries together maths and music in his exploration of the formidable arithmetic delights of the Oxford-based TTNG

Review: The V&A’s ‘Records and Rebels, 1966-70’

Timothy Drummond is transported back to the era of psychedelic freedom, as, despite the exhibition's many flaws, 1960s culture continues to entrance and beguile

Follow us