Thursday, February 27, 2025

Culture

Julie review – Free shots, toxic relationships, immersive theatre

My ticket to see Julie resembled an invite to a birthday party, promising a live DJ and that I would be greeted by ‘partygoers’ upon entry to the Pilch....

Who is Oxford’s Coffee Shop Artist? In conversation with Julia Whatley

Julia sees herself as the conduit through which an artistic vision is realised. Where does this vision come from? “Somewhere else.”

The Goat Review: ‘raw, absurdist, and honest’

Clarendon Productions brings The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? (Edward Albee) to the Michael...

The Busy Body Review: ‘Theatre of the Real’

The Busy Body (1709) is one of the many plays written by Susanna Centlivre....

“Bugs Are Cool”: Interview with the Cast and Crew of The Metamorphosis

"Gregor Samsa is a travelling salesman in the cloth trade who has been worked to the bone and suffers under the pressure of his family, who rely on him financially. At the beginning of the play, he wakes up to discover that he has transformed into a repulsive and unhuman creature."

“Dreamlike and Wonderful”: A Review of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

"All in all, a dream-like and wonderful way to spend the ‘three hours between our after-supper and bedtime’, in the words of Theseus himself."

Retelling the Immigrant Experience: A Review of ‘Xiao’

'Before us is a potted plant, a porcelain tea set, a dinner table, and a couple in embrace.'

Review: ‘A Girl in School Uniform (Walks into a Bar)’

'This is a production that knows what it’s doing.'

“Fast-paced, witty and painfully relatable”: Review of Immaculate

'The Devil, complete with a set of black wings, is sat at the end of the row having a chat with an audience member as we arrive for the opening night of Oliver Lansley’s ‘Immaculate’ '

“Heartwarming, enjoyable, and refreshingly different”: A Review of Sisyphus House

'The charm of the production was in the idea that the titular house had been witness to all sorts of burgeoning relationships throughout its tenure, and this was sweetly conveyed through Nott and Bruton’s writing.'

“A successful exploration of the play’s tension and comedy”: A review of Macbeth.

Andrew Raynes’ production of Macbeth is a successful exploration of the play’s tension and comedy, and the cast and crew should be congratulated on bringing that out. The production succeeds in creating the world of Macbeth, and is blessed with some very talented actors which help bring it to life.

Kesha ‘Gag Order’: A review

'The album is all Kesha, a meticulously crafted and finely tuned testament to her prowess as a songwriter.'

Meeting the President’s Husband: An Interview with Peter Kessler

'Come to Magdalen Monday Movies. You will not regret it. And whatever happens, you're not getting your money back.'

Evil Dead Rise: Brutal, Bloody, Bonkers.

'Spirits are unleashed, souls are possessed, and jumpscares are aplenty.'

Why Oxford’s Fashion Gala was better than the Met’s  

'The line of reporters and photographers asking the same questions to uncomfortable-looking celebrities, who try to recollect why Lagerfeld was in fact their personal hero, makes for tortuous watching.'

Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying: Tracing the Atmospheres of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic

'When the pandemic hit Ontario, William Faulkner was a cadet in the Canadian Royal Air Force. Writing home to his parents, he would bemoan the lengthiness of his base’s lockdown, and the protracted sense of time it engendered.'

Interview: ‘A Night of Queer Music’ at Holywell

Deborah Acheampong (Producer) in conversation with Adrienne Knight (Musical Director), Katie Kirkpatrick, and Eliza Hogermeer (both singers) on Vanguard Productions' upcoming show 'A Night of Queer Music', a dramatic music concert, at the Holywell Music Room, on the 30th and 31st of May.

Guardians of the Galaxy 3

'If you’ve been sitting at home with your cork board and red string, becoming the next Hercule Poirot trying to work out how on earth the MCU fits together nowadays, give this intergalactic film a try.'

Embracing the Echoes: The Significance and Allure of Literary Retellings

'The concept of reimagining an existing story is relatively new in the context of storytelling, emerging more prominently in recent years.'

Inside the Oxford fashion scene: the Fashion Gala designers

'I spoke to some of the Fashion Gala designers, who told me about their background in the world of fashion and design, their pieces for this year’s gala, and where they find their inspiration.'

The shift towards online thrift: a guide

'It is okay to deliberately buy fast-fashion second-hand since it is already in circulation and will not constitute to financially supporting unethical practices. Honestly, the longer it avoids landfill the better.'

Interview: ‘The Mandrake of Machiavelli’ at Exeter College

An interview with Kian Moghaddas (Director), Matilda Piovella (Assistant Director), and the cast of 'The Mandrake', the Exeter College Garden Play.

Between Love and Hate: The Strokes’ Guide to Staying Together

'US-based pop-rock band The Strokes have encountered just about all of rock’s common killers. And yet, 22 years on from their first album, they are still here – and reportedly working on a seventh.'

The White Stuff and its Discontents

'Increasingly, then, the heritage bequeathed to us in these museums is not just trapped in glass, but also in a host of moralising, ‘problematising’ and, ultimately, infantilising, narratives that are in their nature more political than educational.'

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