Culture

The midterms and the YA novel: Impossibly happy endings

Given its intense media coverage and everything that seems to be on the line, I feel as though I have been anxiously awaiting the results of the 2026 US midterm elections for weeks, months – maybe years.

Books Ruya Oral -

How books are burned today

It is a worrying thought that what sits on your bookshelf today could be...

Books Romilly Ireland -

The burden of the face: Why are so many singers wearing masks?

We can all name at least one musician who has performed behind a balaclava, helmet, or hood. Whether to preserve anonymity, cultivate mystery, or construct an entirely new artistic identity, masking the face is common among those under the limelight.

Culture Leandro Landolina and Francesca Lamberti -

New Oxford Windrush generation exhibit opens for Black History Month

Amidst recent political tension provoked by the government’s refusal of slavery reparations to the...

Art Madison Garrett -

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Your essential guide to the music of May Day

May Day: It’s unique, convivial and quintessentially Oxford. Only once a year does the city come together like it, and when that happens, it’s...

Going dreamy: The singular will of David Lynch

In a behind-the-scenes clip from David Lynch’s final project, Twin Peaks: The Return, a crew member tells him that they only have two days...

Joanna Miller’s ‘The Eights’: Unapologetically, indulgently Oxford

Do not worry: despite the title, this is not a rowing novel. Instead, the term ‘The Eights’ in Miller’s novel refers to the four...

Missing the plot of ‘Wuthering Heights’: Is the book always better?

Sophie Price discusses Emerald Fennell's upcoming film adaptation of Withering Heights, examining how much film adaptations can get away with changing.

A review of Day 2 of the Oxford University Short Film Festival

The Oxford University Short Film Festival took place at the end of last term in Keble O’Reilly Theatre. Each day featured a variety of...

A Trinity trail of Oxford’s best reads and retreats

Trinity Term has come upon us faster than the lovely magnolia has blossomed, which means the weather has warmed up, the sun is out,...

If walls could speak: Lessons from Cowley’s street art

Just a five-minute stroll from the imposing spires of Magdalen College lies Cowley Road, the heart of Oxford’s urban culture. Oxford, renowned for its...

Staging the radio play: The audio-visual world of ‘Under Milk Wood’

“Love the words!”That was the crisp command from Dylan Thomas, the 20th-century Welsh poet, to the cast of his radio play Under Milk Wood,...

‘The Little Clay Cart’ brings Sanskrit back to life

As students left Oxford on the last weekend of Hilary, I visited St John’s College’s auditorium to witness the final hurrah of term: the...

The lost art of the intermission, and why the film industry needs to bring it back

Last month, Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist was one of the most-discussed films at the Oscars, with its award-winning cinematography, score, and direction rightfully generating...

A review of The Crux: Djo turns music into a profession

In his new album, The Crux, Djo, aka Joe Keery, perfectly inhabits and evokes peak 70s McCartney. At the same time, he seamlessly drifts...

40 years after the miners’ strike, James Graham’s ‘This House’ still has a lot to offer

‘Humphrey: ‘If the right people don’t have power, do you know what happens? The wrong people get it. Politicians. Councillors. Ordinary voters.’Bernard: ‘But aren’t...

Persuading the public: The play as propaganda

The play as propaganda has a long history. From the regime-affirming productions of Hieron, tyrant King of Syracuse, to Lucy Prebble’s play The Effect,...

Something is rotten in the state of San Andreas: Grand Theft Hamlet in Hertford

‘Hamlet: “O’, that this too too solid flesh would melt, thaw…” ’ Don’t quite remember this scene from the bard’s masterpiece? You won’t forget it...