Culture

One f**king thing after another: ‘The History Boys’, revisited

Grab your motorcycle helmet. Sharpen up on the subjunctive. And cue the synthetic pulses of ‘Blue Monday’. The History Boys is back. Alan Bennett’s 2004 play followed a cast of...

What are you looking at? A reflection on the Ashmolean’s Aphrodite exhibition 

The woman crouches, nude. A gauzy blue curtain hangs where she hides her chest;...

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.

How books are burned today

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

Preview: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Vicky Holley praises the ambition of the new O’Reilly show

Preview: Semi-Monde

Catherine Shafto looks forward to a play guaranteed to dispel fifth week blues

Review: Normal

Alex Woolley is explains why the title of this play is an apt review

Letter from…Nice

This week Cherwell receives insights into the trains, buses and suitors of the Côte d'Azur

Culture Editorial: Artwork Unfolding at a Glacial Pace

A look at the works of art that seek to put the length of our lives into perspective

Cherwell Culture tries…Grand Theft Auto V

Matt Broomfield fails in his career as a violent criminal

Review: Simon Jay

Ben Horton is underwhelmed by this overambitious comedy

Review: Tartuffe

Anna Corderoy enjoys this fresh attempt at a well-known story

Review: Lone Survivor

Peter Berg's passion project poses as a thoughtful film about warfare, yet is ultimately a dumb nationalistic action-movie

12 Years A Slave – A Holocaust Narrative?

Josh Dolphin considers the cinematic precedents for McQueen's Oscar contender

Review: Yves Saint Laurent

Jalil Lespert's biographical drama is a compelling and moving watch

Foals Surprise Gig

Ellie Caddick gives an up close and personal account of last Saturday's homecoming sweat-fest.

Bargain Bin: Prince – Lovesexy

Helen Thomas sifts through the cringeworthy genius of Prince

Review: Breton – War Room Stories

Helen Thomas wades through the chameleon-like composition on Breton's latest release.

Review: Marissa Nadler – July

Marissa Nadler takes a soporific aesthetic to soaring, dreamy heights on her latest album.

Review: Ekoplekz – Unfidelity

Tom Stafford immerses himself in the abstract, but absorbing textures created on Nick Edwards' latest release for Planet Mu.

Mogwai: Scots still at the rave

Aadit Shankar talks to Mogwai’s Barry Burns about new album, Rave Tapes.

Review: 12 Angry Women

Rosalee Edwards listens in on this 'whirlwind experiment' ****

Review: The Dig

David McShane considers the poetic resonance of Cynan Jones' latest novel.

The trouble with Tarantino

Ollie Johnson charts the decline in the career of a past master

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