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...

Bargain Bin: Vanilla Ice – To The Extreme

Helen Thomas discovers one of the laziest albums in hip hop's history.

Subverse Radio: Musical Marginalia

Joe Currie speaks to the guys and girls behind the Oxford House music enterprise

Cherwell Culture Tries…Battle Rap

Don't Flop's 5th birthday celebrations give our Culture editor the opportunity to indulge his penchant for aggressive barz amidst thousands of fellow fans

Letter From…Amman

An insight into fast food, curfews and female autonomy from the Jordanian capital

Preview: In Her Eyes

Alice Troy-Donovan enjoys an unusual production of 'musical theatre, subverted'

Review: East India Youth – Total Strife Forever

William Doyle's brilliant debut album as East India Youth is an electronic mish mash of genre and style, with introspective lyrics and bleak instrumentation.

Review: Poemss – Poemss

Aaron Funk takes a break from being Venetian Snares to adopt another alias: Poemss. The result is an impressive debut of dreamy lo-fi escapism.

Review: Actress – Ghettoville

Actress AKA Darren J. Cunningham has released yet another stunning electronic record, that lays bare the realities of the modern metropolis.

Review: The Wolf of Wall Street

A bewildering portrait of a manipulative, self-destructive psychopath, simultaneously alluring and repulsive.

The Rise and Rise of ‘Sherlock’

Alex Baugh explores the reason for Holmes' TV success

Review: Carmen

Nick Mutch enjoys a slick if somewhat conventional version of the classic opera

Behind the Scenes: Caucasian Chalk Circle

Grainne O'Mahony tells us what it's really like backstage

Preview: Betrayal

Ben Horton is gripped by the disconcerting display of a loveless marraige

Culture Editorial: Graffiti as Art

Matt Broomfield makes the case for graffiti as guerilla artistic expression

Interview: Fortuna Burke

Claire Watt chats to Oxford graduate Fortuna Burke about her wild one-woman musical comedy

The Sound of Movies

Marcus Balmer charts his 15 favourite examples of popular tracks in film history

Review: The Railway Man

A compelling, brilliantly-acted story of a prisoner of war and his arduous endeavour to forgive

Preview: Kate Tempest

Emma Simpson anticipates a compelling performance by spoken-word poet Kate Tempest

Review: The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable

Emma Hewitt is knocked out by Punchdrunk’s latest production; an innovative extravaganza

Bargain Bin: Osymyso — Rabbit to Rabbit

Cherwell trawls charity shops looking for musical bargains

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