Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Culture

Rory Stewart’s ‘Middleland: Dispatches from the Borders’ in review

Middleland (2025) is not his masterpiece, but it is as much worth reading as any of his work – erudite, perceptive, and beautifully written.  

A breakdown in technicolour: ‘Company’ in review

With flashing lights and a shower of confetti, Fennec Fox Productions’ Company bursts onto the Playhouse stage to deliver its exuberant portrayal of romantic pessimism, just in time for Valentine’s Day. 

Lost and found: The art of translation

Translation should be more than mechanic substitution. It demands that the translator acts as a conduit, conveying the intricacies of emotion, style, and intention, while negotiating the hurdles of linguistic complexity.

‘An enormous amount of humour’: ‘Lemons’ review

Lighthouse Productions’ debut project delivered a fast paced, hilarious version of Sam Steiner’s script. Even the argumentative scenes prompted laughs.

¡Vamos España!

Sophie Baggott and her camera spend a week in the Spanish sunshine

Zoom in on…paparazzi photographers

In the first of our new interview series, Jaimie Harris talks to Sophie Baggott and Amy Rollason about life as a pap

The X-facts

Huw Fullerton lifts the lid on TV's reigning talent show: he's endured the live auditions so you don't have to

Woman-To-Be

Angelika Benz hasn't herself quite figured out yet what it means to be a woman. Carefully portraying girls and young women she meets - including her own reflection in the mirror - she attempts to get closer to the core of their identity and finds that much of what she sees also lives in herself.

Review: Julius Caesar

Vickie Morrish is impressed by Gregory Doran's coupling of modern Africa and ancient Rome

Cultural Conversation Starters

A Guide to How to Appear More Interesting Than You Actually Are Through the Medium of Culture

The Freshers Guide to Classical Music in Oxford

Katy Wright appraises Oxford's diverse classical musical offerings

The Cuban Beat

Reeva Misra touches the pulse on her trip to Cuba

Review: Cantina

Finola Austin urges readers to see London's hottest circus

Review: The Thick of It – Series 4

The return of Armando Iannucci's award-winning political satire leaves Lizzie Greene wanting more

Colleges and their Movies

A Guide to Oxford Colleges as Represented by Spurious Movie Associations

Review: The Bourne Legacy

Huw Fullerton is Ultimately Supremely underwhelmed by the Identity of the new Bourne movie.

Review: Asylum of the Daleks

Huw Fullerton isn't as excited about Doctor Who as a grown man ought to be.

Land of the Rising Sun

Rachel Savage and her camera take a trip around Japan.

Review: The Vaccines – Come of Age

Olivia Arigho Stiles' love affair with the London indie rockers is sorely tested by this lukewarm follow-up record.

Review: The Castaways of the Fol Espoir

An anarcho-socialist theatre commune who live in a disused factory turn out to be theatrical visionaries

Track Review: Muse – Madness

Susan Yu is entranced by the electronica inspired harmonies of Muse's latest single

Ned Beauman and the Booker

Viccy Ibbett talks writing, Cambridge and the creative appeal of Weimar Germany with Booker long-listed novelist, Ned Beauman.

Review: Wayne Krantz Trio

Alexander Chalk reviews the veteran jazz musicians' performance at the iconic Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London.

Review: Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Ellie Halls finds that this forbidden play might have more literary than theatrical value

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