Saturday 9th May 2026

Culture

Hail Agnes full of grace: ‘Hamnet’ and the perfect mother figure

A couple of days ago, I saw an Instagram reel (in the Friends tab, no less) regarding Jessie Buckley’s recent Best Actress win at the 2026 Academy Awards. The...

Stubborn, devout, doomed: ‘The Anti-gone’ reviewed

When The Anti-gone begins, the only thing onstage is a lectern – stark in the harsh white light and terribly lonely – before Ismene (Kitty Brown) walks uncertainly down the aisle and stares, torn and lost, into the audience.

Something wicked this way comes: ‘Macbeth’ previewed

Arriving at Somerville College in its full summer pomp, Stanley Toyne and Cameron Spruce,...

G for Georgian? LGBTQ+ representation in historical fiction

It is undeniable that LGBTQ+ representation in the media has become more positive in recent years.

Is there a ‘way to be gay’?

Adam Whiley is frustrated with a book that he believes undermines the advances of the LGBT movement.

Preview: A View from the Bridge

Heather Young watches a believable reality unfold before her eyes

Lied-ing Light

Katy Wright talks to Sholto Kynoch, artistic director of the Oxford Lieder Festival.

All Freshers to the Stage

Cherwell Stage offers a guide to all you need to get started, whether aspiring impresario, techie or prima dona

¡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

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