Culture

How cinema has taught us to see Autumn

Autumn is clearly a time for comfort and reflection, a fact the film industry has learnt very well and pumps into new releases.

Beyond litter and emissions: The environmental costs of loud sound at music festivals

The music festivals of the summer have packed up and moved on. Stages and sound systems have been dismantled, litter cleared, and land reseeded.

‘Burning Down the House’: A review 

During the odd ‘in-between’ space that is Week 0, I searched for a show to give me something to do, amid the random dilly-dallying and the odd collection currently occupying my time.

Why ‘No Bad Memories’ is my album of the year

I didn't expect how perfectly my personal happiness would fit an album so preoccupied with the sounds of old advertisements and obsolete electronics, filled with the relentless optimism of a world that believed the future could only get better. 

The rise of Stats.fm: Music as a signal of identity

It is far harder to maintain a separation between your taste, your identity, and how you are thought of by others.  

‘Would you mind if I asked you a troubling question?’:  ‘Ulster American’ in review

Arun Lewis reviews Grá Productions' staging of David Ireland's 'Ulster American', and finds fault in an otherwise fascinating performance.

Subs, dubs, and AI flubs: Lost in film translation

How hard could it be to watch an entire film in German when I could not even introduce myself in the language? Quite hard, it turns out.

Barker & Co. Booksellers: Oxford’s newest independent bookshop

A new secondhand bookstore opened in Oxford city centre last week. Located in the Golden Cross shopping centre, just off Cornmarket Street, the bookstore stocks hundreds of secondhand books, ranging from accessibly priced paperbacks to rare and expensive antiquarian first-editions.

‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ in review

The Harris Manchester Players immersed Oxford’s inhabitants in the delightful world of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest this May.

Inarticulacy in part and in whole: ‘Father Mother Sister Brother’ in review

When I heard that Jim Jarmusch had released a new anthology film, I fondly remembered watching Night on Earth (1991) some years ago.

On Geese and the Cult of the Fake Fan

Great statistics could be drawn up about how often men in Oxford will want to talk to me about Geese. 

Booksmaxxing and the illusion of being “disgustingly educated”

If you are as chronically online as I am, then it is more than likely that you will have come across the trend where...

Blood will have blood: Cross Keys Productions’ ‘Macbeth’

Shakespeare revivals must tread a fine line: too often they turn into one-actor vehicles or experiments, or shipwreck upon the squall of their adaptation.

SNL UK and British sketch comedy

SNL UK provides a ripe opportunity to explore our own distinct tradition of sketch comedy.

Twisted but funny: ‘The Birthday Party’ in review

CW: Rape What’s stuffier than a perfume shop and more packed than a Lego Store on opening day? It’s the Burton Taylor Studio, and no...

‘The Two Noble Kinsmen’ reviewed

One of the finest traditions of Oxford drama is the summer garden play. Freeing the frenetic energy of the dramatic societies from the limited...

Life on Earth: Art as armour in Mandel’s ‘Station Eleven’

The novel demonstrates how speculative fiction is a genre ultimately concerned with the relationship between the environment and the individual, between Earth and humanity.

Who gets to speak? The rise of the male podcast epidemic

I couldn’t help but notice, however, that one of the reasons for my disillusionment with the genre was likely the glaring gender imbalance, often when it came to the most successful, well-known podcasts.

The Devil is Sponsored by Dior: ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ in review

In the world of The Devil Wears Prada 2, there is one thing that could have never existed: The Devil Wears Prada.

Hidden Gems: ‘The Storytellers’ at Worcester College

From the first moments, The Storytellers feels unusually thoughtful, generous, and alive.

Toni Servillo shines in thoughtful assisted dying drama: ‘La Grazia’ in review

Does Big Tobacco sponsor Paolo Sorrentino’s films? Almost certainly not, but their money would be worse spent elsewhere.

Galliano for the masses (on the Zara sale rack)

The fashion world is mourning the loss of John Galliano. Not a literal death, but something closer to a fall from grace.

‘Oleanna’: An imperfect but gripping watch

Boulevard Productions’ Oleanna leaves something to be desired, but what it lacks in production value it more than compensates for in audacity; so much so that David Mamet would be proud

Internet Babies: Students of Subculture

There’s a certain kind of artist that I keep coming back to lately: artists who seem to know exactly what I want to hear...

Follow us