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...

Hidden Horror

Cherwell Culture finds three hidden horror gems. Less well known, but seriously scary. Don't read this column alone.

Should you go see Saw?

This Halloween's dose of gore is dissected by Dale Viva-Lee

Psychological Warfare

'Cherwell Film believes Paranormal Activity 2 to be a bad piece of cinema'. Time for an editorial debate

Are you trying to seduce me, Mr. Ralf?

Oliver Moody falls prey to the charms of a stage adaptation of The Graduate.

Cyrano Right on the Nose

There's nose-story like a good old story: Andrew McCormack's verdict on SF Productions Cyrano de Bergerac

Cherwell photo blog – Week 3

The photo blog returns, taking a look at the term so far

Claim your right to rewrite the new writing

Ballgowns, Strongbow and that Regina Spektor track: Carla Neuss gives her exclusive guide to writing a new drama.

Review: Despicable Me

Despite moments of hilarity and emotion, this is a fairly average animation.

The Myth of French Cinema

Luke Partridge on the assumed brilliance of French cinema

Review:The Royal Hunt of the Sun

Rimika Solloway on glittering gold and less than glittering shouting

Review: The New Electric Ballroom

Anna Milne relieves her adolescent sexual encounters with three old almost-maids

Review: Shobaleader One d’Demonstrator, Squarepusher

Olaf One d-Pezzledon listens to this 'acoustic-digital dichotomy'

More than Murder in the Cathedral

Chloe Noble fails to find the words for a play that wasn’t a play but a mystical experience

Not one to panda to the masses

Gold Panda tells Charlie McCann why he isn’t a fan of his music, and why he doesn’t care who is

OUDS Drama: a battle of the sexes

The Royal Hunt of the Sun and New Electric Ballroom directors talk to Carla Neuss about Inca warriors, sexual encounter and the ‘woman’s question’ in Oxford drama

C’est tres amusant, no?

Josephine Sarchet goes against popular belief and explains how French films can be funny

Review: A Town called Panic

Dale Viva-Lee begins a Cherwell Film French special with one of the best and strangest films of the year

The French Connection

Evie Deavall bridges the Channel and discusses cinematic camaraderie with actor Jean-Claude Dreyfus

When dreaming spires no longer inspire

Annabel James reviews two new exhibitions which explore the meaning we give to the materials around us

Nothing rhymes with ‘polio’

Our de facto America correspondent Dave McLeod meets his nemesis in legendary author Philip Roth’s new novel, Nemesis.

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