Culture

Art is an argument, so argue back

Often, how much we like artwork comes down to ‘vibes’, initial gut-reactions we make, and then quickly negate by stating that surely it's all about taste.

Art Maxim Vorobev -

Red soles, red flags: Jaden Smith and the celebrity takeover of high fashion

Smith’s appointment has raised some serious questions about the extent to which nepotism and celebrity is superseding artistic talent in the fashion industry at present.

Culture Victoria Corfield -

The ‘Silent’ Film

Not speaking does not necessarily mean having nothing to say. As much can be said with an image, movement, or glance as with a word.

Culture Willow Jopp -

A day in The Sun: ‘Ink’ at St John’s

James Graham’s Ink, directed by Georgina Cooper with the St John’s Drama Society, dramatises Rupert Murdoch’s acquisition of The Sun in the 1960s, tracing its astonishing surge to unprecedented popularity.

Culture Beatrix Arnold -

Latest

The Journal of a Chambermaid: The greatest novel you’ve never heard of

It is easy to suppose that the greatest authors of the 19th century have all already been discovered. Especially when it comes to French...

The Oxford Cinema & Café: A profile

"The opening of The Oxford Cinema & Café marks a new chapter in Oxford’s cinema scene: a move further towards independent cinema."

W.H. Auden at the Bus Stop: In Praise of Intellectual Delay

It’s a damp Tuesday afternoon, and W.H. Auden is waiting patiently at the bus stop...

The Case for Reincarnated Romances

"Reincarnation romance films are sometimes silly, mostly melodramatic, but always overlooked as a subgenre."

Review: All My Sons – ‘At the end of the American Dream’

Joe Keller, played by Tristan Hood, represents the American dream. He is a wealthy businessman with a traditional family with a surviving son that...

Review: The Tempest – ‘Power looks good on her’

All the guests arrived and promptly took their seats, as one of the directors (Seb Carrington) announced the play would begin in 5 minutes....

Review: Bush! The Musical – ‘Is our actors singing?’

While the genre of historical musical theatre centred around US politicians may be dominated by Hamilton, Bush! The Musical has earned a place in...

Review: So Far, So Good – ‘Counting down the fall’

Student theatre has always thrived on experimentation, collaboration, and the courage to speak up. So Far, So Good, a new piece of original writing...

The writer behind ‘The Writer’

Tucked away in a room at Worcester College, I sat in on a rehearsal of Ella Hickson’s The Writer (2018), which Fennec Fox Productions...

Reframing Oxford’s controversial portraits

“All art is quite useless,” declared Oscar Wilde in the preface to The Picture of Dorian Grey. It’s a provocative claim, inviting us to...

‘Love in the face of hate’: A closer look at ‘Blood Wedding’

Emma Nihill Alcorta is the director of a new adaptation of the Spanish masterpiece Blood Wedding, running at the Oxford Playhouse. With flamenco rhythms and...

Duplicity, infidelity and loyalty in ‘Crocodile Tears’

“An Italian summer romance that goes wrong” – this is how Crocodile Tears was first pitched to me by its writer, Natascha Norton, when...

Review: The Great Gatsby – ‘Indulge the extravaganza’

Sophia Eiden’s production of Simon Levy’s script of The Great Gatsby is an undoubted triumph. I was, if only for a moment, transported back...

Barry Lyndon – Kubrick’s ultimate antifilm?

Barry Lyndon has always been dismissed within Kubrick’s filmography. While he is a filmmaker known for his versatility across genres, Barry Lyndon still sits...

Cinema’s hidden gems: Daisies (1966)

Whilst mainstream cinema more often favours the safe and the familiar, some of the most remarkable films ever made are those that dismantle the...

Review: Troilus and Cressida – ‘A missed opportunity to appeal to the brain rot generation’

Having heard on the grapevine (and even receiving word from the producer himself) about Troilus and Cressida falling victim to a last-minute casting upheaval,...