Monday 25th May 2026

Theatre

‘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.

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.

Twisted but funny: ‘The Birthday Party’ in review

CW: Rape What’s stuffier than a perfume shop and more packed than a Lego Store...

‘The Two Noble Kinsmen’ reviewed

One of the finest traditions of Oxford drama is the summer garden play. Freeing...

Culture in crisis: the impact of the pandemic on theatres

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on countries around the world. A huge number of services and businesses are struggling: the NHS, airlines, retail...

Reading the Room

"plays are meant to be performed"

“Helpless”: Whatever Happened to Maria Reynolds?

Fear not, those of us who were unable to afford tickets to Hamilton on Broadway – for the mere cost of selling your soul...

Theatre and the Working Class

When someone mentions British actors, who do you think of? Your mind probably jumps to people like Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston or Eddie Redmayne....

Eight LGBTQ+ Musical Theatre Songs to Listen to this Pride

As we face the prospect of another six months spent watching Star Wars and ‘sport’ (?) with heterosexual relatives, now more than ever we...

Review: Bridge Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Set in the mystical woodlands surrounding Athens, with its cocktail of magic, love triangles, and donkey-human hybrids, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream has always...

Review: Repeat Attenders

In Repeat Attenders (2020), a legion of loyalists to musical theatre take their turn in the spotlight. The documentary introduces us to repeat attenders of theatre...

Review: The Radio Show at the End of the World

"An exceptionally entertaining listen"

Returning to my favourite play: Dancing at Lughnasa

If we’re not watching Saoirse Ronan star in her latest feature film, we’re quoting Derry Girls from memory or fetishing Connell’s chain and fan-girling...

Review: The Madness of George III

Alan Bennett’s acclaimed 1991 exploration of George III’s first bout of mental illness and the constitutional crisis it triggered is reborn in this National...

Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ follows four main plots: the wedding of the king of Athens; the complicated love affairs between four young Athenians;...

Navigating the Theatre Interval

Intervals. I know you have been dying to read an article about them for as long as you can remember, so I’ll put you...

Blasted: Sarah Kane’s Vision Today

Trigger Warnings- Rape and Violence Sarah Kane’s first play, Blasted, begins with the ageing Ian grooming his young girlfriend Cate in an expensive hotel room....

Ballet: bewitching, beautiful, bold

I have loved ballet all my life. Since day one it has been filled with Barbie ballet DVDs, ballet dolls and of course ballet lessons. While...

An unhealthy obsession? The cult of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Cats’

I must confess – I am quite obsessed with Cats. Not the animal, of course, but Andrew Lloyd Webber’s seminal 1981 musical and the 2019 film...

Coriolanus: Review

Coriolanus is set in the early stages of the Roman republic, in the midst of plebeian revolts for grain. Caius Marcius (Tom Hiddleston), nicknamed...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Interview

Video may have killed the radio star, but Jazz Hands Productions’ radio play A Midsummer Night’s Dream aims towards resurrection, encouraging audiences to “escape...

Review: The Globe’s Macbeth

Touted as one of their ‘relaxed performances’, the Globe’s Macbeth seeks to “break down walls to cultural access and empower teenagers to develop their...

“I don’t want realism, I want magic”: NT Live’s A Streetcar Named Desire

“Don’t you just love these long rainy afternoons when an hour isn’t just an hour—but a whole little piece of eternity dropped into your hands—and...

Being True to the Book

Adapting books for the stage or screen seems to be completely irresistible. We are compelled to take words on a page and transform them...

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