Friday, March 21, 2025

Theatre

Persuading the public: The play as propaganda

The play as propaganda has a long history. From the regime-affirming productions of Hieron, tyrant King of Syracuse, to Lucy Prebble’s play The Effect, we can understand that theatre has...

Shakespeare and the ‘Dark Lady’

Shakespeare is undoubtedly the most well renowned English playwright. Thus, the chance that the...

Julie review – Free shots, toxic relationships, immersive theatre

My ticket to see Julie resembled an invite to a birthday party, promising a...

The Goat Review: ‘raw, absurdist, and honest’

Clarendon Productions brings The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? (Edward Albee) to the Michael...

‘The Furnace of Art’ : A Review of Amadeus at the Keble O’Reilly

‘Nowadays all cats appreciate are coloratura,’ Salieri says gravely ‘like the rest of the Public’. This sums up Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus (which is currently...

“The poetry of motion!”: Toad of Toad Hall Review

Toad of Toad Hall A.A Milne’s adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s 1908 beloved classic The Wind in the Willows, is a testament to throwing responsibilities...

“Immersive and interesting”, King Lear at the Wyndham Theatre

Kenneth Branagh has taken on a new project: directing and starring in the Shakespearean classic ‘King Lear’ this winter at the Wyndham Theatre in...

“Slightly out of joint”: Hamlet Review

That Isaac Asimov’s retelling of a bemused reader’s response to Hamlet – ‘I don’t see why people admire that play so. It is nothing...

Innovating Euripides: Medea Opening Night Review 

The Oxford Greek Play is a bizarre tradition: an undergraduate foray into Greek tragedy which first occurred in 1880 and has continued triennially ever...

“An ambitious testament to Epic theatre”: Angels in America Review

Angels in America: Milennium Approaches is a big show. Indeed, a play with a three-hour runtime and a Pulitzer Prize can really be nothing...

“Surprising, and slightly macabre”: Sampi at the Burton Taylor

A play about friendship, breakdowns, a chicken sandwich, existential questioning and a nosebleed, Sampi at the Burton Taylor Studio is a piece of new...

Angels in America Interview: “Incredibly Challenging”

Kiaya Phillips in conversation with Andrew Raynes (director) and Will Shackleton (who plays Louis) of Happier Year Productions' version of Tony Kushner's award-winning play,...

An Introduction to Oxford Drama

The drama scene at Oxford is vibrant and thriving - in fact, the Oxford University Dramatic Society (or OUDS as everyone calls it) is...

‘Hamlet’ in the Modern World: Interview with Cast and Crew

Shakespeare is making a return to Oxford's Keble O'Reilly and it’s a big one, Hamlet is back and fresher than ever! When I heard there...

“Emotionally and physically draining”: ‘A Little Life’ on West End

Ivo Van Hove’s dramatization of Hanya Yanagihara’s divisive novel A Little Life took to the West End this summer, with a brief stint at...

Is Shakespeare’s Globe still Relevant?

The Globe is certainly still one of the biggest and most recognisable names when it comes to theatres despite now being over 25 years...

Fringe: “Quite absurd”, Review of Blue Dragon

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”, says a harried wife to her brooding husband as she looks out onto a small and scattered audience in an...

Fringe: “Continuously Shocks”, a Review of Cruelty

“Imagine. You're a character. You're in a club.” This may be Oli's (Luke Nixon) first line to the audience but it does not feel necessary....

Fringe: “Uncannily familiar”, Review of Cowboys and Lesbians

"Immensely funny, masterfully constructed, and, uncannily familiar", Anuj Mishra reviews Billie Esplen's original play 'Cowboys and Lesbians'.

‘ASMR Eat Your Heart Out!’: A Review of The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis was, understandably, intense, and weird – in a good way. Blessed with excellent performances, and clever use of technology, the play captured all the absurdity of Kafka.

“A Brilliant Balancing Act”: A Review of By Proxy

By Proxy is shocking, morally complicated, and will have you frustrated, yet empathetic towards both Kit and Jo. It is also hysterically funny, with witty dialogue and inside jokes that will appeal to the Oxford student. By Proxy is a brilliant balancing act that engages at every turn.

“A Joy to Watch”: A Review of ‘Window Seat’

The play is a joy to watch. Coleman always provides just enough detail in the dialogue to allow the audience to follow what is happening without making the relationship between the two characters seem overlaboured or mechanistic.

“Bugs Are Cool”: Interview with the Cast and Crew of The Metamorphosis

"Gregor Samsa is a travelling salesman in the cloth trade who has been worked to the bone and suffers under the pressure of his family, who rely on him financially. At the beginning of the play, he wakes up to discover that he has transformed into a repulsive and unhuman creature."

“Dreamlike and Wonderful”: A Review of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

"All in all, a dream-like and wonderful way to spend the ‘three hours between our after-supper and bedtime’, in the words of Theseus himself."

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