Theatre

If Thomas Hardy had blessed his female characters with more than an “ephemeral precious essence of youth,” perhaps he would have produced something along the lines of Dorothy McDowell’s Casterbridge, an adaptation of Hardy’s 1886 novel The Mayor of Casterbridge.

"Against the backdrop of Majek’s enigmatic blue-toned figures, Spencer, with the help of a multi-roling, all-Black voice cast playing a broad spectrum of characters, reveals tantalising glimpses of these figures’ lives."

"It’s a bit of a mad play, and a lot of quite mad things happen, because that’s what happens when you translate Victorian characters into the modern era."

"The performers [...] delivered a cohesive, entertaining and – dare I say it – heart-warming musical which was received with barrels of laughter."

"From the play’s beginning, this immensely talented cast of Oxford students captured my imagination, and I was swept up by the story they had to tell."

"We’re left with a simple truth: not everything has a deeper answer, and perhaps we shouldn’t be looking for one."

"Surrounded by the pressure to be beautiful, to craft a beautiful life, and to appreciate beauty, is it any wonder that Kathy goes a bit crazy? She Felt Fear is a portrait of hysteria in the twenty-first century."

"Disgusting basement? Check. No gas for the kettle? Check. Cryptic instructions from a mysteriously absent boss? Double check. The lack of workplace protection laws is appalling."

"This uncomplicated plot provides Worth with rich opportunities for philosophical musings, with ideas explored in the piece ranging from the abrupt to the more profound."

"It digs into some of the most important things we have to face in our lives. Sexuality, family, the education system, the way we judge others and ourselves."

"I think to write a play you’ve got to be constantly re-inspired. It requires so many exchanges between characters and demands inhabiting so many different psyches."

'The most thrilling moment so far was singing the opening ballad as a whole cast with the band for the first time. I’d never felt such a mix of excitement and nerves and awe all at once.'

"At best, I expected a night of mildly diverting entertainment – perhaps an audience member would heckle someone – and at worst, I was bracing myself for two hours of second-hand embarrassment. Anyone who is familiar with Jericho Comedy will already know how wrong I was: I laughed so much at this comedy gala that my face hurt."

It is an amazing skill to have such a carousel of worlds and people played by the same few actors, and yet the show never felt disjointed; it was almost as if the tennis players, the telly-tubbies and the young conservatives were all interconnected.

"Can we ever justify ticket prices of more than £200 given the theatrical experience involved – or are we just making theatre expensive and inaccessible?"

Paper Moon’s latest production, an immersive theatre experience called Cut, Paste, Enter. Took place this week at Modern Art Oxford. Ahead of their opening, Cherwell spoke to Chloe Dootson-Graube (Creative Director), Georgie Dettmer (Director), Grace Olusola (Writer), and Hannah Gallardo-Parsons (Sound Designer) about putting together this exciting new project.

"Conflict in God of Carnage is created through two groups of parents‘ apparent desire to resolve a falling-out between their children. Alain and Annette’s child has hit and broken two teeth of Véronique and Michelle’s child. However, despite initial mature airs, the adults soon lose any sense of moderation, and themselves turn into quarrelling children. This play is therefore an intimate descent into savagery."

'Overall, I very much enjoyed Please Clap. Experimental, and at the same time digging into the solemn secrets of celebrity and humanity, the fakery of the media and the forgery of façades, this was a show to be applauded.'

In the maelstrom of reinterpretations of misunderstood Homeric women and Greek tragedy revivals, the show’s lyrics stand out for consistently centring the core themes and questions asked by the ancient texts themselves.

'I didn’t know how to articulate this at the time, but watching West Side Story I encountered for the first time a quality I’ve come to look for in great musical theatre: the distillation of complex emotion into song in a rounded yet deceptively simple manner. Here was a prime example of showtunes’ unique ability to bring human feeling to a higher plane.'