Wednesday 4th March 2026

Culture

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.

Remembrance, resilience, and reflection: Lubomyr Melnyk, the ‘continuous music’ pioneer

On the 23rd and 24th February, the Ukrainian composer and pianist, Lubomyr Melnyk, returns to Oxford for a performance at New College.

Techno, tragedy, and medieval monologuing: ‘Brew Hill’ in conversation

Pecadillo Productions’ ‘Brew Hill’ watches the deterioration of the romance between Nat (Trixie Smith) and Gordon (Jem Hunter).

Will 2026 finally kill the clean girl?

The clean girl has become ubiquitous throughout celebrity culture, magazines, and social media in recent years. Her brand prescribes a lifestyle, a kind of idealised minimalism.

A literary holiday – JL Carr’s A Month in the Country

"I underlined a passage in the book which seemed pertinent to today’s situation: ‘It is now or never; we must snatch at happiness as it flies.’ "

Photo editorial: the essence of memories in fashion and melodies

"Sensory stimuli yearn to remind us of the fleeting joys and passing sorrows that, respectively, glitter and plague our pasts."

Learning From Blackface Comedy

conformism to a prejudiced society shapes our perception of humour more than we may realise

Tuning in: Podcasts in lockdown

It’s no wonder then that in times of hardship and isolation, such as these, podcasts are more popular than ever.

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...

On my white window ledge

'Now I see them yield to the light, papery and, with old age, translucent.'

Ode to an empty Oxford

"The quads no longer echo with passing, light-hearted exchanges or 3am stumbling returns from Hassan's."

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: Florence Given’s debut book Women Don’t Owe You Pretty

Florence Given sells feminism as what it is: freeing and utterly delicious. She affirms and articulates precisely the points it feels so hard to put your finger on sometimes.

Fact and Fiction: Where Should the Boundary Lie?

Novels, TV shows, films. They are a form of art. And in art there is no wrong answer. Yet this becomes more complex for historical...

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...

Now That’s What I Call… Poetry?

Somebody once told me there are a lot of bad song lyrics out there. Imagine, for every subtle, elegant song you hear, there’s bound...

The Fashion of Villanelle

"Gone is the femme fatale spy-assassin we have been accustomed to seeing."

Murakami’s ‘Killing Commendatore’: where art can transport you

Murakami’s Killing Commendatore got me thinking about art within literature. We can easily find examples of literature within art: Shakespeare’s Hamlet in Millais’ Ophelia,...

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...

Black trauma porn, slacktivism, and chicken soup for the activist soul

TW: racism, police brutality, racial violence The torrential online aftermath of the murder of a black man: posts mourning fallen black victims, names added to...

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...

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