Culture

Must theatre be so dire? Thoughts on the “unworthy scaffold”

If 'art est celare artem' (true art is to conceal art), then theatre is pretty poor art. You ain't fooling me into thinking that's a storm.

Fashion trends: The illusion of choice

Our fashion choices emphasise how our individual styles are limited by the available market, and what fashion magazines and brands declare as ‘in style’.

Art as protest on university campuses

CW: rape. This week, Cornell University has made headlines as prosecutors reopened an investigation into...

The legacy of the caricature

That the ‘In Memoriam’ section of the 2026 Academy Awards is going to be a serious tear-jerker was solidified by the passing of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry over two consecutive days.

The language of Pride: five books I read in the closet

"As well as the direct dialogue from writer to reader, I realised that I was just one of a larger readership: an intoxicating mix of individual and collective experience that was validating above all else."

Oxford’s Independent Clothes Shops

Independent retailers offer a great alternative which can be more sustainable, exciting and supportive of our local communities.

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...

An Apology to my Rapist

I’m sorry for having a bottle of wine,Who knew red with dinner was crossing a line,And for drinking vodka whilst sat in the bar,Was...

Friday Favourite: The Death of Ivan Ilyich

"The novella’s real focus is the inevitability of death itself, which is so gargantuan, physically and philosophically, that retrospection is crushed into irrelevance."

Seven Flowers for Midsummer

"It is a day, and night, which brims in fairies and women cults and sprites and mothers."

The future of bookshops is more uncertain than ever

"In the wake of Covid-19, it remains to be seen whether bookshops will continue to encourage our love of browsing."

History of Ideas: talking politics and escaping science

This podcast is a godsend. It’s like a crash course in ideology, philosophical chat with a friend and yogic meditation all rolled into one.

“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...

Veraneio

"Raised in the endless, relentless summer of tropical living, snapshots of summer swamp my memories of childhood – beachside days, aching sunburns, blond locks tainted unflatteringly green by chlorinated pools."

Trinity in the time of pandemic

Scraping dredges of hummus with my last-but-one piece of flatbread, my first year at Oxford ended with an anti-climatic sigh as I clicked ‘send’...

Experiencing museums and galleries in a COVID-19 age

"Even if there were a sense of restriction, it would feel a little tone-deaf to mourn the old, ‘normal’ gallery visit." Josie Moir ponders our experience of galleries and museums in a COVID-19 Age

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."

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...

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