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.

Review: Your Little Play – ‘a tragic storyline which by now seems all too familiar’

Nightjar Theatre's production tackles themes that are particularly pertinent to our time

50 years since Bicycle Thieves: the Italian neo-realist nightmare still resonates

The most iconic image to come out of Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves is that of a disgruntled man sat on the pavement with a...

The corruptability of ‘bright, young things’

Sebastian Flyte stumbling through a quad, vomiting through a window, and then taking exquisite care with his teddy bear’s hair; the fictional Riot Club...

Editing out excess

The phenomenon of excess in media is relatively modern. The notion of creating excess, then refining the total media into a coherent project, is...

Shakespeare Done to Death?

In the wake of the Emma Rice 'scandal' at the Globe, we examine why we keep treading old boards.

The Sackler Family’s Dishonest Donations

It can be extremely difficult to separate art from its context. To inherit benefits from a patron essentially endorses the methods which they have...

The Sweet Smell of Excess

"While the social implications of excessive behaviour seem real and uncomfortable, then, the extent to which films tend to deal with these is, we surely have to admit, limited."

Ted Bundy Reinvented

Joe Bertlinger’s Ted Bundy biopic, released to Sky Cinema on Friday, seemed to be just one more of the latest string of films blatantly...

Review: At Eternity’s Gate

It is worth watching At Eternity’s Gate for Julian Schnabel’s mesmerising cinematography alone. This new biopic of Vincent van Gogh, with the titular character...

Review: Four Men in Their Respective Cells – ‘a whistle-stop psychological drama’

Though hitting the right notes thematically, Four Men in Their Respective Cells lacks polish and a conclusive ending

Is the band ‘shame’ just shameful?

A discussion on how Shame have inherited the punk ethos

The New Bridget Jones?

Reviewing ‘Queenie’ by Candice Carty-Williams (Trapeze, 2019).

Sustainable Summer: the best eco-friendly swimwear

As summer rolls around and the days get (mildly) sunnier, it’s easy to get sucked back into the culture of buying a whole new...

“Vagina.” There, I said it.

Vulvar art and gendered fantasy

Ballroom Brutalism

So often images of Oxford balls focus on the perfectly dressedagainst the backdrop of an ancient college. We wanted to subvertthis and...

Daydreamers: Fantasy in the Face of Stasis

There’s a scene in one of my favourite films, High Fidelity (2000), in which John Cusack’s Rob plays out a number of angry reactions in his head...

Luke Skywalker: The Fantasy of a Hero

The first Star Wars film that I ever properly watched was Revenge of the Sith. It remains an epic that details the rise of one of...

Singing to Say No to Cinematic Fantasies

"Titanic Rising" is an album that dispels the fantasies presented by film

Restaurant Review: Mowgli

Mowgli's level of confusion and menu felt unimpressive

To Sleep, Per-Cheese to Dream?

We've all heard it said that bad dreams can be blamed on eating cheese before bed. But is there any truth to the old rumour? The British Cheese Board and various others try to find out.

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