Tuesday 1st July 2025
Blog Page 2054

Something to watch

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In an age where hardly a day goes by without some mention of violence, bombing, and terror in the news, fear and a constant sense of anticipation has gripped the world. It is exactly this uncertainty of what our future holds that lets every member of the audience relate to Frank McGuinness’ Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me.

The play, set in a Lebanese prison cell in the late 20th century, features three hostages: Michael (Sam Smith) an English university lecturer transformed by the death of his wife; Edward (David Egan) an Irish journalist torn from his family; and Adam (Jacob Lloyd) an American military doctor removed from his fiancée.

Their nationalities strongly shape their respective characters, which allows a clash not only between characters, but also creates an internal conflict as each man begins to question their own identity. From reading the Qur’an to singing Irish folksongs and American hymns, each character’s individuality is repeatedly underlined.

Being drawn into the cell itself, one is constantly exposed to the drastic ups and downs, moments of outrage and violence followed by eerie calm, desperation followed by ecstatic ‘parties’ and extravagance of their daily lives.

Each of the three well-cast characters has been meticulously polished; involving the audience from the moment the first word is spoken. Though the set and lighting remain constant throughout the play, director Roland Singer-Kinsmith’s rendition successfully highlights the juxtaposition of light and dark; of sanity and insanity. Ironically, the audience is left to contemplate that ultimately, we may not be so different after all.

Four Stars

A Humorous Rhinoceros

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First-time directors Lewis Godfrey and Sofia Abasolo haven’t made life easy for themselves.

Deciding to put on Ionesco’s masterpiece is brave enough, what with all the turning into Rhinoceroses and all. But to cut it down to an hour and put it in the not-so-spacious BT – lacking the room for the orchestra pit, two storey house and twenty rhinoceros heads that the original script demands – is surely suicidal.

But all the more credit to them, because this looks to be a damn good production. The line cutting, although necessary, is unfortunate in that some gems are inevitably lost; but otherwise they have used the limitations to their advantage, experimenting playfully with what was already a pretty unorthodox play. The emphasis on physicality not only makes up for the lack of fake horns and grey skin, it’s ultimately more effective – particularly the genuinely spine-tingling finale.

One experiment had me worried, however, for the words ‘audience participation’ usually bring to mind horrifying sing-a-long performances of The Sound of Music. But fortunately here it kind of works. This is where the traverse seating – another risky choice – comes into its own, as the guy across the room whose eye contact you’ve been avoiding becomes one of a theatre full of Rhinoceroses. Still, don’t sit at the front if you don’t want your face used as a TV.

All this meant a lot was riding on the actors. Again, there’s little to fault, with a solid ensemble cast. David Ralf is very entertaining as the mouthy Botard, and mountains of praise are due to Arabella Lawson, who not only plays two men, but actually metamorphoses on stage – and does so brilliantly. Matt Monaghan as the lead man needs a little more consistency, but I’m sure he’ll get it by production week, for he showed moments of great promise and on the whole seems comfortable in his role.

Rhinoceros so happens to be a pretty profound and thought-provoking play, but don’t let that put you off. It’s not necessarily laugh-out-loud, but the production has done well to maintain the comic element which was so central to much of the Ionesco’s theatre. After all, it’s about a town full of people turning into pachyderms, and as one character says, ‘You’ve got to have a sense of humour about these things.’

Four Stars

Rhinoceros is at the BT, 2-6 Feb, 19.30

Oriel students form gleeful club

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Students at Oriel are setting up their own glee club inspired by the popular TV show Glee.

The proposal was presented as a motion to a JCR meeting originally as a bit of a joke. However, Ben Bluemel, one of the proposers said, “The response to the idea has been incredible.”

Bluemel hopes the club will help bring members of the college together, and pointed out there were all sorts of students involved, including sportspeople and non-sportspeople, in the same spirit as the show.

An ex-member of the very successful Oxford a capella group Out of the Blue will be helping them put together and practice their first number. They will be performing a mash-up of With or Without You and Don’t Stop Believing at their next JCR meeting.

“There’s a lot of pressure,” commented Bluemel. They hope the popularity of the club will inspire other colleges to set up groups for them to rival or, at least, to crew date.

Disappearing speakers

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It’s been noticed by several people that last term we were promised that a number of speakers who couldn’t come in

Michaelmas were ‘confirmed for Hilary,’ including Gerhard Schroeder and Carol Vorderman. Of course, they’re now not in the termcard. No explanation so far, but as soon as I can get hold of Stuart I’ll post it up. My money’s simply on no-one remembering to ring them and confirm a date.

First night: The Magic Toyshop

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To be honest, if you haven’t heard about this show by now, you must have been living under a stone, working far too hard, or not reading Cherwell (shame on you if so). So I won’t bore you by recapping what it’s all about. Three orphaned children must go to London to live with their mysterious uncle Philip in his London toyshop, where he rules as tyrant and master, forcing them to watch his sinister puppet shows. While it might be very easy to think that, from the hype, this play might be an example of style triumphing over substance, I am happy to report that, though this play is stylish and visually stunning, it demonstrates a consistently high quality of acting, and as a production, reaches a level of polished togetherness that is to be applauded.

Bella Hammad shines as Melanie, our fifteen-year-old female protagonist, whose perilous and prematurely instigated ascent into adulthood forms the structural backbone of the piece. For an actress so new to Oxford’s scene, she has truly gripped it fervently and, judging by this performance, will become one of our most in-demand performers. She manages to capture the character’s paradoxical attributes of cautious innocence, enforced maturity and sexual curiosity, while still maintaining a great deal of humour. She spends much time alone on the stage, especially in the first act, but her great confidence and believability as an actress lends her a presence that I certainly relished. At the other end of the scale, Will Spray must be mentioned for delivering a truly terrifying performance as Uncle Philip.

The original score by Hertford second-year Laurence Osbourn is written for string quartet, which worked well, despite my previous suspicion that a show so fantastical and at times zany would need more instrumental colour. The score channels Shostakovich’s quartets quite strongly, definitely bringing out a certain sobriety and mournfulness, but also creating a sense of disquieting timelessness. However, though I very much enjoyed the fractured, relentless counterpoint of the score, I found some of the recorded sound effects unnecessary and haphazard, especially the lengthy plane noises and shaken radio sounds at the beginning. It was also a shame that the climax of the play – the uncomfortably beautiful swan scene – was let down by the choice of the Swan Lake Prelude to accompany it. It seemed a lazy choice, and I wonder whether Osbourn might have been able to come up with something more fitting, referencing the Tchaikovsky, instead of simply blasting the piece into the audience.

Choreographer Fionn Cox-Davies is largely successful in his attempts to make puppets come to life on stage, though sometimes the female puppets lacked the presence of Joel Phillimore’s towering performance. The latter’s movement was excellent the whole way through, while the other two seemed to lose poise from time to time. This doesn’t, however, detract from the fact that the physical aspects of the play are exceptionally tight (despite a few ungainly scene changes) and the very early apple-tree scene is as beautiful and fluid a piece of theatre as I have seen for a very long time.

The Magic Toyshop will always be a boy-meets-girl tale, says Theo Merz, who adapted the play from Angela Carter’s novel. We do get a very strong sense of the romance that underpins the danger, and there is a genuine warmth about the two young lovers that Merz seems to bring out well.

Throughout, I kept having to remind myself that this is a student production, so beautiful and professional was the staging and the use of lighting. The Magic Toyshop is a play whose failings are small, whose methods and ambition have been nothing short of incredible, and which deserves to do well.

Four stars

The Magic Toyshop is at the Oxford Playhouse until Saturday.

 

Back To Basics!

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Here at Cherwell Fashion, we’re finding little inspiration for coming trends. Navy has been done to death – it’s hard to miss it on the high street; walk past Miss Selfridges or Topshop, and there will be at least ONE stripey item in the window (however, check out this week’s shoot for our take on the trend). Pastels and nudes – well, again they’re everywhere and are set to stay for a very long time (chiffon dresses in Summer, yes please!). Even a hunt on UK vogue’s website only led us to the male model section (see last week’s Swot:Shop for more details!). But then we realised we were making the one mistake all fashion lovers do in their lives – we were following the trends just a bit too seriously and attempting to second-guess whether a sheepskin coat (à la Keira Knightley) is really fashion or just a resounding statement. So we’ve decided to take things back to basics: and you can’t get any more basic than Uniqlo.

For all those in the depths of fashion siberia, Uniqlo is a mainly – except for the London stores, of course – online shop full of basics. The brand has gone from strength to strength in the last year or so, and scoring Agyness Dean (last year’s model du jour) for their Autumn/Winter ’09 campaign has raised their profile amongst the young and fashion conscious. Their niche: it’s all basics. Don’t go looking for the latest trend (no anchor prints here!), but if you’re in want of something plain and often bright, hit http://www.uniqlo.co.uk/ and shop. The great thing about the clothes is the value: sale cardigans start at £4.99 and dresses are around £30. Also, as January still seems to be persistent on bringing cold chills, Uniqlo’s HEATTECH range has invested in ‘seven technologies’ to keep you warm, dry and not shivering in lectures. Our advice, stock up on your basics and get layering. Here are our favourite picks:

 

Ponte Dress, £24.99

 

 

Tailored Blazer, £29.99 

 

 

Tapered Jeans, £19.99

 

 

Shawl Cardigan, £14.99

 

The Cherwell Fashion Guide to… Nautical Sailor Tailoring

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Sally Rushton shows you how the nautical trend for this Spring can be dressed up – or down – on a student budget.

Fraudulent LMH fresher sent down

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A first-year student at Lady Margaret Hall, who forged parts of his UCAS application to secure a place at Oxford, has been discovered and sent down.

The student won a place at Oxford in 2009 to read Economics and Management. He claimed to have graduated from Langley Grammar School with at least 10 A grades at A level, and subsequently faked relevant documents.

These included a forged reference from a teacher. However, the teacher who supposedly wrote this reference had left Langley Grammar School years ago.
The identity of the student was not revealed until near the end of Michaelmas term, when Magdalen College noticed some academic discrepancies in his personal record. These concerns were later followed up by LMH.

Both Colleges spoke to Janet Jamieson, Deputy Headmistress of Langley Grammar School, who confirmed that the student’s thirteen As at A-level were entirely fabricated. “He certainly did not achieve those A-level grades, nor did he achieve the GCSEs that he claimed from his previous school. This boy was a student here but that is where it ends,” Jamieson said in a statement to Cherwell.

“The college should have checked it up right from the start. It would be impossible to get thirteen A-levels, and this should have gained attention,” she said. “I imagine Oxford will want to try and keep this as quiet as possible, this sort of thing does not happen often.”

The LMH Admissions and Academic offices refused to comment on how a student with an entirely faked application could have gained a place at the college. The proctors also refused to comment.

The student attended Langley Grammar School for sixth form, from September 2005 to June 2007. After sitting a number of retakes during his gap year, he eventually achieved As in his three A-level subjects of Economics, Mathematics and Religious Studies. He applied to university through UCAS in 2009 as an independent candidate.

Jamieson commented, “Normally the UCAS form is sent from the school, so the Headmistress endorses the application, as do form tutors, subject teachers and the Head of Sixth Form, who sends it directly to UCAS electronically. This means that all academic information is verified; universities are in general depenedent on schools for sending the proper documents to UCAS. This student applied to university two years after he had left school, so we never saw his application.”

When students apply to university as independent candidates, they often attach references and documents from their school, but ultimately, the school does not see the final package that is sent to UCAS. The information is passed straight on to the universities, without final verification from the school. This makes it the responsibility of the university to check the facts.

Jamieson added, “[He] did not achieve the results he would have needed for admission to the top universities that he aspired to attend. He came to Langley with GCSEs in the range of A*s, As, Bs and Cs; strong, but not outstanding. [He] was a very enterprising young man, and very ambitious, but he did not always fulfill his potential. We advised him not to apply to university immediately, as frankly his grades were too poor.

“We’re very concerned about the whole affair, and have considered speaking to the school’s legal team. However, we have been assured by UCAS that [the student] entered an individual contract with them, and we as a school are not party to it. Even if we had offered references, it remains a private agreement between the student and UCAS.”

A first year student at LMH described how people felt at College about the affair. “His tutor called his old school… with 13 A-levels we thought he’d be dealing a bit better with the work load. [The tutor] called his references and found out he didn’t exist. Everyone thinks it’s hilarious. It is quite unfair for people who interviewed to get in and were turned down, as now there is a spare place. [He] took the place at Oxford from someone else who probably deserved it more.”

Another student at the college confirmed fresher’s struggle with academic work. They said, “He didn’t come to that many [tutorials]. He used to say he had conferences in London or that he had meetings with the entrep soc. Out of eight tutorials he probably only came to about four.”

Mbombo Kaomam, the First Year Representative at LMH, revealed that members of the JCR Executive Committee and other E&M students have recently been briefed by the College that the student will not be returning to Oxford this term.

Rory Tierney, a third year PPE student at LMH said, “People are really surprised, nobody thought he was making it up. But then again, thirteen A levels does look a bit suspicious. It’s pretty remarkable that he got through the whole admissions process without anyone checking the facts.”

The student was contacted by Cherwell, however refused to comment on the situation.

Genevieve Clarke, JCR President of LMH commented, “I’m sure the College administration take things at face value. I don’t think its any fault of the academic staff at LMH, as they are obviously very competent.”

The Principal Secretary of LMH, Mrs Janet Wardell said, “The case is out of the hands of the LMH staff.”

 

Burns Night – a retrospective

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‘But, if Ye wish her gratefu prayer,
Gie her a Haggis!’

Last weekend a whole series of events took place across Oxford, celebrating the life and works of Scottish poet Robbie Burns.

Here we bring you photos of festivities at Balliol, taken by Cherwell photographer Wojtek Szymczak.

 

Balliol Burns Night Dinner: the piper leads the procession of the haggis to the High Table.

 

‘Gie her a haggis!’
‘To the haggis’ by Burns read out by Scottish Balliolite, Chris Miller.

 

Burns Night in Balliol: Scottish reeling in the Balliol MCR.

The bagpipes!

 

Procession past the Sheldonian.

 

Parading along Broad Street.

Got some photos that you’d like to share with the rest of Oxford?
Why not send them in to [email protected]?

Meat Free Mondays – surely some misteak?

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Three colleges have adopted the Meat Free Mondays concept, with New, Brasenose and Jesus all introducing the scheme in some form.

The idea of the movement, started by Paul McCartney, is to highlight the impact that eating meat has on the environment in terms of the resources that farming meat takes up. New College, which passed its Meat Free
Monday’s motion on Sunday, now has a system where all students are classed as vegetarian on Mondays unless they choose to opt out.

Jesus College is the only college that passed a motion to have a completely meat-free Monday. Ross Evans, JCR President commented, “Don’t get me wrong, there was still some opposition at the end, but reasoned discussion
left little doubt which option we should take – and in the end the JCR voted pretty conclusively.” However, the motion has often caused controversy in the colleges; Magdalen had its motion to introduce Meat Free Monday’s defeated by 13 votes to 9.

Whilst the Meat Free Monday movement seems to have gained momentum it is clear students are never pleased when restrictions are placed on their choice of the most important college provision, food.