Saturday 15th November 2025
Blog Page 22

What Your Favourite Mario Kart 8 Character Says About You

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What Your Favourite Mario Kart 8 Character Says About You

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe isn’t just about karts, items, and chaotic banana-related betrayals—it’s also a subtle personality test disguised as a racing game. Your go-to character is a window into your soul (or at least your racing strategy). Are you a speed demon? A chaos gremlin? A cool-headed pro who knows how to time a blue shell dodge like it’s an art form?

Let’s break down what your favorite Mario Kart character really says about you—and maybe drag your friends along for the ride, too.

Mario – The Reliable Overachiever

You’re the type who color-codes their Google Calendar. You like structure, you believe in balance, and you trust that consistency beats chaos. You probably also send polite “thank you” emails at work. Your Mario pick reflects that you want a well-rounded racer—and a stable chance at a podium finish.

Luigi – The Underrated Strategist

If Mario is the golden boy, Luigi is the green ghost in the back room plotting three moves ahead. You’re subtle, observant, and just a little petty (admit it, you love a well-timed snipe with a green shell). You don’t care about the spotlight—you care about the win.

Peach – The Calm Chaos Controller

You look cute, but you’re not here to play nice. Picking Peach screams “don’t underestimate me,” because beneath the pink dress and parasol is a racer who’s mastered every shortcut on Mount Wario. You bring grace and game—and yes, you expect to win.

Bowser – The Intimidating Tank

You don’t finesse the race—you dominate it. If Bowser is your main, you’re probably the type to choose brute force and call it “tactical intimidation.” You love bumping lighter racers off the road and watching their coins scatter. Bonus points if you laugh while doing it.

Toad – The Try-Hard With a Heart

Toad mains are lovable perfectionists. You’ve memorized the track layouts, you time your drifts with machine-like precision, and you probably ranked in Time Trials… for fun. People might underestimate you at first, but by lap two, you’re already gone.

Yoshi – The Friendly Destroyer

You’re cheerful, loyal, and low-key lethal with red shells. Yoshi players don’t brag about wins, but they stack them anyway. You’re probably the glue that holds your group of friends together—until you drop a banana peel at the finish line just to keep them humble.

Waluigi – The Meme Lord

You don’t just play to win—you play to vibe. Waluigi mains are chaotic neutral with a flair for the dramatic. You love unpredictable matches, cursed loadouts, and confusing your opponents into submission. And yes, you’re probably the loudest person in voice chat.

Baby Characters – The Agents of Anarchy

Baby Peach, Baby Luigi, Baby Rosalina… doesn’t matter. If you pick them, you crave mayhem. You probably enjoy being the wildcard no one can predict. You zip through corners, dodge shells like it’s second nature, and get inexplicably lucky with items.

(We’re onto you.)

Unlocking More Fun

Let’s be real: half the fun of Mario Kart is flexing your favourite racer in style—and sometimes, that means unlocking new karts, gliders, or racing on DLC tracks. If you’re the kind of player who’s always looking for new ways to flex, grab a Nintendo gift card UK and power up your experience.

Final Lap: Who You Are Behind the Wheel

Whether you’re a heavy-hitting Bowser or a chaos-loving Waluigi, your character choice reflects more than preference—it’s your racing identity. So next time someone picks Dry Bones and silently zooms past you on Rainbow Road, just know: they probably planned that three races ago.

And if you’re looking to level up your karting life or gift some coins to a fellow racer, digital marketplaces like Eneba have your back.

Styling by the book: Oxford’s secret fashion rules

Verity Fleetwood-Law
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Styling by the book: Oxford’s secret fashion rules

It often feels as if the so-called ‘Oxford bubble’ is full of binaries: commoners and scholars, undergraduate and postgraduate, town and gown. These dualities are neatly emblematised through the medium of fashion – not only through our academic gowns and sub fusc, but through other, more implicit, rules of dress. 

A friend recently pointed out to me the tell-tale sign of a summer school student roaming Oxford’s streets during the long vacation: their sweatshirt or baseball cap sports the title “Oxford University” in the American tradition, whereas we students all know it’s really the “University of Oxford”. As this illustrates, even without the obligatory college puffers of Michaelmas term, there are markers in clothing that distinguish insiders from outsiders. Similar unofficial fashion rules, often shrouded in mystery for incoming freshers, also formalise divisions within the student body itself.

I remember the confusion of Freshers’ Week, and, in particular, the struggle of interpreting variations of smart dress codes for endless events. After all, there’s no information available on the University website about what to wear for the Warden’s welcome drinks, or your college admission ceremony. The latter was chaotic: the freshers’ group chat erupted into panic, and students turned up in everything from jeans, to sixth-form blazers, to evening dresses. Even into my second year, I find myself questioning exactly what one wears to a cocktail garden party, or to a wine and cheese event.

These are the sorts of events that most of us have never had the chance to experience before, and faced with both a lack of intel and funds, they can be incredibly daunting. While formals alone are challenging fashion-wise, college balls are a completely different ballgame. Purchasing white or black tie on top of a ticket can be incredibly expensive. It’s not only the dress (or the tails) – there are shoes, jewellery, and bags to be thought of.

The resultant divisions, between those who can afford these luxuries and those who cannot, aren’t just evident in occasion-wear, either. There are codes even to everyday fashion at Oxford – one needs only to view the sheer extent of Barbour jackets on display to know this. Daily wear at Oxford verges on the smarter side, more so than at some other universities in the UK. This may be because of practicality, intellectual snobbery, or the glimmerings of a dark academia fantasy (it’s likely all three). There’s even a divide between undergraduates and postgraduates, the latter of which always appear to me more business-like and professional.

Despite the proliferation of all these codes, we are simultaneously witnessing a greater inclination towards intellectual creativity in the Oxford fashion scene. When I sat down to hate-watch Netflix’s My Oxford Year, the sheer sameness of the fashion was what grievously offended me: its erasure of any characterful, worn, or well-loved clothing. It’s a contributing factor to why it feels like such a personality vacuum of a film. The sameness is a gross misrepresentation of an Oxford fashion community which seems, despite its rules, to only be becoming more diverse, imaginative, and inspired. 

Aesthetic trends will always exist, but in this city fashionable individuality is no less celebrated than conformism, especially with the rise of second-hand shopping. Oxford is special in this regard – I’m often struck by the sheer variety of clothes on display in the Old Bodleian or on Broad Street. When I see students dressing in a distinctive, creative way, I never pause to wonder at their unique style or speculate if they’re freshers, as of yet unfamiliar with all the secret rules of dress. Instead, I find myself admiring what has become in itself an unofficial fashion code – that the most impressive style must be uniquely your own. Ultimately, this code will endure beyond all others.

‘Delusions and Grandeur’ at the Fringe

Peter Hardisty
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‘Delusions and Grandeur’ at the Fringe

★★★⯪☆

If there is one word to describe Karen Hall’s Delusions and Grandeur, it is anxious. The one-hour solo cello comedy show is filled with anxiety, existential dread, and uncertainty. As she rightfully points out, that is the life of a professional musician. The human brain will forget around 80% of what it hears within 24 hours. So, she asks, what’s the point?

This may sound like a tough watch, but Hall expertly disarms the audience with her relaxed, charismatic delivery. She opens the show slowly eating a Subway sandwich, talking about whether Greggs or Subway is better. If there is one thing Hall is determined to do, it is to remove the elitism surrounding classical music. As a musician myself, this is a goal I admire. She takes the audience – many of whom were not immersed in the world of classical music – on a journey, moving us smoothly from moments of slapstick comedy to wittiness and sincere reflection.

The show revolves around Bach’s ‘Cello Suite No.1 in G major’, with each of the seven movements being played individually throughout the show. Hall’s playing is extremely expressive, but while watching her play the opening prelude, I was taken aback by how still she was. While her cello sang out, her body was completely still. However, as the show went on, and she spoke more about the struggles of being a musician and her own personal life, her performance on the cello got progressively more frantic. This was most notable in the 5th movement, which she sped through with a crazed, scratching tone. The transformation over the course of the show perfectly summarises the growing anxiety the audience feels as Hall explains to them in detail the struggles she has faced throughout her career.

Reflecting on life’s purpose, sexism in the music industry, and the pretentious elitism of classical music culture, Hall truly covers it all. For those who are not familiar with the musical world, it is eye-opening and disturbing. For those already aware, it is a bleak reminder. You cannot claim to walk out of this show without having felt something. Hall combines humour with reflection to create a masterful story.

Why a Razer Gold card is the ultimate student-friendly way to pay for games

External Contributor
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Why a Razer Gold card is the ultimate student-friendly way to pay for games

Balancing coursework, social life, part-time jobs, and maybe the occasional existential crisis is enough on its own. Add in the cost of gaming subscriptions, in-app purchases, and DLCs, and suddenly being a student gamer feels like a luxury lifestyle. But what if there was a way to keep your gaming life alive without linking your bank card every time? There is, and it’s called the Razer Gold card.

Whether you’re picking up indie games on sale, buying skins, or powering through battle passes, Razer Gold lets you manage your spend while still enjoying premium digital content. And for students trying to game responsibly, that control matters.

What is a Razer Gold card, and why should you care

Razer Gold is a universal virtual credit system used for thousands of digital games and services. Think of it like a prepaid card just for gamers. Instead of entering your debit details or linking multiple payment platforms, you simply redeem your Razer Gold and use the credits wherever they’re accepted; easy, fast, and secure.

The card allows users to load up on credits without any auto-renewals or surprise charges. For students managing limited funds or trying to avoid overspending, this gives you full visibility of what you’re spending and where.

It’s accepted by over 42,000 games and entertainment services globally, including fan favorites like PUBG Mobile, Genshin Impact, and Blizzard titles. Plus, for every purchase, you earn Razer Silver (a rewards system), which can be redeemed for more games, hardware, or even discounts. That’s like getting rewarded for something you were already going to do anyway.

Why students prefer prepaid over linking cards

Sharing your card details with every new platform or random game shop isn’t exactly safe. And when a subscription slips past your memory and renews unexpectedly? Nightmare.

Prepaid digital options are gaining traction among student communities because they offer peace of mind. You’re in control of how much you load, and you never spend more than you intended. It’s also a great solution for parents who want to set limits for younger students or teens who game.

And if you’re the type to share game credits with a roommate, friend, or gaming group, it makes it easy to gift and top up without getting too personal about finances.

Smart spending in a digital-first world

Gaming is no longer just a hobby; it’s a social platform, a creative outlet, and even a career path for some. So, making smart financial choices around gaming isn’t just practical, it’s essential. Whether you’re building your Steam library, upgrading your in-game character, or just enjoying a Friday night with your go-to multiplayer crew, the way you pay matters.

Razer Gold helps you stay on top of that. It’s a payment method built for how students live, play, and budget.

University life doesn’t mean sacrificing your digital life. With prepaid options, students can stay immersed in the games they love while maintaining control of their finances. It’s fast, secure, and surprisingly rewarding. And the best part? Digital marketplaces like Eneba offer great deals on all things digital, so you can game smarter, not harder.

Why Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is a smart choice for students

External Contributor
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Why Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is a smart choice for students

Being a student often means stretching your finances while trying to maintain some semblance of a social and personal life. Between tuition fees, textbooks, overpriced coffee, and rent, it’s easy to feel like your hobbies need to take a backseat. But that’s not always true, especially if one of your hobbies is gaming.

Gaming is no longer just a fun way to kill time. It’s a social outlet, a method of stress relief, and sometimes even a creative pursuit. And while games can be expensive, subscriptions like Xbox Game Pass Ultimate make the experience significantly more affordable for students who want quality entertainment without breaking the bank.

What you get with Game Pass Ultimate

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is not just a subscription; it’s a full-service access pass to the gaming world. It includes:

  • Over 100 high-quality games
  • Xbox Live Gold (for online multiplayer)
  • EA Play membership
  • Game access across console, PC, and cloud
  • Perks like discounts and rewards

From major releases to underrated gems, there’s always something new to try. Whether you’re taking a mental break from studying or organizing a game night with flatmates, Game Pass delivers flexibility and variety.

Why prepaid makes more sense for students

If you’re looking to save money and avoid the monthly billing cycle, an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 12-month subscription is a great choice. Buying it upfront ensures you won’t forget about auto-renewals or accidentally overdraft your account during exam week. You pay once and enjoy 12 months of gaming. Isn’t that cool?

This model is especially helpful for students managing a tight budget. You know exactly what you’re spending and what you’re getting. No surprises, just steady, uninterrupted gaming for a whole year.

Gaming with friends, wherever you are

One of the best parts about being at university is the community. Whether it’s living in shared halls, bonding over late-night snacks, or finding people who love the same games you do, connection is everything.

With Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you and your friends can enjoy co-op games, sports titles, shooters, and more without everyone needing to buy the same game individually. It fosters collaboration and competition while keeping everyone’s wallets happy.

You can even play on your phone using cloud gaming if someone else is hogging the console. It’s gaming that fits into student life, unpredictable schedules, and all.

Ideal for experimentation and discovery

When you only buy one or two games a year, you’re more likely to stick with what you know. But with Game Pass Ultimate, you can afford to experiment. Try a game you’ve never heard of. Play something outside your usual genre. Find new favorites that you wouldn’t have considered spending money on otherwise.

This level of access opens doors for casual players and hardcore gamers alike. It’s about freedom, not commitment, perfect for students whose preferences and time are always changing.

The Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription isn’t just convenient, it’s a smarter way to game. It offers students a full library of high-quality entertainment, access to premium services, and the freedom to play anywhere, anytime. Best of all, digital marketplaces like Eneba offer deals on all things digital, making it even easier to get started. For students who love gaming but don’t love financial stress, this is one subscription worth every penny.

The Oxford Revue at the Fringe

Leon Moorhouse
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The Oxford Revue at the Fringe

★★★⯪☆

Returning for their 62nd annual pilgrimage to the Edinburgh Fringe, the Oxford Revue rolled into town with their new sketch comedy hour For Revue Dollars More, accompanied nightly by their stand-up showcase Stand-upping Citizens. Between cowboy puns and character comedy, the Revue delivered a solid 45-minute sketch cavalcade that landed somewhere between “mildly chuckle-worthy” and “genuinely funny”. Nothing truly terrible, thankfully, but also nothing to write home about.

The sketch show was a mixed bag, with a few hits and some just fine filler. Many of the sketches were blink-and-you’ll-miss-it brief, and while they could be punchy, these often ended just as they were finding their feet. That said, Leo Bevan consistently made the most of them, with a delivery tailor-made for quippy one-liners. One of the more memorable moments in these shorts came from a bit involving someone arrested for “resisting arrest”, a joke that, oddly enough, seemed to haunt the Fringe, popping up again the next morning when I watched Cry-Baby: The Musical performed by the Latymer School. 

Martha Davey, who had already impressed as a charismatic MC in the stand-up show the night before, was another standout. Channelling Miranda Hart with the right dash of chaos, she excelled in the ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ sketch, fully embodying a hilariously posh mum with unnerving accuracy. Her quick mouthed gym instructor routine had its moments too, though it ran over slightly.

One misstep was the “Improv” interlude, which turned out to be… not improv. Just another sketch, albeit one with a slightly looser feel. It wasn’t bad, but it missed the opportunity to offer a refreshing break in rhythm after a solid 45 minutes of sketch, sketch, sketch.Some real improvisation could’ve added a welcome element of chaos or spontaneity.

The runaway highlight of the show, however, was Adam Pickard and his recurring sketch set to Right Said Fred’s ‘I’m Too Sexy’. Pickard, who also featured in the previous night’s stand-up showcase, brought the same deadpan swagger to the stage here. He launched into the “sexy” persona with unexpected precision, committed, in sync with the music, and all the funnier for how seriously he seemed to take it. What could’ve been a one-note gag became a recurring delight.

The show closed with another musically driven sketch, this time set to Elvis’s ‘Blue Suede Shoes’. Like others before it, the sketch leaned into the Revue’s apparent penchant for gory humour, which consistently earned some of the biggest laughs. Bloody, and well-timed, it was a fittingly high-energy finale, matched with some decent vocals from Bevan.

All in all, For Revue Dollars More was an enjoyable, well-performed show that made for a fine opener to my Fringe week. It didn’t quite embed itself in my memory, but it made for a pleasant hour of chuckles, and a few pretty great moments.

Academia is hell, literally: R.F. Kuang’s ‘Katabasis’

Charlie Stevens
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Academia is hell, literally: R.F. Kuang’s ‘Katabasis’

R.F. Kuang’s Katabasis touches on a range of near-universal academic experiences: impostor syndrome; frantic, caffeine-fuelled study sessions; watching someone effortlessly ace every single test you suffer through; and, of course, accidentally sending a professor to the depths of Hades. For the novel’s protagonist, Alice Law, all of these experiences are just a string of inconveniences standing between her and completing her PhD.

Alice is a student of “Analytic Magick” at the University of Cambridge under the supervisor Jacob Grimes. Readers will benefit from having some familiarity with logical puzzles, because, in Katabasis, this ‘magick’ involves harnessing the power of philosophical paradoxes with chalk pentagrams to achieve the impossible. Manipulating the ambiguity of Sorites Heap can produce a flask that never runs out of water, for instance, whilst a pentagram invoking the Achilles Paradox can fix an unsuspecting victim to the spot. It is in the disastrous aftermath of one of these pentagrams gone wrong that the novel opens, a small error in the chalk outlines having had fatal consequences for Grimes. 

As a magician, Alice is familiar not only with philosophical problems, but with the many stories from sojourners who have trekked through the underworld and returned. Armed with piles of research from the university archives, Alice decides to set off to retrieve her professor’s soul before he – and his ability to sign off on her work – are lost forever. What she does not count on is the fact that her fellow PhD student and greatest academic rival, Peter Murdoch, will be along for the ride. From there the narrative unfurls, switching between Alice and Peter’s journey through hell and flashbacks to their time at Cambridge, with hints at something much darker than scholarly ambition underlying their hell-bound journey. 

The story twists and turns in unexpected ways, with no character able to evade their complicity in the toxicity of Cambridge’s elite environment. Kuang herself studied at both the University of Cambridge and Oxford – the latter of which was heavily critiqued for its role in colonialism throughout Kuang’s 2022 novel Babel, or the Necessity of Violence. Current Oxford students will be pleased to know that just as Babel held nothing back in its unflattering depiction of 1830s Oxford, Kuang also pulls no punches in her depiction of 1980s Cambridge. 

However, where Babel focused on discrimination on a systemic level, Katabasis gets personal: Alice’s life at Cambridge is a horror story of the nepotism, prejudice, and sheer misfortune that mark academia, implied through the personal relationships (or lack thereof) that have shaped her experiences as a PhD student. As she reflects on Grimes’ tutelage, Kuang gradually unfurls the web of fear, adoration, and dependence that has come to surround her relationship with the supervisor, to the point where following the professor to hell seems to Alice, perversely, like the most logical course of action. 

The very system of magick Kuang weaves for her latest novel becomes an allegory for the hopelessness of academic life. The text gives brief but dense explanations of how these enchantments work, and how linguistically complicated pentagrams factor in. For an ambitious author who seems to desire equally ambitious readers, the intellectual challenge of Katabasis is not an inherent disadvantage, but the story definitely does not hold the reader’s hand.

Readers can either attempt to dive deep into the nuances of each enchantment and understand how they function, or they can simply trust in Kuang’s highly original fantasy fabrication, and live in blissful ignorance of its philosophical detail. The key point in the story is that the basis of all magick is belief regardless of truth; without unjustified overconfidence that your spells will work, they will certainly fail. Thus, as Alice summarises with grim satisfaction, in Katabasis’ fantastical world: “You could do anything if you were delusional enough.”

This capacity for fooling herself comes in handy for Alice both when inscribing pentagrams, and trying to convince herself that academia is a meritocracy. The parallel between the hellish, essentially illusory nature of both magick, and academia, is one that Kuang emphasises repeatedly throughout the novel. Early in their journey, for example, Alice and Peter traipse through hell’s court of Pride, where library-dwelling souls are taunted by never-ending reading lists and ambiguously-phrased assignments – experiences that unsubtly parallel those of the two PhD students. Kuang’s laser-focus on the toxicity of academia is a particular strength of the novel, with Katabasis’ deconstruction of the tendency to glorify the mind at the expense of physical and mental health one of its most well-executed themes.

Despite the focus on elite academic environments, Katabasis never becomes overly alien to those outside of these institutions. For, although the complexity of Katabasis’ fantastical elements will likely distance any reader who lacks a philosophy degree from the minute details of the tale, the overarching message remains accessible: the novel promotes, above all, the importance of self-care and self-assurance. Salvation is achievable when characters trust their own abilities, rather than seeking endless validation, a sentiment that even those without personal experience in the many horrors of the underworld (or academia) can take inspiration from.

Katabasis is a bold work which manages to explore powerful questions of life, death, and logic, alongside painful personal realities. Once again, Kuang draws from her own experiences to scrutinise the joys and terrors of world-leading institutions, mixing in a highly original magic system to drive her points home with a blend of dark humour and unflinching emotional honesty. While laden with philosophical paradoxes ranging from the ancient to the modern, the story keeps the reader engaged with its pace, action, and humour, which all produce a propulsive, insatiable need to know what happens next.

Protests outside Oxford asylum hotel as campaigners call for unity and compassion

Laurence Cooke and Peter Chen
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Protests outside Oxford asylum hotel as campaigners call for unity and compassion

Around 50 protesters from Stand Up to Racism (SUTR) and other local groups gathered yesterday outside a Holiday Inn Express near the Kassam Stadium to oppose a smaller anti-immigration demonstration. The counter-protesters rallied in support of the asylum seekers currently housed at the hotel by the Home Office.

Section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 allows the Home Secretary to provide accommodation and support to migrants who are destitute.

Similar protests were held at the hotel last week in the wake of demonstrations against asylum hotels across the country. Local tensions have also been inflamed by an alleged hate crime outside Oxford Central Mosque on the 19th August. 

Anti-racism activists arrived from around 2.15pm holding banners and signs, which included a St George’s flag emblazoned with the words “love asylum seekers” and a banner from the Oxford Green Party. 

Across the road, anti-asylum protesters, draped in Union Jacks and St George’s flags, began gathering from approximately 3pm, with numbers reaching 20 within the hour. A police presence ensured the groups were kept separate across the road, with some anti-migrant protesters dancing along to trumpet music from the other side. Reggae music also blared from an SUTR speaker, as one English nationalist declared to the anti-racism activists: “I’ll love you all just the same.” 

Guardian columnist Nell Frizzel was spotted talking calmly with a group of opposing protesters, part of what one anti-racism protester told Cherwell was a concerted attempt to “include and re-educate the far-right”.

Other interactions were less amicable with verbal insults exchanged and one anti-immigration protester’s drone occasionally flying at low altitude over the opposing group. 

Anti-migrant protesters voiced their grievances about the recent break-ins and criminal damage in the area, which they attributed to the asylum seekers housed at the hotel. 

Each camp filmed the other side intently, with one man wearing an elaborate bodycam. Some anti-migrant protesters appeared to be local residents, and were diverse in age and gender. They continually referenced alleged sex crimes from the asylum seekers and identified the police officers present as “people you can talk to”.  

On the other side, those gathered had written welcome messages for the asylum seekers on a piece of card to be delivered into the hotel. Protesters chanted that the real enemy was not immigrants, but “profit”. 

This follows the release of an open letter by Oxford-based charity Asylum Welcome calling for “Unity and Compassion in Oxfordshire”, which has gathered more than 2,000 signatures in less than 48 hours. Signatories include Liberal Democrats MPs Calum Miller, Olly Glover, and Charlie Maynard.

Dr Hari Reed, Co-CEO of Asylum Welcome, said: “We’re living through difficult times, and acts of kindness make a world of difference. This response shows that our community rejects division and stands alongside people seeking sanctuary.”

In a statement, SUTR told Cherwell: “Racist scapegoating by politicians like Nigel Farage, Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch and the prime minister Keir Starmer has emboldened known fascists to call demonstrations around the country spilling over in to [sic.] racist intimidation and violence. 

“Far right misinformation and agitation is drawing some people’s anger at the austerity and injustices caused by the rich and powerful, by the very scapegoating politicians, and abusing it to fuel hatred that is making our communities unsafe and unwelcoming, and lets the real culprits off the hook.” 

Disclosure: one of the authors of this article, Peter Chen, volunteers at Asylum Welcome’s immigration advice clinic.

Oxford Commas at the Fringe – Interview

Lara Machado
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Oxford Commas at the Fringe – Interview

The Oxford Commas are a contemporary gender-inclusive a capella group who had their Fringe debut this year. They kindly agreed to talk to Cherwell about the trials and tribulations of preparing their new show. ‘Aca-demic Weapons’, performed at theSpace, paired anecdotes about student life with a wide repertoire of songs ranging from Justin Timberlake to Ed Sheeran. 

Cherwell: How was the rehearsal process?

Oxford Commas: Rehearsals were more intense throughout Trinity, which raised some challenges as many of our members had to contend with finals or prelims, but we’re extremely proud of the group’s commitment. We’re also grateful to St Catz, who allowed us to run our ‘Fringe Bootcamp’ the week before we went up to Edinburgh, as this helped us to add the finishing touches to our set.

Cherwell: The Fringe is often associated with theatrical productions. How did you find being a musical act in this more dramaturgical context?

Oxford Commas: There were definitely moments where we felt the difficulties of being a musical act, with some people put off from taking a flyer when they heard we were an a cappella group. However, it really helped that many a cappella groups from across the country, including The Oxford Belles and Out of the Blue, were performing at nearby venues during the same week. This lead to a strong sense of community within the genre, and we often went to watch other groups and vice versa.

Cherwell: This is your first time at the Fringe as a group, what advice would you give to other similar groups and societies wanting to do the same?

Oxford Commas: Definitely begin planning the process early. You will definitely save a lot of money (Fringe is very expensive) on venue cost, transport and accommodation, as well as be able to keep up with all the smaller things that you need to do for a successful Fringe run. Some colleges were also willing to give us grants for our Fringe run, so make sure to check for potential opportunities there. Partnering with an established Fringe venue also provides you with more promotional and media opportunities, and can help new shows seem more professional. Most importantly, enjoy it! The run-up to Fringe will seem like a logistical nightmare, but once you’re there it’s incredibly exciting and a major achievement for any group, so please take time to appreciate what you have achieved.

Cherwell: How did you select your set list and adapt your show for a Fringe audience?

Oxford Commas:  As debutants competing in an a cappella scene that featured Fringe veterans both from Oxford and elsewhere, we wanted to do something quite unique to stand out. We decided to lean heavily into life at Oxford as inspiration for our set, wearing gowns while flyering and performing, and weaving our set list around speeches relating to different aspects of Oxford life. Given the time constraints we faced (having only settled on our theme halfway through Hilary), we had to be realistic in our ambitions, so we utilised a combination of arrangements from earlier this year, and some new arrangements to create a coherent set that fit our theme. The gowns definitely made a big impact while flyering, and our speeches were well received by audiences too.

Cherwell: Did anything about the process surprise you?

Oxford Commas: Flyering was a lot more enjoyable than many of us anticipated. While a whole day of convincing passers-by with cries of “Oxford A cappella” was far from ideal for our voices before the show, it was lovely to see just how many people were actually interested in our concept and stopped to talk to us about it. It was also surprising to see just how effective flyering actually was. Many shows might have a tendency to invest heavily in posters and advertising boards, and as fun as it may be to see yourself across Edinburgh, the majority of your audience will be gained through the group’s hard work on the ground. Pre-show busks accompanied by flyering worked incredibly well for us.

‘Aca-demic Weapons’ at the Fringe: Oxford Commas Review

Alexander Kwon
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‘Aca-demic Weapons’ at the Fringe: Oxford Commas Review

★★★★☆

A capella groups from Oxford have long been favourites at the Edinburgh Fringe, with Out of the Blue, Oxford Gargoyles and Oxford Belles often returning year-after-year to sold out performances and enthusiastic audiences. This year however marked a new act on the festival scene: The Oxford Commas. Self-described Aca-demic Weapons, and dripped out in their sub-fusc (commoners and scholars alike), they burst out into song with their opening number ‘Believer’ by Imagine Dragons.

With a confident and self-aware quirkiness, the entire ensemble delivered each number with passion. Spoken interludes from the group’s members included jokes about student life at Oxford covering everything from exam stress to college marriages,accompanied with gentle swaying chords from the Commas. The performance sustained  a delightful energy with every member of the 13-strong ensemble engaging and interacting with the audience. From a rendition of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ with numerous references to the movie Saltburn (including a graveyard scene featuring Slane’s iconic hymn melody ‘Lord of All Hopefulness’) to Måneskin’s ‘Beggin’’ which included a particularly vibrant tenor solo. 

Despite the high-octane atmosphere curated throughout, there were some extremely beautiful moments shared in the intimacy of quartets and slower chorale-like sections in songs, which showed off the close rapport and rich basso profundo sound many of the ensemble possessed. It was in some of these moments however, that minor intonation issues were exposed.

Some of the show’s highlights were a particularly humorous interaction with an audience member in Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’, and the choreography during the medley of ‘Do You Mind’ and ‘Poison’ which saw the ensemble dashing across the stage and singing to each other in a tightly coordinated frenzy. Comparatively, the choreography of many of the other numbers felt slightly stilted. The somewhat indulgent body-swaying that occasionally gripped the singers felt much weaker than the more engaging and active movements.

Overall, Aca-demic Weapons was a thrilling debut show that really showcased the passion and energy that the group bring to every song. Hopefully, this means a return to the Fringe in 2026.

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