Monday 30th June 2025
Blog Page 346

Oxford academics awarded prominent EU research grants

Hope Philpott
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Oxford academics awarded prominent EU research grants

Four Oxford University academics have been awarded major European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grants. Funded by the European Union, the grants of up to £2.2 million each and over £500m in total will allow pioneering research and generate 1900 new research jobs at 14 universities in EU Member States and associated countries. 

The four Oxford winners are among 51 UK grant recipients, a total surpassing that of any other country. UK researchers qualify for the grants because the UK is an “associated country” to the ERC under the Horizon Europe scheme. Writing on their website, the ERC describes the research as “for the benefit of all EU citizens”. The ERC further noted the importance of strong UK-EU ties, and told Cherwell that “up to half” of those recieving ERC Starting Grants in the UK are EU nationals.

Among the Oxford researchers awarded the grants are Professor Ros Rickaby at the Department of Earth Sciences for her research proposal ‘SCOOBI – Seeking Constraints on Open Ocean Biocalcification.’, which aims to further understand the ocean’s complex ecosystem and carbon cycle in response to the Earth’s changing climate through the study of coccolithophores and foraminifera (single-celled mineralising phytoplankton). 

Professor Renier van der Hoorn of the Department of Plant Sciences received funding to continue his work looking into unlocking extracellular immunity for new crop protection strategies, which are essential to feeding a growing world population. Plant pathogens decrease food production by between 18 and 30%, and these losses are expected to increase with climate change and reduced agrochemical use.

Professor Federico Varese at the Department of Sociology received an Advanced Grant for his research ‘Production, Trade and Governance: A New Framework for the Understanding of Organized Crime’. His project will attempt to understand organised crime through a new framework, breaking traditional disciplinary boundaries between the social sciences, and adopting a global outlook. It will investigate organised crime from local cybercrime production hubs in Europe, to the international trade of drugs from Colombia to Europe, and the emergence of criminal governance inside and outside prisons.

Professor Masooda Bano at the Oxford Department of International Development has been awarded funding for her research ‘Choosing Islamic Conservatism: Muslim Youth in Europe and the UK and the Question of Social Cohesion’, which explores the persistent appeal of Islamic conservatism among young Muslims in Europe and the UK. Professor Bano’s project will take cues from the growing interest in the role of neighbourhoods in religious socialisation, and develop a unique approach to understanding the ‘stickiness’ of Islamic conservatism in the West.

Women comprised 22% of applicants for and 23% of recipients of the grants, which represents a ‘steady increase’ in female applicants from previous years. However, the ERC seeks further gender parity in applications and told Cherwell it “hope to see more public authorities, universities and research institutions encourage women’s participation in all fields of science and also in the ERC grant competitions”.

Image: Guillaume Périgois via unsplash.com

SU Fair Outcomes for Students releases update

Flora Dyson
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SU Fair Outcomes for Students releases update

The Student Union’s Fair Outcomes for Students campaign has released two new goals for the future. It aims to open more study spaces and to ensure that  “students have the tools and resources available to them to fill out Mitigating Circumstances Notices to Examiners (MCEs) and Explanatory Statements.”

The campaign, which launched in January 2021, demands more study spaces to provide “quiet spaces open for their continuing study over the busy exam and assessment period in Trinity term.” It “also [wants] to support students who may feel like their room is not the best place for their exam, and thus would like to find alternative venues in which they can sit their exams.”

Fair Outcomes for Students aims to ensure students are provided with resources to fill out MCEs and Explanatory Statements. The campaign encourages “all students to keep disruption logs where they feel like the ongoing pandemic has affected their studies and to make a note of the universities recommendations on what to include in disruption logs, MCEs, and explanatory statements.”

The campaign has already achieved “improvements to [the] Mitigating Circumstances process”. Oxford University agreed to remove “the need to provide independent medical evidence” and “the need for students to seek and gain college approval for submitting Mitigating Circumstances notices to Examiners.” 

It has also successfully campaigned for the University to “allow for the submission of explanatory statements which highlight any barrier [students have] faced in completing their work. These will be provided to examiners during the marking phase, which means they will have an impact directly on student marks, not just classifications.” 

The campaign also has seen the University adjust paper averages. Fair Outcomes for Students believe this “guarantees that paper averages for medium and large cohorts which are below a small average range will be brought in line to the pre-pandemic average.”

Image credit: Tejvan Pettinger / CC BY 2.0

Christ Church Cathedral plans to add new accessible entrance

Jill Cushen
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Christ Church Cathedral plans to add new accessible entrance

Plans for the installation of a new level access entrance through Christ Church Cathedral have been approved by Oxford City Council. The updates to the building will allow for “step-free” access to the east entrance of the Cathedral. 

The entrance to the cathedral is through a passageway called the Slype which will be refurbished for the use of a dressing room for the choir and as a workspace for the Cathedral embroiderers. The work will include the replacement of a 20th century window with a new door and the addition of a level-access ramp.

According to a statement detailing the planned adjustments, the Cathedral said that the “proposal has been designed to have as minimal impact on the historic building fabric as possible”.  

Oxford City Council granted planning permission subject to a series of conditions in order to “preserve the character and special interest of the building” and “prevent damage to known or suspected elements of the historic environment of the people of Oxford and their visitors, including Late Saxon, medieval and post-medieval remains”. 

A spokesperson for Christ Church Cathedral told Cherwell: “We’re pleased that Oxford City Council has approved our plans to reopen a historic doorway into one of the buildings that makes up the Cathedral complex. The plans form part of the refurbishment of the room, known as the Slype, which serves as a robing room for our Cathedral Choir.” 

They added: “The reinstated doorway will provide an accessible route to the burial ground behind the Cathedral, and is part of our commitment at Christ Church to make our historic buildings as accessible as possible for the benefit of students, staff and visitors. All being well, the work will be carried out over the next few months.”

Image Credit: Mike Peel / CC-BY-SA 4.0

Landmark Oxford malaria vaccine 77% effective

Charlie Hancock
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Landmark Oxford malaria vaccine 77% effective

A vaccine against malaria developed by the University of Oxford has been found to be 77% effective in a Phase IIb trial conducted in Burkina Faso. 

The vaccine is the most effective one to be developed against malaria so far. The Mosquirix vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline was found to be only 39% effective at preventing malaria infections, and 29% of severe malaria cases. The vaccine was developed by Oxford University in partnership with the Serum Institute of India and Novavax was the first to achieve the efficacy target of at least 75% which was set out by the World Health Organisation.

Malaria is the sixth largest cause of death in developing countries, killing an estimated 400,000 people a year. Most of these deaths occur in young children. The disease’s symptoms include a high fever, muscle pains, and diarrhea. These can lead to fatal complications such as dehydration, anaemia, and organ failure.  

Director of the Jenner Institute, Professor Adrian Hill, said: “These new results support our high expectations for the potential of this vaccine, which we believe is the first to reach the WHO’s goal of a vaccine for malaria with at least 75% efficacy.

“With the commitment by our commercial partner, the Serum Institute of India, to manufacture at least 200 million doses annually in the coming years, the vaccine has the potential to have a major public health impact if licensure is achieved”.

The disease is caused by single-cell parasites from the genus Plasmodium. Plasmodium infects its host via the bite of an Anopheles mosquito, and reproduces inside the host’s red blood cells. 

INLINE A map showing the historic and present prevalence of malaria in 2009. Image: World Development Report / CC BY SA via Wikimedia Commons

Common preventative measures against the disease include prophylactic medications and sleeping under mosquito nets impregnated with insecticide. Professor Hill emphasised that such measures should continue, but added that the Jenner Institute might apply for emergency approval for the vaccine. 

Professor Charlemagne Ouédraogo, Minister of Health in Burkina Faso said: “Malaria is one of the leading causes of childhood mortality in Africa. We have been supporting trials of a range of new vaccine candidates in Burkina Faso and these new data show that licensure of a very useful new malaria vaccine could well happen in the coming years. That would be an extremely important new tool for controlling malaria and saving many lives”.

The researchers are currently recruiting 4,800 volunteers for the third phase of the trial. While the second phase included 450 participants aged between 5-17 months who live in the Nanoro agea of Burkina Faso, Phase III will include volunteers aged 4-36 months across four African countries. 

Director of Advocacy at Malaria No More UK, Gareth Jenkins, said: “An effective and safe malaria vaccine would be a hugely significant extra weapon in the armoury needed to defeat malaria, which still kills over 270,000 children every year. For decades, British scientists have been at the forefront of developing new ways to detect, diagnose, test and treat malaria, and we must continue to back them.

“A world without malaria is a world safer both for the children who would otherwise be killed by this disease, and for us here at home. Countries freed from the malaria burden will be much better equipped to fight off new disease threats when they inevitably emerge in the future.”

Image: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Library / Public Domain

EXCLUSIVE: Oxbridge societies launch joint fundraiser for COVID-19 relief in India after raising initial £10,000 in under 72 hours

Matthew Schaffel
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EXCLUSIVE: Oxbridge societies launch joint fundraiser for COVID-19 relief in India after raising initial £10,000 in under 72 hours

The Oxford India Society, Oxford Hindu Society, and Oxford South Asian Society’s fundraiser has reached its target of £10,000 less than 72 hours after its launch on Wednesday 28th April. The societies had initially hoped to meet their target within the first ten days of the fundraiser.

The Oxford societies have now partnered with the Cambridge University India Society, the Cambridge South Asia Forum, and the Cambridge University Bharatiya Society. They are now launching a joint fundraiser with the new goal of raising £50,000 in 10 days.

A group of representatives for the societies also featured on ITV, discussing the issues in India and the launch of the initial fundraiser. Those interviewed were Anvee Bhutani and Suyesha Dutta, Presidents of the Oxford India Society and Oxford South Asian Society respectively, and Shreyas Rajesh, Religious Officer at the Oxford Hindu Society.

A joint statement from the Oxford societies said: “We want to thank the community for the amazing support we have received over the last few days to reach our initial goal of £10,000 in such a short time. We would like to take this momentum forward and increase the scope of our fundraiser. Having met our initial goal, we are going to collaborate with the Cambridge University community, joining with the Cambridge University India Society, the Cambridge South Asia Forum and the Cambridge University Bharatiya Society to work towards our ambitious new goal of raising £50,000 for the cause.”

“The first £10,000 that we raised will be committed to the following four NGOs which we have identified as high priority aid recipients:

  1. The Raah Foundation (Maharashtra)
  2. SEEDS (contributing towards their work in Uttar Pradesh).
  3. The Delhi Solidarity Group
  4. Mercy Mission (Bengaluru)

“As we raise more money, we will increase the number of NGOs we are donating to and seek to positively impact a wider cross section of the country and alleviate the crisis. Once again, we would like to thank everyone for their support thus far and continuing on.”

The Cambridge societies involved also released the following statement: “We are all devastated to see India being ravaged by the second wave of COVID-19. The aggressive second wave has led to an exponential rise in cases and deaths, resulting in a record high of over 208,000 reported deaths and 350,000 daily confirmed cases. The last seven days have been particularly distressing. The country is experiencing the world’s fastest growing COVID outbreak, with a cumulative total of more than 18.8 million infections.

“Lack of availability of hospital beds, oxygen cylinders, ventilators, life-saving drugs, medical supplies and ambulances have crippled existing healthcare infrastructures. The COVID catastrophe has also displaced and threatened the livelihood of millions of migrant labourers and people living below the poverty line. We urge the international community and the South Asian diaspora to step forward to help us raise funds to support ongoing COVID relief efforts in India.”

Anvee Bhutani, President of the Oxford India Society, commented: “It feels surreal to have raised the full amount so quickly and I am very excited about our collaboration. I think raising awareness around the issue is so important and I’m grateful that ITV gave us the chance to talk more about the problems that those on the ground in India are facing.”

Suyesha Dutta, President of the Oxford South Asian Society added: “Being at the epicentre in New Delhi has provided me with a real-time view of the crisis as it unfolds. I’ve already interviewed with media houses like ITV, who are drawing serious global attention to India. Yet, one forgets to highlight how the Indian youth is at the helm of our COVID relief effort. As a relief volunteer myself, watching the Oxbridge youth parallelly come together at such a crucial stage is therefore remarkable.”

Aditya Dabral, President of the Oxford Hindu Society commented: “We’re delighted at the progress of the fundraiser. Our hope is that we keep the momentum going with this collaboration and that we continue to make a meaningful difference to the situation on the ground.”

Shreyas Rajesh, the Religious Officer of the Oxford Hindu Society said: “I’m very grateful to have been featured speaking about this incredibly important topic on ITV news. My community back home is still struggling tremendously with the ongoing covid crisis, so I’m really glad to see people here taking an interest. It’s also rewarding to see how well the Oxford campaign for India has done in its initial stages.”

Image Credit: Pexels/pixabay.com

Books I’m Reading this Ramadan

Moneeka Thakur
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Books I’m Reading this Ramadan

I’m an avid reader. I like to think that I have read plenty over the course of my life, ranging from heart-warming romantic comedies (that I rarely admit to reading in public) to the “serious fiction” that is often esteemed by various prize shortlists. An area I am not properly acquainted with, however, is Islamic literature. As a Muslim and someone who loves to read, I am unsure why this is.

Like many others in Britain, my religious upbringing often entailed a lot of seriousness and obliquity. The rules and scriptures of Islam were nearly always in relation to what was frowned upon, impermissible and forbidden. I was also taught how to read Arabic by only learning the pronunciation of words rather than their meaning when reading the Quran. As a result, a lot of what I learnt was second-hand. The majority of these opinions presented religion as foreboding rather than something loving. 

The trepidation that this information instilled in me likely averted my interest in finding out more about my faith. However, after an uncertain and strange year, I now feel ready to explore answers for myself. This Ramadan, I want to address this gap and read a few books that not only address my religion but embrace it. Ramadan is a highlight of the Islamic calendar and involves a month of self-reflection and improvement as well as abstinence from food and water. Gaining knowledge is hugely celebrated within Islam, and with more time on my hands not eating or drinking, this spiritual month is the perfect opportunity to learn something new. 

After having a search, here are the books I’m adding to my reading list:  

Jalal Al-Din Rumi, A Treasury of Rumi’s Wisdom – Treasury in Islamic Thought and Civilization

You will learn by reading, but you will understand with love  – Rumi

A 13th century Persian poet, Rumi has been revered through centuries around the world. His poems continue to be best-sellers to this day, selling millions of copies in a multitude of languages over the past decade alone. Renowned as a mystic, preacher, and spiritual master, Rumi is not often identified as being Muslim, something Rozina Ali explores in her wonderful article “The Erasure of Islam from the Poetry of Rumi”. Islam is in fact at the centre of much of Rumi’s writing, with the religion influencing his captivating explorations of love and mortality.

As someone who has always found poetry dense and difficult to traverse throughout my many years of studying literature, I am surprisingly excited to explore Rumi’s work. The simplicity of his words remain as relevant as ever while also concealing layers of meaning that one can lose afternoons exploring. This anthology, edited and translated by Dr Muhammad Isa Waley, offers brilliant insight into Rumi’s writing as both a poet and spiritual guide.

A. Helwa, Secrets of Divine Love

Some linguists say that the word Allah is based on the word wa-liha, which translates to a love so passionate and ecstatic that it completely transcends the senses – A. Helwa  

Love is at the centre of Helwa’s book, a text that is described as a spiritual journey into the heart of Islam. Love is the word her work begins with and the force that guides her writing as she displays deep affection for not only her faith but for her reader too. 

Helwa’s dreamy exploration of religion diverges from the teachings I was familiar with as a child. She also describes how ‘growing up I was never taught how to love and be loved by God’, leading to feelings of detachment and being adrift. However, in her early twenties, she experienced a transformative reconnection with her faith that led to the writing and publication of this book. 

Consisting of scientific evidence, exercises and guided meditations, Helwa’s work not only examines the history and teachings of Islam but ways to incorporate this knowledge into daily life. Her gentle words offer welcome calm amidst the business of daily life. 

Mariam Khan, et al., It’s Not About the Burqa 

Writing is dangerous because we are afraid of what the writing reveals: the fears, the angers, the strengths – Mariam Khan 

My final choice differs from the first two, in that it is not specifically an exploration of Islamic spirituality. Instead, this collection challenges comments made by former Prime Minster David Cameron in 2016 as he stated that the radicalisation of Muslim men can be linked to the “traditional submissiveness” of Muslim women. A couple of years later, current prime minister Boris Johnson made his infamous comparison between women who wear the niqab and “letterboxes”.

Khan brings together seventeen voices that challenge these limited views, providing a platform for the Muslim women who are so often portrayed as silent and ‘submissive’, both in politics and popular culture. In this collection, the Islamophobia and misogyny that often leads to negative media portrayals of Muslim women is challenged, with the women’s stories tackling these misconceptions.  Their own experience of the hijab, love and divorce, feminism, sexuality and queer identity are highlighted by the collection. This book has been on my ‘To Be Read’ list for a while now, and like the others, I am certain it will not disappoint.

With one week of Ramadan already flying by, I am looking forward to making the most of the rest of this month by diving into this literature. Everybody’s journey with spirituality is intrinsic to them and through reading these books, I hope to connect with my faith through knowledge I have explored myself. Through their fascinating portrayals of beauty, love and womanhood, these books make exciting reads for readers of all backgrounds beyond the Muslim world. Overall, I am excited at combining two things that are dear to me, my passion for literature and my faith, in order to discover new things about both and perhaps even myself.

Image Credit: Faris Algosaibi (CC BY 2.0), via Flickr.

Review: ‘Justice’ by Justin Bieber – A New Era or Familiar Failings?

Raman Handa
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Review: ‘Justice’ by Justin Bieber – A New Era or Familiar Failings?

Justin’s last era was something of a minor disaster. It was intended to be a pleasant, unassuming and uncontroversial pop album that critics could ignore, and the mainstream would put in adverts and “chill vibes” playlists. But when ‘Yummy’ was released, he was met with immediate scorn and derision. This only intensified as the era continued, with desperate promotional tactics (including encouragement of streaming fraud), his laughably juvenile follow up ‘Intentions’, and the widely panned album itself, with its sterile take on trap and RnB.

And so just 8 short months after his last era had begun, a new one had been announced and was accompanied by a new lead single. Therefore, the question is, does Justice succeed where Changes failed?

The answer is… almost. This is almost the perfectly mediocre and unremarkable pop record and era that Justin must have wanted the first time, with singles like ‘Peaches’ even managing to get a little positive buzz. The beat is colourful, sweet, and groovy. Giveon and Daniel Caesar turn in great performances, and if Justin doesn’t outdo them, he doesn’t get completely blown away either (though his shitty adlibs nearly derail the entire song). 

This is also (unfortunately) the only good bop on this entire project. The production on most of the other songs is noticeably cheap and bad, manifesting most clearly in the bass-work (and especially the drops) across the record. The bass is frequently ugly, weak and completely incongruous with the songs it is meant to support: this is most egregiously seen on the worst single ‘Hold On’ (no more words on this one, it just sounds like trash), but also in songs like ‘Die For You’ (whose main other characteristic is Dominic Fike’s utterly anonymous feature), ‘Deserve You’ (which ruins one of Justin’s better vocal performances) and on the lead single ‘Holy’.

However, production is not the greatest sin ‘Holy’ commits. Indeed, I actually really like the gospel piano that kicks the song off, and Justin’s opening verse (“I know a lot about sinners/guess I won’t be a saint”) and pre-chorus (“the way you hold me… feels so holy”), while nothing special, definitely fit and set the mood. Yet, this is immediately ruined by the lyric “Oh God/Running to the altar like a track-star”, which, accompanied by the muddy-too-modern pop bass farting through the timeless instrumentation preceding, wrecks the song beyond all recovery. 

This is not to say that it doesn’t get worse. Far from it: we are also treated to a truly heinous verse from fellow Christian wife-guy Chance the Rapper, who drops turds like, “I’m a believer my heart is fleshy/life is short with a temper like Joe Pesci”. 

Nevertheless, musical deficiencies are not the most distasteful element of the album. That would, of course, be the MLK Jr samples (a sentence that should not exist in reference to a Justin Bieber album). A little before the halfway point Justin decides to include an interlude by Martin Luther King, a snippet of a speech where he excoriates people who refuse to stand up for what they know is right, claiming they have committed a form of spiritual suicide. On an album about racial injustice – or at least with some commentary on this issue – this could be a powerful moment. However, this is a collection of mediocre love songs by a white man who has proven himself incapable of using AAVE (“pimps and the players say don’t go crushin” – eugh) and in this context, a powerful statement about justice and the nature of the soul is about… loving your wife…The mind reels.

In summary, we have a bloated, near-anonymous album that would be a decent 5/10 with a lot of filler, but also some decent and even a couple of very good songs, and we could call it a day. Still, the thoroughly misguided attempt at “political content” seriously damaged my ability to enjoy or appreciate the few diamonds in its tedious, forgettable, and almost genre-less rough. 

Image credit:  Budiey via Flickr & Creative Commons/CC BY-NC 2.0

Oxford: a fossil fool?

Matilda Gettins
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Oxford: a fossil fool?

Tobacco is the cause of millions of deaths each year. The University of Oxford does not accept any gifts from the tobacco industry due to these detrimental effects of public health. The University does, however, accept donations from fossil fuel companies. This is incredibly hypocritical, given that fossil fuel companies actively and knowingly exacerbate the climate crisis, the greatest threat to global health of this century. In less than 10 years, the climate crisis will cause an additional 250 000 deaths per year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Over a third of these will be due to childhood undernutrition. If the university wishes to remain at all consistent, it must stop accepting funding from fossil fuel companies. 

From 2015 onwards, Oxford has received at least £8.2 million in research grants, and at least £3.7 million in donations from fossil fuel companies. These findings were revealed on April 20th by the student-led Oxford Climate Justice Campaign (OCJC) in the report ‘Money, People, Reputation: Oxford’s ties with the Fossil Fuel Industry’. 

Naturally, not all connections between the University and the private sector are inherently bad. The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine is a joint venture which is having a massive positive impact on public health. It is a perfect example of the university using its research capacity to fulfill its vision of “[benefitting] society on a local, regional, national and global scale”.

The fossil fuel industry, however, has no interest in improving public health, nor in benefitting society in general. On the contrary; fossil-fuel caused air pollution causes millions of deaths each year – 8.7 million deaths in 2018 alone – despite the industry having known about these effects for over 50 years. 

Fossil fuel companies knowingly perpetuate the climate crisis, which the WHO describes as “the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century”. The climate crisis amplifies the number of urban heat waves and water supply issues, increases the geographic range of vector-borne diseases such as malaria, and increases the frequency and intensity of drought at a regional and global scale. It has disproportionate and violent impacts on those already discriminated against most, including people in the global south and indigenous peoples.

The University is not unaware of these effects. When passing its partial divestment resolution in April 2020, it admitted that the “growing threat of climate change to society and the environment” required that “drastic actions” be taken if the University wished to be “part of the climate crisis solution”. The Oxford Martin School even hosts a council on planetary health, which is dedicated to understanding the links between environmental factors and human health.

The University of Oxford has written guidelines on how to treat funding and donations it receives. It should not accept funding deemed “unethical” or which might “seriously harm the reputation of the collegiate University”. The climate crisis’ disproportionate effects on already disadvantaged groups, and the exploitative manner in which many fossil fuel companies operate, are sufficient grounds for denouncing the fossil fuel industry as “unethical”. Climate justice already provides sufficient grounds for rejecting funding from fossil fuels. 

Another argument lies by way of precedent. The University has banned accepting donations from tobacco companies due to the “great harm to public health” caused by the industry. The actions of fossil fuel companies very evidently also cause “great harm to public health”. In fact, these negative impacts are steadily growing with the increasingly severe climate crisis.

Back in 2013, Guardian author Monbiot queried what the “ethical difference between taking tobacco money for cancer research and taking fossil fuel money for energy research” is. He lamented how none of the numerous academics he asked “were prepared even to attempt an answer”. This silence marks a simple, but inconvenient truth: there is no substantial difference. 

Image credit: Jaime Fearer via Flickr/ License: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Review: Oxford Mind Comedy Gala

Noah Cohen-Greenberg and Owen Foster
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Review: Oxford Mind Comedy Gala

Zoom comedy might not be in-person comedy, but at the Oxfordshire Mind Comedy Gala on Saturday night, it was actually kind of… fun? Stand-ups Ivo Graham, Janine Harouni, Huge Davies, Helen Bauer, Chelsea Birkby, Rosie Jones, and Nish Kumar proved that online comedy works, and MC Alex Farrow kept an impressive crowd of over 450 concurrent viewers comfortable (though, as he joked, they were in their own homes). The show benefited Mind UK, a charity supporting mental health initiatives headed by Stephen Fry, who spoke briefly to the crowd in a recorded address.

There were two questions heading into the night: how much money could the crowd raise, and how well have the comedians adapted their acts to fit the online format? Both questions were answered emphatically, as the audience raised over £3000 and the comedians employed a multitude of fresh tactics.

Helen Bauer and Chelsea Birkby felt most at home on Zoom. Helen’s infectious enthusiasm and high-energy style worked well in what can be a stifling format. Her constant motion and wonderfully over-the-top delivery made it feel as though you were right there with her while she excitedly gossiped to you at a high-school lunch table. On the other hand, Chelsea made you acutely aware that you were watching an online performance by zooming into her face for punchlines and displaying various images related to her jokes. Both of these comedians took advantage of the format, which helped them stand out in a line up crowded with bigger names.

Janine Harouni and Huge Davies chose to lean into the format less. For Janine, this worked fine; though she didn’t necessarily embrace Zoom, she certainly embraced the content of the year with funny quarantine jokes. Unfortunately, the inconsistent audio quality of Huge Davies’ keyboard combined with his deadpan delivery couldn’t bring back the energy lost to the online format, though he still drew laughs.

There were two questions heading into the night: how much money could the crowd raise, and how well have the comedians adapted their acts to fit the online format? Both questions were answered emphatically, as the audience raised over £3000.

The more famous comedians could rely on established personalities and crowd-work to keep the audience engaged. Ivo Graham’s set felt less like you were watching him on-stage at the Apollo and more like he had joined your weekly family Zoom. Affable and quick-witted, he coyly lamented the hyper-active chat and charmingly engaged with the audience. Rosie Jones, a clear fan-favourite, came prepared with perhaps the best one-liners of the night, which landed just as well on Zoom as they do on stage. Nish Kumar drew immediate laughs for his dishevelled quarantine hair and kept the laughter going through an effortless and impressive set containing mostly political humour: Boris, Tories, Paddington Bear (?), and being repeatedly branded a Marxist by the media (in the interest of making him feel better, we found him fascistic).

Though no one’s protesting a return to in-person comedy, everybody left this Zoom show smiling. As Helen Bauer noted, although the comedians were not going to get paid, they were going to get the money back from the charity eventually.

Image credit: Index on Censorship via Wikimedia Commons/ License: CC BY 2.0

Black Lives Playlist: Track One Preview

James Newbery
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Black Lives Playlist: Track One Preview

I recently had the privilege of interviewing Sam Spencer and watching the first part of his new project Black Lives Playlist. Having watched the first part (which Sam both wrote and directed), all I can say is that this is a piece that simply cannot be missed. Sam’s script is perfectly suited to the zoom-format. The setting of a video-conferencing platform lends a powerfully claustrophobic sense of unease to the play, causing the audience to (somewhat paradoxically) as if they are actually sitting in a theatre. In terms of direction, Spencer also makes excellent use of simple but effective visuals throughout the play, such as the clever use of mirror in the background of shots that add visual richness to particularly the climax of the play. Track One is beautifully underscored by an original soundtrack by Georgina Lloyd-Owen, who is currently studying music at Abbey Road. Lloyd-Owen and the team have sourced a number of black singers to recreate “Oh Freedom!”—a popular gospel song that was first sung on slave plantations. I must also commend the actors Kaitlin Horton-Samuel (Terri) and Suen Matiluko (who plays the mysteriously named ‘The Caller’), who both deliver their performances with real subtlety and emotional honesty. This is a project that puts the black creative talent of the Oxford drama scene centre stage—and I for one can’t wait until it is out for people to see!

What inspired you to make the Black Lives Playlist?

Hilary 2020: I had written a full two-act play, Quartet. I was so excited! It featured a live on-stage jazz band throughout; it felt was a contemporary response to the hope we had for a 2020s Gatsby-era Renaissance; I had it workshopped with SOTA… And then the pandemic hit.

I wrote Track 1 this time last year. It was born jointly as a reaction both to the pandemic and to the murders of Black Americans that rocked 2020. It was my Lockdown Project to get me through Trinity term. Adapting to online technology was a necessity but I also felt that recent events provided a long-due kick in the backside to get narratives about Black experiences into the Oxford drama scene. Sure, we have ‘inclusive casting’, but this inclusivity isn’t currently extending into the voices being produced as far as it should.

When I showed the Track 1 script to Sruti Basak (co-founder of our production company, Strikes Back) she loved it, but we felt that there was more to be said. There was more I wanted to write about what it means to be Black – in all its complexities and diversities – in modern Britain.

And so the Black Lives Playlist was created! The Playlist exists as an anthology series that can be added to endlessly with additional “tracks”. We want it to be creative and responsive, deploying different mediums and genres and narratives. It has so much potential!

Is there anyone who has particularly influenced your writing style?

I could list so many. Russell T Davies, Steven Moffat, Tony McNamara, Michaela Coel, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jordan Peele, Zadie Smith, Ari Aster, Armando Iannucci…

This is probably heretical for someone in OUDS, but television drama is where my heart lies! I like to draw my inspiration from all sorts of writers though. Like literary pick’n’mix. I agree with what a teacher of mine always used to say: “content dictates form”. Once I have an idea, a form will naturally present itself as the most appropriate, and from there I draw from all the different sources I have until the best style for the project emerges.

In terms of Track 1, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith’s Inside No.9 was very important. Each episode has a very theatrical quality: a tightly knit drama in one location with a limited cast, often claustrophobic as comedy descends into dark thriller. I wanted this for Track 1. Once I had a rough plot and concept established, I placed my two characters in a Zoom meeting and just let them talk. It was such a refreshing way to write. Usually, in my experience of writing predominantly for television drama, everything is very methodical and broken down into beats, structure, and an ABC plot. Track 1 was very different – the beats didn’t come from plot but character, led by their conversation. It became a 27-page dance between Terri and the Caller, sometimes pulling apart, sometimes stepping closer. Our actors, Kaitlin and Seun, play this fantastically!

How has working online during the pandemic affected the project? What do you think the future of theatre holds after we come out of lockdown?

The pandemic really slowed everything down and complicated the whole process. The original plan was for the Black Lives Playlist to be a feature-length film, with three “tracks” joined into a triptych, but the pandemic stopped this from happening. In a sense though, this was a blessing in disguise. Now, we have much for freedom to approach the Playlist as an ongoing project that we can add to, rather than forcing out it as one singular unit.

As for the second question: Christ, I have no idea! Not a clue. I think the rest of 2021 will be a difficult chess match between our desperation to finally get back to normal life (and hug people again!) and acknowledging that COVID will still be here even when the government tells us we can open up again.

But I can’t wait to be back in theatres. I want cast parties. I want warm-ups to 80s disco. I want that collaborative, sparky atmosphere in the rehearsal room that Zoom just can’t replicate. And I want to hear a live orchestra in a big blockbuster musical!

Can you give us any hints about what lies beyond Track 1?

Track 2 is written and ready to go. At the time of writing, I’m hunting out a team to help produce it. Track 2 is a one-man monologue in which The Speaker jumps between past and present as a tells us his story of family tension, painful hook-ups, and closeted romance. I drew a lot from Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Michaela Coel on this – with just a touch of Lil Nas X sliding down a pole into hell. It feels very personal and very scary but very exciting. If all goes to plan, Track 2 will be ready in time for the end of this Trinity term.

Me and Sruti are keen that the Playlist continues even after we step back from it to focus on Finals. If there are any Black creatives reading this who would be interested in creating their own “tracks”, please do get in touch as [email protected].

Go to Spotify playlist?

I made my own “Chill” playlist – perfect background music for a boozy but relaxed night in with mates. Aretha Franklin, Amy Winehouse, Blondie, Etta James, Plan B. It slaps.

Black Lives Playlist in three words:

Much-needed melanin.

Black Lives Playlist: Track One is free and premieres Sunday 9th May, 8PM. 

To see more details, please see the Strikes Back Production Company page on Facebook. 

Image Credit: Peter Miller.

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