Friday 25th July 2025
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Citizenship Preview – ‘challenges the binary of sexuality’

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Citizenship Preview – ‘challenges the binary of sexuality’

When Mark Ravenhill’s Citizenship was first performed, over ten years ago in 2006 at the National Theatre, Britain was a different place. It is sometimes difficult to remember how much mass cultural understanding of social issues has changed since ten years ago, but this shift in social understanding is traceable even legally. The law may have protected the rights of those in the LGBTQ + community in 2006, but we must remember that gay marriage was only legalised in 2013, coming into effect in 2014. It is also true that the LGBTQ + community was less visible in the early 2000s than it is today. For example, there would have been significantly less bisexual representation – something Citizenship clearly aims to combat.

The question that arises from this is: why perform Citizenship now? Does it still hold relevance in a society with a more open mentality and when performed to a group of students, a traditionally progressive demographic? The director, Anna Myrmus, has some strong answers to these questions. She talks about how bisexual representation is still something lacking in theatre and in art, and how questions of sexuality tend to be represented in a binary. There are two options and one is expected to choose between them. Citizenship is relevant because instead it explores one’s ability to choose neither of those options.

Myrmus also speaks of the play’s specific relevance to a university audience. I spoke to her about how the characters in the play, like university students, are questioning who they are, what they want and how to navigate the world around them. A coming-of-age play, and the questions it throws up, is relevant to those who have upped and left everything they know, to study in a new city with new people.

I saw the opening scene of the play and a scene from the middle. In the first scene we watch Tom (Henry Waddon), the central character of the play, allow his friend Amy (Olivia Krauze) to pierce his ear as part of a vodka-sipping, nurofen-popping and Dettol-soaked-needle-involving, series of panicked decisions. Waddon presents his character well. He comes across as young, foolish and scared. His awkward physicality enhances the audience’s sense of his youthfulness and his facial expressions lack the weight of responsibility that one gains in adulthood. Mark Ravenhill’s script holds up well, and the self-consciousness that Waddon and Krauze embody with their characters gives the script’s naturalism and subtle humour a chance to shine.

The later scene, between Tom and Gary (Stevie Polywka), comes into its own in the quiet moments when Gary asks Tom: “What do you want?”, to which Tom replies: “I don’t know…maybe I’ll do Amy”. The stillness of the scene seems brutally true to life.  Citizenship is the kind of play that one leaves without answers. Instead, we are left with a sense of comfort that no-one really knows any of the answers, and we are all desperately trying to figure them out as much as the next person.

Citizenship, by Nightjar Theatre Productions is on from the 30th October – 3rd November at the BT Studio.

Music, Magic, and Bridging the Gap

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Music, Magic, and Bridging the Gap

Perhaps the most frequently exalted properties of music are its abilities to transport, transform, and bewitch. The ability of a song, movement, or lyric, whether at a warehouse rave or the Royal Albert Hall, to summarily relocate a listener is often cited as some nameless, indescribable power.

The magic in music is found in this ineffability. It is a medium to which we relate on a primarily sensory basis, but one steeped in cultural tradition. In joining these two distinct levels of consciousness, music acquires an innately magical property, as it bridges a perceivable, but indescribable gap. It is for this reason that magic in music is so recurrent, the successful combination of unconscious emotion and rational experience remains both an extraordinary process and experience.

As any student with walls blessed by posters of The Jimi Hendrix Experience album covers can tell you, the years of the 60s and 70s saw allusion after allusion to the mystical, spectral, and illusory. Aside from Jimi, whose riffs alone are often described as transcendent, Bowie, Santana, Fleetwood Mac, Ozzy, and Yoko Ono all fell under the apparently alluring spell of including magical elements in their creations. Countless artists of varying backgrounds and genres chose to evoke the supernatural as a means to connect with their audience. Thanks to this ubiquity, magic has served a host of purposes during its tenure as a musical motif.

More often than not, a reference to something mystical or paranormal was accompanied by overtones of heightened emotion, that which the artist could not describe without calling on some higher power. Carlos Santana’s infatuation with the subject of the ‘Black Magic Woman’ is explained only by her witchlike power over him. Similarly, some form of creature from a supernatural realm features on almost every Bowie album between 1968 and 1975; an alien fascination for the ‘Thin White Duke’. Some aspect of either emotional or sensory experience in these years had become so deranged and exaggerated that they were only accessible through the supernormal and occult.

The contemporary response by those groups less inclined toward deliberate, proactive derangement was a strict condemnation of drug use within the music industry. Jimi Hendrix’s polite request to be excused whilst he ‘kiss[es] the sky’ in ‘Purple Haze’ is just one lyrical manifestation of the legend’s penchant for substance abuse. The magic of those decades for Hendrix and other artists may have chemically resided in baggies and vials, but intoxication seemed more to be a stepping stone, once again, to reach a higher level of consciousness or contemplation; a key to unlock the full potential of their music.

The drug trade is not the only negative image associated with magic in music. The presentation of women and the trope of the ‘witch’ in 20th century music was noticeably common. The ideas of black magic and dark arts were hung banner-like across musical portraits of unfaithful partners or particularly bewitching love interests. Cliff Richard’s ‘Devil Woman’ recalls the bad luck brought by such a figure after the singer saw a black cat at his door; the ‘fairer sex’ is simply written off as a vessel of poor fortune.

The presentation of magic in a musical form is less obvious than in its lyrical form. If we accept the previously definitive feature of magic as ‘bridging the gap’ between the sensory and the conscious, then a similar action is observable in the musical advances of the time. From Hendrix’s blending of classical techniques with electronic leaps, such as pitch-shifting and effect circuits, to Van Halen’s complete reinvention of the relationship between man and guitar, music in the era was enchanted with tones, timbres, and progressive features never seen before.

As time and tastes have progressed, the role magic plays has become subtler. With a now established lexicon of magical imagery, some potency has been lost. In its place has arisen a shift of focus onto the unsettling and the uncanny, rather than the downright spooky. Florence + the Machine’s lyrics sit as a prime example of this. In ‘Spectrum’, Florence sings of colours flooding her body and relieving her of her ‘paper thin’ fragility; magic is not specifically referenced, but the supernatural is still present and powerful.

However we elect to define magic in music, as allusions to witchcraft, the bliss of being made weightless and uprooted by a song, or the union of the senses and thought, it is difficult to deny its presence. What I first titled a nameless, indescribable power, the magic of music, is universally accessible, hence its evolving, but constant presence. Perhaps more importantly, as Jimi Hendrix noted with characteristic astuteness, it is the key to finding the Voodoo Child within us all.

Oxford Jewish Society to hold vigil for Pittsburgh synagogue attack victims

Cherwell News
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Oxford Jewish Society to hold vigil for Pittsburgh synagogue attack victims

Oxford Jewish Society (JSoc) are to hold a public vigil following yesterday’s attack at synagogue in Pittsburgh.

The shooting, which took place at the Tree of Life synagogue during its Sabbath service, killed eleven people, and is believed to be the worst anti-Semitic attack on US soil in recent history.

The vigil will take place this evening at 7.30pm in Radcliffe Square.

In a public statement, Oxford JSoc said: “Oxford Jewish Society is horrified and saddened by the appalling anti-Semitic attack on Pittsburgh over Shabbat. We would like to express our sadness and solidarity with the Pittsburgh Jewish community and the Tree of Life congregation.

“Oxford JSOC is here for Jewish students who want to mourn, and process this event… We will be holding a public vigil for Jewish students and the wider community.”

JSOC President, Harrison Engler, told Cherwell: “We are shocked and horrified by these events. This is a time for all students and residents of Oxford to stand behind the Jewish community, to mourn the victims of this attack.”

Yesterday evening, an interfaith vigil was held for victims of the attack at the synagogue in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh.

A 46-year-old has been charged with murder following the massacre, and US prosecutors say hate crime charges will be filed. The gunman reportedly shouted, “All Jews must die,” as they entered the synagogue.

The United Nations called Saturday’s massacre a “painful reminder of continuing antisemitism.”

They added: “Jews across the world continue to be attacked for no other reason than their identity. Antisemitism is a menace to democratic values and peace, and should have no place in the 21st century.”

The President of the British Board of Deputies of British Jews said: “Innocent worshippers [were] gunned down in cold blood…The UK Jewish community stands in solidarity with everyone affected in the US.”

Former UK Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said, via Twitter: “This attack, which is being reported as the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States, is a tragic reminder that, somehow, within living memory of the Holocaust, we still live in a world where antisemitism exists and deadly attacks on Jews take place.”

Further details about Oxford Jsoc’s vigil can be found at this link. All are welcome to attend. A combination of prayers and poems will be read in Hebrew and English to mourn those lost and give support to the injured.

‘Halloween’ is a bloody good entry in the series

Jonnie Barrow
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‘Halloween’ is a bloody good entry in the series

Reading through the ingredients of the latest entry in the Halloween series is cause enough to give you whiplash. The film marks an attempt to reinvigorate a 40 year-old franchise, but it ignores every subsequent film after the 1978 original. That sounds odd, but okay…Oh, Jamie Lee Curtis is back in the lead role? Great! And John Carpenter’s returning to do the music? Double great! Who’s directing though? *Checks the IMDb page* David Gordon Green? The director of last year’s Boston Marathon bombing biopic Stronger and stoner-comedy Pineapple Express? And he’s co-writing the script with Danny McBride? I honestly have no idea what I’m supposed to expect going into this…

Well worry not, readers, because this motley crew have crafted a worthy sequel to the slasher film that inspired a host of imitators, and one of the few sequels with the guts to shed the baggage of an increasingly ludicrous series. It’s one of a few inspired ideas at the heart of this love letter to the slasher genre.

Laurie Strode (Curtis) is now a grandmother, estranged from her family due to her obsessive belief that Michael Myers will one day return to finish what he set out to do on that fateful Halloween 40 years earlier. When Michael escapes and returns to Haddonfield to exact his deadly revenge, a vindicated Laurie must fight to save herself and her family from the ineluctable threat.

The first 15 minutes of the film are an effective recap of the original film for newbies, if a little expository for fans. It’s a little disheartening to find that the bright, strong Laurie of 40 years ago has all but ruined her life to prepare for Michael’s return. “It’s pretty much all she ever talks about. It defines her life,” one character ruefully puts it.

But once the admin is out of the way, the film kicks into gear and becomes a bloody good slasher flick – “bloody” being the operative word. Green masterfully directs some riotously tense set-pieces, including a fantastically-staged altercation involving Michael advancing on a victim under the glare of motion-activated security lights. And unlike many recent horror films, Halloween follows through on its threats of violence; suffice it to say that the sound designers have clearly had fun replicating the gush of arterial blood and the squish of a bashed-in head’s leaking brains.

The film also knows exactly what to borrow from its forbearer in order to sell you on its credentials as a Halloween film. Bringing Carpenter back to work on the iconic score is a loving nod towards what made the original film so special, while the cinematography mimics the look of the original in all the best ways – even to the point of borrowing clips at one point for a flashback.

Carpenter shot many sequences in the 1978 original in long takes which, despite the chair-scratching tension this style elicits, was actually a financially motivated decision, as it accelerated the filming process. Green pays homage to this in a one-take set-piece when Michael first prowls through the town that’ll definitely give you goosebumps in all the best ways.

As Laurie and Michael circle each other, the inversion of exactly who is hunting who, resulting in the best “gotcha” moment of the year, almost single-handedly saves the Home Alone-style ending.

Go with the Halloween-night crowd: this Halloween entry is much more treat than trick.

Exploring magic realism

Becky Cook
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Exploring magic realism

In the narrative of a magic realism novel the reader is lulled by the mundane setting only to be imminently shocked by the outrageous and improbable mystery of the events detailed. A woman sends her lover tokens of her affection. This receipt of a series of sighs and valentines prompts him to gorge his amorous appetite on roses, leaving him literally lovesick to the point that he exhibits symptoms of cholera. This sequence of events from Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera (1985) typifies the literature of the genre, where the prosaic is transformed into the extraordinary.

Magic realism in literature differs from fantasy as it foregrounds the fantastical and impossible elements against the backdrop of a recognisable normal world, complete with credible characters and communities. This blending of the magical and realistic creates a distinct atmosphere for the world of the novel, and often allows for a deeper understanding of the motivations and emotions of the characters.

This mode of writing was made popular by the likes of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Jorge Luis Borges and in 1989 Laura Esquivel added her name to the roster with the release of her novel Like Water for Chocolate. As a hybrid of novel and cookbook, the text is immediately atypical.

The hypnotic plot complexities give rise to a narrative drive that propels the reader on, yet this is offset by its temporal fluidity and timelessness; moments are stretched out over pages while the lapse of years can occur over mere sentences. The cumulative effect of these narrative contradictions is to create a singular type of novel in which the reader is captivated with phenomenal ease.

Tita de la Garza is our fraught protagonist, the youngest girl in a Mexican family. She is born amid a flood of her mother’s tears, a deluge that establishes how the tone her life will become a literal tide of melancholy. Her mother tells her “You know perfectly well that being the youngest daughter means you have to take care of me until the day I die” and so Tita’s loveless fate is sealed. She is left to fight against this antiquated family tradition, in spite of her passionate love for Pedro, the man who goes on to marry her older sister Rosaura.

The flood of tears subsequently dry to leave ten pounds of salt, which is collected and saved for culinary reuse. This practical repurposing normalises the bizarre circumstances of Tita’s birth; the magical is accepted as custom. Furthermore, it introduces the cornerstone of the novel: the kitchen. Tita is secluded with her culinary pursuits and they become an outlet for her emotional energy, leading her to create food potently imbued with her feelings. Her wept tears in the tamale mix served for Pedro and Rosaura’s wedding makes everyone who eats it violently unwell.

Laura Esquivel remodels the magic realism made famous by Gabriel Garcia Marquez for a more explicitly female Latin American context, bringing it into the kitchen. In Mexico at the beginning of the twentieth century, women upheld the role of carer for their fathers and brothers, until marriage, where their caretaking shifted to their husbands and children. The tradition of Mexican society is woven into the intricacies and customs observed in the novel and is alternately viewed as a source of solace and strife, as both the catapult of Tita’s passion for cooking as well as her barricade from Pedro.

The beginning of each chapter details a new recipe that is then incorporated into the ensuing action, thus etching the cooking tradition into the workings of the novel. These recipes are as embedded in the work as they are in the de la Garza family, having passed through generations upon generations.

In the novel’s closing chapter, Esquivel describes Rosaura’s death as a microseism: “The floor was shaking, the light blinked off and on” as she seems to depress to her expiry in a quaking frenzy. This hectic action foreshadows the unbridled ecstasy to come between Pedro and Tita where ‘la petite mort’ of the orgasm is literalised into Pedro dying during sex. In the aftermath, Tita takes refuge in the enormous bedspread she has woven over the course of the novel “through night after night of solitude and insomnia”. The quilt “covered the whole ranch, all three hectares” and these implausible proportions stress the elongation of her strife. Beyond that, this blanketed space of the ranch is inextricably linked to Tita, as well as to her profoundly troubled life. This clear ranch perimeter to her existence is contrasted with the boundless nature of the magic realism genre in the novel itself, where the place Tita and Pedro can now be united is past these three hectares and this life she has been trapped in.

The recognisable star-crossed lovers trope is injected with the inexplicable in magic realism, pulling from the likes of dreams, fairy tales and mythology. It gives rise to a mosaic of beautiful surprises that alter the everyday occurrences of this Mexican family and construct an exquisite charm to even the most tragic of circumstances over the passage of decades in the de la Garza household.

Nice Guy Review – ‘hard to believe written by students’

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Nice Guy Review – ‘hard to believe written by students’

TW/CW: Domestic abuse/abusive relationships

Nice Guy, a new musical co-written by Sam Norman and Aaron King running for five nights at the Burton Taylor Studio, opens diminutively with an epistolary narrative from the lead role, Isla (Grace Albery). She drafts out loud a difficult first letter home to her father in Ireland after moving away to University near London; the effect is deliberately cliché to convince us we know how this story ends.

The structure too seems pretty conventional at first. We alternate between hearing Isla’s epistles home, and then watching the scenes she describes acted out: she embarks on her degree, makes friends with Francine (Ellie Thomas), and goes on a date with the charmingly self-deprecating and flattering Dash (Alex Buchanan). There are subtle but conspicuous inconsistencies between what Isla tells her father and what really happens. As we watch Isla’s relationship with Dash develop, there are a couple of uncomfortable moments – Isla goes vegan just like Dash, then she abandons her degree, and stops seeing Francine.

Knowing Nice Guy to be about abusive relationships, I was expecting Dash to suddenly become overtly controlling and physically aggressive – but Norman and King have deliberately structured the musical to illustrate the difference between appearance and reality, the expected and the unexpected. Through the first half of the play the audience witnesses Isla’s life from the perspective of her father. Like her father, we receive only the facts that Isla chooses to tell us, and so nothing much seems amiss until she confesses that “the truth’s a bit different”. We then re-watch the same scenes played out again, this time with added crescendos in unexpected places. In the first half of the play, we see Dash snap briefly at Isla in what she describes to her father as a “bit of a tiff”. In the second, we watch the same scene over but it culminates in Dash throwing wine at Isla, shattering the glass and slapping her around the face. In the first half we watch him offer her an oreo; in the second he warns her “not to get fat” and then explodes when she says she feels objectified.

The play essentially explores the difference between fiction and truth. Dash, the “nice guy”, crafts for himself an ingratiating persona that masks his malicious actuality, just as Isla creates through her letters a fiction of her own reality, a warped version of the truth idealised through a rosy lens of wishful-thinking. The script handles sickeningly disturbing issues (gaslighting, psychological manipulation, physical and sexual violence) with astounding sensitivity, whilst somehow making moments of laugh-out-loud humour appropriate – and manages to pull it all off with a remarkably unlaboured light touch. In the least patronising way possible, it is hard to believe this production has been written by students, such is the maturity and emotional depth of the narrative.

The play is a musical: the scenes are regularly punctuated with impressive solos accompanied by a small but talented orchestra behind the stage. As for the songs – think La La Land with a dark twist. There is something very haunting about the upbeat, chipper melodies complete with kitschy dance step choreography amid a tale of harrowing psychological abuse: we get the feeling that these merry tunes are what everyone hears when they look at the relationship, which is, on paper, love’s young dream. It helps that the cast of three are also extremely good singers; Albery in particular moves a significant portion of the audience to tears with some of her later sung letters home, censoring out the worst of her ordeal and drawing on her recurring line, “Everything’s fine”.

The Burton Taylor Studio is the perfect setting for a play about the inside, the unseen: with the tiered seats gone and a small central stage formed between three sides of audience, we get a strong sense of the domestic claustrophobia and the confinement and isolation of an abusive relationship. The cast worked in conjunction with Clean Slate, an Oxford based charity helping victims of abuse, and their insight into the issue is visible through a real understanding of unhealthy intimacy. The acting is certainly good: Albery has the gift of convincing the audience she knows more about her character than they do, and Buchanan’s charmingly gawky initial façade is very convincing, whilst his later rages terrifying. His creation of a nuanced psychological manipulator is a masterpiece.

Overall then, Nice Guy compounds exceptional acting, first-rate music and a profoundly compelling script to distort, construct, and deconstruct reality, in a chilling expression of the dichotomy between what we see and what we do not. I would heartily recommend you book a seat – but unsurprisingly they have already all sold out.

Worcester put eight past Univ in title defence opener

Cal Flintoff
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Worcester put eight past Univ in title defence opener

Reigning Cuppers champions Worcester have been handed an unenviable task in their bid to emulate the 2011 side by retaining the coveted trophy at Iffley Road come Hilary.

The salmon pink Jericho outfit find themselves at the bottom of the Round of 16 draw in a half of the bracket containing no fewer than four other Premier Division sides – including the defeated finalists New College, and current Premier Division Champions St John’s – and will face off next against Brasenose. More pointedly, the side will spend their whole cup run on the road, a far-cry away from the boisterous on-site home fortress so vital to last year’s challenge; Worcester defeated Teddy Hall, Jesus and Exeter in consecutive Home knockout fixtures en-route to their triumph at Iffley.

The Premier Division teams showcased why they’re afforded the luxury of playing football on Mondays with a series of sweeping victories over lower opposition in the first round, but now face tougher challenges – headed not least by finding alternative training venues to Jamal’s and sourcing goalkeeper shirts that actually match the college kit.

It was Worcester who produced the most convincing performance of the round in putting eight past University, whilst New scored five of the best away to Oriel and Jesus also outpointed Division Three opposition, beating Magdalen 4-1. Exeter cruised through to the Ro16 with a bye, but it is St John’s – withholding a spirited late Merton/Mansfield comeback to win 3-2 – who may well be most prepared for the future rounds: all five Premier Division colleges now find themselves in the same half of the draw (see full draw bracket for individual fixtures).

Undoubtedly, the tie that stands out is the John’s visit to New College so early in the tournament, not least due to the parallels between the two dominant outfits: both teams enjoyed victorious league campaigns last time around and both were defeated in tight fought contests under the lights at Iffley. Now they are due to face off twice in the space of six days, with a vital opportunity to eye each other up in the league scheduled first.

Cuppers stalwarts Wadham found themselves 2-0 down to Trinity at half-time in their first-round encounter but moved through the gears convincingly late on with some free-flowing football to record an 8-2 rout. The light blues are drawn in the other half to their top division counterparts, facing a St Hugh’s side who saw off Keble, as they bid to reach the Quarter-Final stage of Cuppers for the fifth consecutive year.

St Catherine’s, the side who last year thwarted a trio of repeat semi-final appearances for Wadham, have however crashed out in what may go down as the biggest cup upset of the whole competition. The side sit top of the whole Oxford pyramid with nine points from a possible nine thus far this season but went down 3-2 (having been down 2-0 at half-time) in extra time against a St Peter’s side who were only last year relegated into Division Two. Peter’s have been rewarded with another away tie against Jesus and must surely now rate as a serious danger.

In the absence of Catz, the dominant college football force of recent years, Christ Church are a savvy bet as frontrunners to avenge their 2017 final defeat and register silverware to match their strong financial backing. The side have started their Division One season in flying fashion and if they can overcome a tricky away tie to Balliol will face the victors of an all newly promoted Division Two clash between Hilda’s and Hertford in the Quarter Final.

Also lurking in the top half of the draw as potential dangers are Teddy Hall, fresh from an impressive 5-1 away victory over Pembroke. The Hall face Division Two LMH back at Uni Parks where they are traditionally so strong, and the ground traditionally so soft.

The full Cuppers draw can be seen here.

Men’s Badminton Blues lose to Imperial

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Men’s Badminton Blues lose to Imperial

The men’s blues badminton team faced off against Imperial College this Wednesday at Iffley Road, playing their third fixture of the season in the BUCS Southern Premier League.

The team this year has had a solid influx of fresh faces entering the squad, with the old guard of Zhu, Milner, and Nyrup now joined by Ho (a product of the club’s extensive scouting programme in Singapore), Wilson (your typical junior county player), and Song (your not-so-typical one year exchange student from John Hopkins).

Having had a successful start to the season, including a victory against Bristol and a moral victory against Bath, the team was keen to try and keep up the momentum against Imperial.

The singles matches were played first, with Zhu and Milner taking centre stage. Both were hotly contested affairs, going to three sets. Milner’s opponent was small in stature, but made up for it by possessing impressive speed and consistency around the
court. The mirrored styles were evidently seen, as both players tried to outlast and outmanoeuvre each other on the court, making for some great badminton for spectators. Whilst Milner imposed himself on the opponent with his faster speed in the first set, the Imperial player ultimately came back to win the second and third sets.

My singles match yet again saw a performance of complementing styles, with me and my opponent both attacking players with powerful smashes. Ultimately, the game boiled down to who made fewer mistakes and I have to admit that, despite my incredible smash and all-round dynamism, my play was a little inconsistent. Fortunately, the Imperial player cracked sooner than I did, and I led a series of unanswered points from 15-13 in the third set to win the game.

Tied at 1-1 in games, the fixture moved on to the doubles matches. The combination of Ho and Song had an impressive start this season. Facing off against the first Imperial pair, the start was promising with Ho attacking from the back of the court, and Song moving in to cut anything off at the front.

This made for some exciting rallies and some excellent rotation play which drew applause from Ho’s substantial fanbase. The crux of the match was securing control of the net and gaining the attack, and simply Imperial were too solid in this respect. Despite playing better in the second set, Song and Ho failed to attack in the rallies enough and lost in two straight sets. Post-match analysis suggested that the Oxford players were a little worse for wear, with both citing heavy workload (*read Plush and Broke Mondays) as the reason for not performing their best.

The second doubles match comprised of the duo of Nyrup and Wilson. Nyrup, whose chronic shoulder issues forced him to narrowly lose to the no. 28 nationally ranked Bath player last year, was hoping for the return of his godly smash following a trip to the physio. Wilson has been a solid addition to the blues, with his outstanding commitment and excellent physical condition making a huge contribution to the squad, second only to all his gap-yah stories. The pair played a pair of twins from Imperial, who had very deft skills and Record numbers turn out for Oxford Half Marathon excellent technique. The match was a contrast of the power of the Oxford pair against the counterattacking and skilful midcourt play of Imperial. The first set started off positively, but gradually the Imperial side gradually adjusted to the smashing of Nyrup and Wilson to win in two straight sets comfortably.

Down 3-1 with half the games played, Oxford needed a strong comeback in the next four in order to win the tie. Sadly, only one additional match was converted, with Milner taking an additional single. The tie thus finished 6-2, and there was realisation that, as a squad, there is much to be improved upon in our training regime. Despite the loss, we still stay positive about our chances of success in the BUCS Southern Premier league, and excited to see how far we can improve throughout the season, when we ultimately play Imperial again.

Oxford University Men’s Blues play Cardiff Metropolitan University Men’s 1st team later next week, on Wednesday 31st October. They currently sit 4th in the BUCS Southern Premier table.

Project SOUP to host fundraising dinner

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Project SOUP to host fundraising dinner

The student-run Oxford organisation, Project SOUP, is set to host a fundraising event in partnership with Crisis Skylight Oxford, a local homeless support centre, in early November.

Project SOUP hopes to broaden awareness about homelessness in Oxford as well as raise hundreds of pounds for local charities through the “soup dinner event”, which is scheduled for Saturday 3rd November.

President of Project SOUP Maddy Diment told Cherwell: “[Project SOUP] is all about bringing the community of Oxford together to discuss real issues that are affecting our community today.

“As young people we can often feel powerless, or as if our voice doesn’t want to be heard when facing global issues such as climate change, food waste, the refugee crisis or homelessness. Project SOUP guarantees all voices will be heard and real, positive change can be made.

“There is so much to celebrate at our events: democratic participation, charity fundraising,
volunteering opportunities, live music, and…tasty surplus soup!”

The group is confident that students will enjoy the “warm and festive menu of soup and bread, lovingly made by our team of student volunteers from donations ingredients.”

Once a spokesperson for each of the three causes has made a pitch, the students vote on which cause they want to provide the most money to. The winning charity receives £100 from the evening’s proceeds, obtained from the £5 entry fee and any additional donations.

The remaining money is split evenly between the three projects.

The project is one of hundreds of similar ‘soup’ movements worldwide, as Diment noted: “The Soup movement started in Detroit in 2010 and since has gone global.”

Previous Project SOUP events have featured expert talks on topics such as the refugee crisis and have hosted academics like Dr Patricia Daley, Professor of the Human Geography of Africa and Fellow at Jesus College.

In addition to their termly events, the group also hosts a blog platform that they hope will become “an open space for writers, artists and creators to showcase their talents and use their voice to speak about sustainability, community, charity, food waste”.

Radiohead drummer backs Cellar’s £80k crowdfunding campaign

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Radiohead drummer backs Cellar’s £80k crowdfunding campaign

Oxford’s last independent music venue has begun an £80,000 crowdfunding campaign to stop it from closing in early December.

Music icons, including members of Radiohead and Foals, have supported the campaign to stop the closure one of oldest venues of its kind in Europe.

Radiohead drummer Philip Selway donated a drum worth £5,000 towards the campaign, according to the Oxford Mail.

He said: “The Cellar is an important part of the musical and cultural life of Oxford. 

It is venues like this that are actually the life blood of music; they support and nurture new and emerging talent […] Let’s not loose it.”

In June, Cellar was forced to cut the maximum capacity from 150 people to 60, as the fire escape was 30cm too narrow for Oxfordshire County Council requirements. 

Cellar is set to close on the 3rd of December unless it can raise enough money to widen the fire escape and to make up for financial losses.

This is not the first time Cellar has been faced with imminent closure. A year ago, over 13,000 people signed a petition to save the club from being developed into storage space for the shop above.

Yannis Philippakis from Foals said: “Oxford’s best small venue is under threat. It’s also my childhood bar and the place Foals first learned to rock out.”

Gaz Coombes from Supergrass, who played at Cellar, said: “We wouldn’t have got anywhere without these small venues, they’re really important for building up the vibe of a band when they’re first starting out. 

It would be just disastrous if it wasn’t able to continue.”

You can donate to the crowdfunding campaign here.

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