Monday, May 5, 2025
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Confessions of a Drama Queen 6: Things get worse, again

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I write this diary, locked in my darkened bedroom, with only the torch light on my phone for company, and some Itsu that I had Deliverood to me to wane off the starvation.

In case it wasn’t obvious, I have had to go into hiding following the traumatic embarrassment of the Little Shop of Horrors read-through. So far this has mostly entailed asking my scout not to clean my room, only showering when I know all the scientists have already left for labs, and sitting with the curtains shut so that everybody thinks I’m out.

You see, I am currently dying of shame, at having been talent scouted to play… A CARNIVOROUS POT PLANT. Yes, dear reader. You heard me correctly. The face the producer spied across Cornmarket last week was not, as it transpires, the face she wanted to cast as Audrey, the young and enchanting female lead in her musical. Oh no. Her conception of my face as “just what I’ve been looking for” was based on the idea of me playing a venus fly trap from outer space, with a whopping zero lines and a cardboard box as a base.

As if to add further insult to injury, I have been rejected by the props team for Sweet Charity, on the basis that “I like charity shopping” doesn’t form a strong enough application. Apparently people actually want to work back- stage. Who knew?

These times we live in are dark, mostly because if I turn the light on then people might know that I’m in. I have only one hope left for my stage career, and that is that the tragedy of my life can at least be turned into a stand-up routine.

Consequently, I’ve booked an audition for The Oxford Revue next Tuesday. It can’t be that hard to be a female comedian. I’m sure the industry is really very evenly gendered. Wish me luck!

Under Milk Wood preview – ‘Creative and interesting but overly dramatic’

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When I first arrived to Brasenose chapel to watch the technical rehearsal of Under Milk Wood, I glimpsed a solemn looking woman, in a solemn looking white dress, standing at the entrance. I quickly closed the door, thinking I must have stumbled upon a church service. I hadn’t. The moment I realised it was a play was hilarious and confusing, two excellent qualities that Under Milk Wood definitely has. Its strength – as well as its greatest weaknesses – lies in this absurd solemnity, amplified by the grand appearance of the chapel in which it is performed.

The performance is a bit disorienting, in a way that can be exploited for artistic impact. I was only shown a few scenes, since I dared not enter for a while, and they were enough to suggest that the production would make exciting use of the space. The audience stands or sits in the pews, like they would if they were attending a service. The play happens in different parts of the chapel, with actors springing out of the crowd with their daily woes, or getting married on the platform on the second floor, or having fights in the doorway and by the altar.

This means that an audience member, in any given position, will have limited visibility of the show. This staging emphasises the fragmented nature of the plot: the story of a whole Welsh village, the lives of everyone who inhabits it. If you lived in a village, surely you wouldn’t get a full view of all your neighbour’s lives, and the play replicates this perfectly.

I was impressed with the creative naturalism of the staging, and disappointed that it was undermined by an over-dramatic, staged kind of acting. Everyone speaks as if they are reciting a solemn Shakespeare monologue, loudly, grandly declaring the minutiae of their lives. This could make it difficult to distinguish the characters from each other, and makes it hard to emphasise with them on a human level.

It does however make for some brilliant humour, and I can say I experienced a moment of most delightful comedy when one of the characters grandly spoke to two men about them blowing their nose. I appreciated the deliberate nature of this solemnity, shown in the excellent consistency of all the actors in maintaining the tone, and in the simple and solemn period costumes. At times it was indeed effective, both for humour and for impressiveness. But often it felt distant and hollow, and left the viewer yearning for a greater variety of tones, which can better express the intimate moments of the character’s lives, as well as highlight the grandness when it is necessary. But the play may indeed have grown in humanity when watched in its entirety.

Overall, this is a creative and interesting production. It’s let down by an overly dramatic attitude which does not allow the actors to engage with the text on a more human level, but  it experiments with conceptual and staging ideas in ways that deserve much praise.

Oxford 54th in university league table… for ethical performance

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Oxford has performed poorly in a league table that ranks universities on their ethical and environmental performance.

‘The People & Planet University League Table’ uses a range of measures to rank universities, including: ethical investment, carbon reduction, workers rights, waste and recycling, energy sources, and education for sustainable development.

Oxford came 54th out of 154 UK universities, up from 115th in 2015. It performed particularly badly on measures of carbon reduction, workers rights, education on sustainable development, and its ethical investment policy.

The table comes a week after a Guardian report showed that Oxford and many of its colleges have secretly invested tens of millions of pounds in offshore funds supporting the gas and coal industry.

Cambridge, which was also implicated in the Guardian report, came below Oxford at 58, an improvement from 113th two years ago. Oxford Climate Justice Campaign told Cherwell: “In a world facing climate catastrophe, an institution like Oxford must prove its commitment to preserving the future in order to remain relevant.

“The assessment released this week by People and Planet may be one of the only university ranking systems that matters much in the near future.

“It certainly will be one of the only measures that will matter to future students of Oxford, if Oxford survives the economic and geological crisis it is helping to create.

“We are grateful for the thorough analysis, and we hope Oxford leadership accesses and reads the report in full.”

The Climate Justice Campaign highlighted three areas where Oxford underperformed compared to other universities and called on the University to improve its commitment to environmental practices. A spokesperson told Cherwell: “Oxford needs to commit to a comprehensive… ethical investment strategy by divesting from all fossil fuels in its direct and indirect investments.

“It should look to one of its own departments – the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment – for new sustainable investment opportunities.

“Oxford must actively encourage education for sustainable development in all of its departments, not just those specializing in environmental concerns.

“The future of our globe and the responsibility of global citizenship should be a task of concern for every mind entering the walls of this institution.

“Oxford must hire sufficient human resources to see its sustainability goals through.

“Perhaps, if Oxford is unwilling to cut ties with its major donors from the fossil fuel industry, then it could redirect some of the funding from Shell and BP to hire enough experts and sustainability scholars to help us compete in next year’s university sustainability report.”

As a whole, universities performed better than a decade ago when the league table was first published. In 2007 only five universities were recycling more than half their waste. The number is now 85. Manchester Metropolitan University topped this year’s table, ahead of Gloucester and Nottingham Trent. LSE came top out of Russell Group universities.

Five minutes with: Lucy Hayes

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Could you tell us a bit about how you got involved with drama at Oxford?
I was trying to convince my friend to produce a play for me, so I took her to an OUDS producing workshop. From that, I was asked to produce a show at the Playhouse. I had no idea what a producer really did, but I knew I’d be stupid not to.

What’s your happiest memory of Oxford drama?
They’ve all been pretty happy! I actually don’t think I have any bad memories of doing drama at Oxford at all.

Have you ever had any complete production nightmares?
I did turn up to the get-in of my first show at the Burton Taylor Studio thinking that I could, with no experience, rig, focus, and program all of the lights myself, and very quickly realised I was out of my depth. Luckily, we managed to get someone else in within an hour who actually knew what they were doing so it was all fine.

What’s your favourite play?
I’m very indecisive, but maybe Michael Frayn’s Noises Off. Or maybe King Lear.

How would you want to stage it in Oxford?
I don’t think I could ever stage either of them! I feel they should stay sacred.

Who is your hero in the theatre world?
Probably my dad: he built a theatre from scratch, which is now a really successful and incredibly unique venue. He’s a bit of a maverick, and he never takes no for an answer. The council tried to shut him down on his opening night, and he told them they should come back in the morning, because there wasn’t any way they were stopping him from opening his show. He’s taught me most of what I know about theatre, and I aspire to be that audacious one day.

Do you have any advice for freshers who might want to get involved with drama?
If you’re an actor, just keep auditioning, and if you do, you will get cast in something. If you want to be involved but aren’t sure how, try anything! Respond to a TAFF call, or email the producer of a project you like the sound of. It’s scary, but people love it when people but themselves out there, and it will get you far.

Are you working on any exciting projects at the moment?
I’m directing my last show, Hedda, at the Oxford Playhouse in 6th week of Hilary term. It’s a modern adaptation of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler by Lucy Kirkwood, stripping the play of the polite society of Victorian bourgeoisie and plunging it into to a world of crisis and Oxford academics. Next year is the centenary of female suffrage, so it’s the perfect time to stage it – the question of how far society has truly come in creating space for women is more important than ever! We are really excited to be part of the Playhouse’s VOTE season, celebrating female-driven narratives for this anniversary.

Hooliganism overshadows Oxford’s win over Brookes

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Several fans were ejected following a post-match brawl in the Blues’ 1-0 win over Oxford Brookes last night.

Jack Witt’s goal after 75 minutes gave the home side the lead, before a pitch-side spat descended into carnage which the stewarding team struggled to contain.

During the first half, a group of Brookes fans were heard singing mysogynistic and sexist chants. Home fans claimed to have heard a version of Artful Dodger’s ‘Re-Rewind’ with the altered lyrics of: “Three, two, one, if a girl says no, molest her”.

And after a swarm of attacks from the hosts in the second half, which saw Dom Thelen and Mohamed Eghleilib come close, Witt curled one in from the edge of the box, and chaos ensued.

Following wild celebrations, a dark blue smoke grenade was thrown onto the pitch, and Brookes’ travelling contingent became increasingly vocal.

After a spat between the unsegregated fans standing pitchside, Brookes students spilled out of the small stand and moved forwards. Several punches were thrown by both sets of supporters as the fight spilled onto the Iffley Road pitch, as the small team of security struggled to contain the brawl.

Once the incident had calmed down, a handful of fans were ejected from the ground, while stewards separated the two sets of supporters.

On the pitch, Oxford did not let the trouble get to them, as Sam Hale and Alex Urwin continued to fend off an aerial bombardment from Brookes.

An Oxford Brookes spokesperson told Cherwell the university was “aware of reported issues surrounding the annual football matches which took place on Friday.

“Oxford Brookes takes the reported issues very seriously and will be working with the University of Oxford and those involved in organising the event to investigate what took place.

“The University has a clear Code of Conduct and appropriate action will be taken against any students found to have acted inappropriately.”

OUAFC did not respond to Cherwell‘s request for comment.

Injuries overshadow Men’s Blues victory

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Injuries to Kieran Ball and debutant Dominic Waldouck marred a fifth successive victory for Oxford’s Men’s Blues on Wednesday.

The Blues ran in seven tries in a scintillating performance to continue a fantastic run of form with a 45-19 win against Major Stanley’s XV.

But the win was overshadowed by a pair of blows to players that Oxford consider key to their Varsity success on 7 December.

Waldouck, making his first Blues start after an injury-riddled term, went off just eighteen minutes into the game looking dazed, with a suspected concussion.

The centre’s first game for Oxford had been hotly anticipated: he signed a contract with Newcastle last April which allowed him to combine playing for the Premiership side with his Masters degree, and had been frustrated by niggles throughout the season to date.

The 30-year-old, who is likely to line up alongside Canada international Dan Moor in the centres at Twickenham, is no stranger to the big stage, having come off the bench in
Wasps’ 2007 Heineken Cup final win against Leicester.

He started in the Premiership final a year later, and his impressive form was rewarded with
a place on the England tour to New Zealand – although he didn’t make an appearance.

Since then, his career has fallen away somewhat, but he will be hoping that his injury does not prove too serious and that he can make a return shortly.

Ball, however, will be fearing the worst after being stretchered off just before half-time.

Cherwell understands he was taken to hospital on Wednesday evening for a scan.

The prop, who started in last year’s narrow defeat against Cambridge, has been an integral part of the Blues’ success this year, and it would be a huge blow on both a personal and a
team level if he were to miss out on Varsity.

On the night, Oxford were comfortable winners against the visiting side, with tries from Dan Barley (two), Hugo McPherson, Will Wilson, Alex Hogg, Ed Elvin and Tom Stileman
securing a routine victory.

Blues ensure league survival with Bristol victory

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Oxford’s Women’s Blues secured their Bucs Premier South status for next season on Wednesday night, scraping past a strong Bristol side 22-14.

After winning 10-7 against the same opposition in October, the Dark Blues kicked off under the floodlights at Iffley Stadium in front of a sizeable home crowd quietly confident of a victory.

The match was hotly contested from the start, since the sides were fairly well matched, but Oxford prevailed to secure a third win in five Bucs games this season.

After starting on the front foot, some nimble footwork allowed Oxford full-back Sophie Trott to burst through Bristol’s defensive line and run in the first try of the match under the posts.

But Bristol responded with intent, scoring a converted try to move into the lead. An  excellent run down the touchline by Oxford’s Helen Potts gave the home side their second try, but Bristol responded again shortly after to open up a 14-10 lead at halftime.

After a rousing team talk from the coaches, the Oxford side brought a new intensity to the second half, putting in some strong tackles and driving the visiting scrum backwards from the outset.

Laura Simpson consistently broke through Bristol’s defensive line, while prop Hester Odgers put in some crunching tackles as the forwards held firm.

The Blues scored twice more, with one try from winger Alice Mingay shooting around the outside of the Bristol defence and another from the excellent Johanna Dombrowski, who plowed straight through several Bristol players to reach the tryline.

The Oxford team managed to defend their lead for the remainder of the match, despite Bristol spending the final few minutes in the Oxford 22, before a sneaky turnover allowed Trott to kick the ball out of play and secure the points.

The win was an important one for Oxford, who secured their place in the Bucs Premier South for next season. As things currently stand, the Blues sit fourth in the league, putting them in contention for the Bucs Cup play-off later in the season.

It also continues the Dark Blues’ preparations ahead of December’s Varsity Match, where they will look to secure a second consecutive win at Twickenham.

Their opponents, Cambridge, have racked up an impressive 366 points in their past five games, conceding only seven, but Oxford will take confidence from last year’s gritty display and their own strong form.

Univ to end Oxford ‘spotty neek’ stereotype by introducing skincare reps

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University College is set to elect two skincare representatives, after a motion establishing the position was passed at their last JCR meeting.

The motion stated that the representatives, who will be given positions on the general committee, will be introduced to cater for student “skincare, shaving, grooming and general cellular wellbeing”.

The motion was proposed by Francis Kerrigan and seconded by Anjelica Smerin. They felt it was necessary to help “banish the stereotype of ‘the spotty neek’ for Oxford”. They argued this was particularly problematic as exam season approaches and skin issues worsen. Elections will be held in seventh week.

The reps’ responsibilities range from spreading awareness of “issues surrounding pores, hydration and chapped lips” to weekly livestream videos to discuss “grooming regimes, face masks, shaving, and moisturising.”

Smerin claimed such videos had been popular in the past, with rumours that the first one will deal with the controversies surrounding chemical exfoliation.

The motion was amended to make sure the videos are recorded and saved rather than livestreamed to ensure that they are permanently accessible for students.

Kerrigan and Smerin have also promised to provide skincare consultations, and have stated “Kerrigan and Smerin Skincare Ltd Common Room Representatives reserves the right for any elected individual to be dismissed”, should they themselves deem the representative incapable of carrying out this role.

Student death prompts new bike safety charter

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A charter demanding that Oxford becomes a safer city for cyclists has been launched, following the death of a student last term. Claudia Comberti, an Oxford DPhil student, was killed in a cycling accident earlier this year.

The Claudia Charter for Safer Cycling has calls for vulnerable cyclists to be given greater respect on the road. It also lobbies Oxford city council to create continuous, segregated cycleways as soon as possible.

The charter asks the council to spend a minimum of £10 per person on improving cycling infrastructure across the city, whilst also calling for all cyclists to be taught to a minimum standard of cycling. The charter is supported by the cycling organisations Broken Spoke Bike Co-Op and Cyclox.

The initiative was unveiled last Thursday, exactly six months after Claudia’s death. It was presented to the public at the Tap Social Movement, a craft brewery in North Hinksey Lane.

Speaking to the Oxford Mail, the chairman of Cyclox, Simon Hunt, said: “Out of tragedy comes strength and cohesion. That’s why we want to keep up the energy charge. That’s what has been behind this charter.

“In the two weeks or so after Claudia’s death I would wake up in the middle of the night thinking: ‘what needs to be done?’- some of those things are on the charter.” According to an investigation carried out by the Oxford Mail, between the years 2005 and 2016, 2,004 cyclists were injured in Oxford.

With 11,000 staff and students cycling daily, Oxford University’s sustainable transport manager Adam Bows supported the charter, saying it was “really important” that it was a safe city for people to ride around the city. The Labour party Oxford City Councillor, Louise Upton, told Cherwell: “I was really impressed by the drive for something positive to come out of such a sad event.

“One of the strengths of the Claudia Charter is that it includes things for everyone to do – whether you are someone who walks, cycles or drives, as well as for elected councillors.

“The decision to sign up to the charter was approved unanimously at the last City Council meeting, receiving support from all the Labour, Green and LibDem councillors.

“Students are a huge part of the cycling community in Oxford and the Claudia Charter is particularly relevant for them.

“To keep them safe we need to build segregated cycle lanes and off-road routes, we need motorists to be considerate and we need cyclists to cycle responsibly.

“The launch of the Claudia Charter is the beginning of a long journey – it will take years to get safe cycle routes across the whole city, and for all motorists to treat cyclists like friends – but we are starting that journey now!”

No more homophobic abuse, Wadham tells Queerfest guards

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Wadham students will place a code of conduct on hired security guards at this week’s Queerfest, after accusations of homophobic abuse, theft, and leering at last year’s event.

SU Entz officers initially attempted to ban the firm R&R Frontline Services Limited, claiming their employees created an “unwelcome atmosphere” by using homophobic slurs at the event dedicated to “queerness, defiance, diversity and self-expression”.

After the college informed the Entz team this would not be possible, they decided to enforce a code of conduct enforcing standards on “queerphobia, homophobia, transphobia, racism and sexism”.

The college said the freelance guard implicated in last year’s events will not be returning.

This year’s Queerfest, themed ‘Where do we go from Queer? 100 Years of Queer, Past, Present and Future’, will see 850 students descend on Wadham College for a night devoted to artistic expression and freedom of identity.

Alleged incidents by a guard at last year’s Queerfest included a stolen phone and use of offensive slurs against attendants.

According to senior SU officers, a security guard allegedly used a homophobic term of abuse against a student in attendance.

An Entz officer said that they sought this year to prevent guards from “staring out” attendees.

According to the officer, this was “because people might come dressed in very little fabric, [and] we don’t want the security guards to check them out”.

One queer-identifying guest told Cherwell: “The security didn’t feel welcoming at all.

“If people aren’t being welcomed inclusively with open arms then it definitely feels a bit weird.”

In response to the incidents, the Wadham Entz team, consisting of Son Olszewski, Oli Nelson, Alex Coonar, and Theo Anton, requested the college find an alternative security for this year’s event, which are also hired for bops and other events.

Senior college figures informed the officers this would not be possible, and R&R would return.

The Entz team has held discussions with R&R over the last two weeks, which resulted in the firm confirming the accused guard from working at the event.

Nelson told Cherwell: “The decision to use R&R came through college…the best we can do is to take steps to ensure that the same things don’t happen again.”

After conceding to the college’s decision, the Entz officers chose to enforce a code of conduct for the guards working at this events. Nelson told Cherwell: “we’re submitting a very black-and-white script to R&R detailing our absolute bottom lines in terms of conduct.

“This involves our expected standards towards LGBTQIA+ attendees, definitions and working examples of queerphobia, homophobia, transphobia, racism and sexism, and protocol in regards to lost property/theft etc.”

One incident that may have prompted such a policy is the alleged theft of a mobile phone.

Following the event, two students were forced to travel to recover the phone after a member of the security personnel reportedly took it home to his house.

One of them told Cherwell: “My friend asked me to accompany him to an address that had popped up on Find my iPhone.

“After we recovered the phone we realised that it had the guard’s SIM card in it.”

No one pressed charges, and the case is reportedly considered closed.

The code of conduct document reportedly contains a list of comments that could be interpreted as offensive.

“It has examples of things we find problematic even if they don’t,” a Wadham SU officer told Cherwell.

There are no specific allegations of this having taken out in the past, but the policy was included as “a preventative measure”.

The Entz officers held a meeting with R&R on Monday to discuss general security protocol. They agreed security personnel will be briefed on in three stages; first the head of security, second through the document which is being sent out, and third by the Entz team on the day of the event.

Entz officers emphasised that the alleged incidents were committed by a freelance operative: “If we or the college had changed firms we could very easily have got the same individuals under question from last year, since they are freelanced and work for more than one company.”

Queerfest is advertised as a space “to rejoice in a radical spirit of queerness, defiance, diversity and self-expression for six utopian, space-age, magical hours”.

An evening of live music and dancing, Queerfest is Oxford’s biggest student celebration of LGBTQ+ culture, which culminates Queer Week.

A spokesperson for the college told Cherwell: “Wadham College has been using R&R Frontline Services for many years. Since last year’s Queerfest, in consultation with Wadham students, the College has continued to employ this company to work at regular Wadham bops and at Wadstock.

“R&R Frontline Services have confirmed that employees concerned in isolated incidents at last year’s Queerfest will not be working at the event on Saturday.”

R&R declined to comment.