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Image description: A portrait of Frederico Colli against a grey background Adaptation is a contentious topic for early music audiences. Some say that musicians should play a Baroque piece in a manner loyal to the time in which it was written, replicating the atmosphere of the eighteenth century as best they can; others believe that […]
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Content warning: this article contains brief mentions of sexual abuse and substance abuse. Last week, I was fortunate to have a ticket to a private performance of ‘People, Places, and Things’, held in the kitchen of a student house in Cowley. With the playwright – Duncan Macmillan – having not yet released the rights to […]
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Image description: O’Neill’s latest album cover When Lisa O’Neill stepped on the stage and went straight for the microphone without stopping to pick up an instrument, and delivered a rendition of an old roamer tale, the tone was set for what was to follow. Uncompromisingly traditional, unapologetically Irish, the beautiful coming together of History, folk, […]
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The Personal History of David Copperfield, based on the novel by Charles Dickens, tells the story of David Copperfield’s (Dev Patel) journey from childhood into adulthood. It focuses on the relationships he develops with a huge cast of characters who he meets as he travels “from rags to riches… and back again”. Sold as a […]
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When the trailers were almost all for children’s animations, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from December’s Screen Unseen (a scheme in which Odeon shows previews of films they believe to be future classics for a fiver, the only catch being that they don’t tell you what it will be). I was beginning to […]
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The Pillowman is the ultimate combination of sadism, subterfuge, heartbreak and humour and Tom Fisher’s adaptation will certainly leave a haunting impression. On an unlit stage occupied by only a table and three chairs, The Pillowman opens in silence and we are dazzled by the glare of a torch which interrogates the faces of the […]
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If you happen to be a stranger to pandan, let me introduce you to this enigmatic Asian ingredient. Hold tight, you’re in for a treat. Pandan, or more correctly Pandanus amaryllifolius (no sniggering, please), is a tropical plant with an aroma like no other. It has a subtle, almost floral perfume, dancing with notes of […]
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Love Actually is my favourite Christmas film. When Santa’s sack of vac scheme deadlines pushes me to the edge, I like to kick back and relax to some wholesome content. This is my escapism of choice. Love Actually is not only touching and profound but offers a vision of a better Britain. Fans of ‘multikulti’ […]
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Having moved to new York from Indiana, Charlie Barber (Adam Driver) – in his now ex-wife’s words – has become “more New Yorker than any New Yorker”. He is a recently established theatre director. Nicole (Scarlett Johansson), born and bred in Los Angeles, became locally famous for a film about college life and was engaged […]
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As a busy, slightly broke student, I’m guilty of forgetting to eat enough fruit and veg. During my first summer at Oxford when I didn’t go home for the vac, I managed to accidentally malnourish myself by trying to subsist on porridge oats and gluten free pancakes. My GP kindly prescribed ‘Salmon and dark green […]
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Above: Lana del Rey Weeks have passed since the release of Norman Fucking Rockwell!, Lana Del Rey’s 6th studio album. NFR! was reviewed glowingly by the likes of Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, and with ‘Video Games’ being recently pronounced ‘Song of the Decade’ at the Q awards, it seems like Lana Del Rey has […]
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Image description: bronze reclining satyr figure The art and artefacts of Pompeii radiate life and death in this Ashmolean exhibition. AD79: the eruption of Vesuvius marked the end of the lives of the Pompeiians. The rediscovery of the city in the 18th century marked the beginning of what could be argued to be a new […]
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Everything seems to be going rather well for Brandon Paak Anderson, known by his stage name of Anderson .Paak. Having recently played a sold-out show at Alexandra Palace, received a Grammy for best rap performance for his track ‘Bubblin’, and charted at 11 on the US Billboard 200 with his latest album, Oxnard, there seems […]
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In true Luddite fashion, I have tended to prefer art where I can see a clear and realistic depiction of life; what is more impressive than the ability to capture a fragment of life with such clarity that you can hardly distinguish it from a photograph? Nevertheless, I was intrigued by the spam I had […]
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Today I’m a very lucky man writing about a very unlucky man. I’m lucky for seeing the Tate Britain’s Van Gogh and Britain before it opened. It’s an extraordinary exhibition, worth every penny. The unlucky man needs no introduction. Vincent Van Gogh is the quintessential tortured artist. Imaging him now, you’ve an an image of […]
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As a consumer, I am the disloyal type. I buy own brand, whatever’s cheapest; I latch onto other people’s accounts and do not mourn when I am eventually flicked away by a change of password; I don’t keep up with any TV shows and scale the New Statesman paywall each week via numerous incognito tabs, […]
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Think back to your favorite childhood films–the ones you could always be caught watching in the living room, the ones you could quote by heart and see vividly in your mind before you went to sleep at night. Were they action-packed, fantastical, comedic? Why did you like them? Was there a point when you suddenly […]
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With the chills of British winter in full force, the cinema should have a prime position in your weekly schedule. Our love for the cinema has frequently translated into the worlds of movies themselves, with main characters attending the pictures during their journeys. The closed-off space has been utilised to create sinister, tense and foreboding […]
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As Oscar Wilde declared in his preface to The Picture of Dorian Grey, ‘All art is quite useless’. Wilde’s statement falls on deaf ears in Dan Gilroy’s tale of pretentious art dealers and material greed. After taking paintings from the apartment of a deceased artist, Josephina (Zawe Ashton) is cajoled by boss Rhodora (Rene Russo) […]
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