Friday, March 29Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Author: Georgia Beith

Are we Running out of Music?
Culture & Literature, Music

Are we Running out of Music?

Recently, Lana Del Rey announced that she was being sued for breach of copyright by Radiohead. The English band are claiming that her 2017 song “Get Free” bares significant resemblance to their iconic 1992 hit “Creep”. This is not the first music copyright dispute that “Creep” has been caught up in. Upon its release, Radiohead were sued by the Hollies for having similarities to their song “The Air That I Breathe” released in 1972. Music copyright claims are, clearly, nothing new. Ed Sheeran was sued in 2017 for his platinum single “Photograph”, Mark Ronson was forced to add a number of additional song writing credits to his number 1 hit “Uptown Funk”, and even the Ghostbusters theme song was involved in a copyright dispute that was eventually settled out of court. Are these just all ...
Review: Fish Out of Water’s “Hares on a Mountain”
Culture & Literature, Music

Review: Fish Out of Water’s “Hares on a Mountain”

Fish Out of Water is a folk rock quintet hailing from Bournemouth, and fronted by one of Royal Holloway’s own, Maria Green. They are following up their debut album “Carp Diem” with the release of a four track EP; “Hares on a Mountain”. Working with Talking Elephant Records, the five piece band’s second release is decidedly more polished, and presents a slicker, more cohesive sound than their first ten track album. Their sound travels in a slightly heavier direction at times, pulling traditional folk songs into the twenty first century through reworked covers. For a group of people so young Fish Out of Water expertly take on songs with centuries of history, churning out fresh, if not slightly experimental, music. Fish Out of Water’s revamped sound brings a new level of originality to ...
And The Winner Is…
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

And The Winner Is…

“Acting is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, and that doesn’t need to be separated into two different categories.” These were Emma Watson’s words as she accepted the MTV Award for “Best Actor in a Movie” as a result of her role as Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Her acceptance speech not only expressed her gratitude for receiving the award, but also her joy at it being the first ever gender neutral award for acting. While the MTV Awards are not renowned for being the most prestigious, in comparison to awards like the Oscars or the Emmy’s, the 2017 awards mark a milestone for gender equality in Hollywood. Many, like Watson, expressed their approval of the move. Billions’ actor Asia Kate Dillon, who presented Watson with the award, perfectly summed up the motivation b...
‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’

Georgia Beith criticises the ban of ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’ Upon first inspection, the Indian Hindi film ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’ would seem to be a relatively harmless, small, independent yet uplifting film. And what was intended to be an empowering portrayal of ordinary Indian women has sparked a wave of controversy after the Indian Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) refused to certify it; thereby preventing it from being released in India. There is little basis for their argument, which has opposed the film on the grounds that it is “lady orientated” and contains “sexual scenes, abusive words and audio pornography”. It is the first criticism of the film that has garnered the most attention, with accusations that this is an attempt to silence women in Indian popular cult...
Curtain Call: The Expense Of The West End
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Curtain Call: The Expense Of The West End

Georgia Beith discusses the inflating prices of the West End theatre scene and how that negatively impacts upon students. Theatre has long since been a favourite pastime of British society. From the playhouses of Elizabethan England, to the grand music halls of the Victorian era, theatres have been landmarks of London for centuries. Yet with soaring ticket prices, it’s becoming an art form that is increasingly inaccessible for people without mountains of disposable income, people like students and young people. Despite sales of tickets stagnating, the prices for West End tickets have continued to rise, alienating much of the British public from enjoying London’s top plays and musicals. A quick Google search show that if you want to book tickets to see a West End show this weekend, yo...
Historical Fact or Fiction?
Culture & Literature, Film & TV, Literature

Historical Fact or Fiction?

Georgia Beith discusses whether historical fiction should be more accurate. A piece of historical fiction, whether that be in the form of a book or a period drama, is one of life’s ultimate guilty pleasures. And as a student, especially a history student like myself, it’s not the most respectable thing in the world to admit that you like them. They’re riddled with anachronisms and inaccuracies that make a lot of people look down on them but that doesn’t diminish their entertainment factor. Perhaps as someone who studies the past it should bother me that Anne Boleyn probably didn’t consider sleeping with her brother in order to produce a child, or that Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ wasn’t likely to be heard at medieval jousting tournaments. But it doesn’t, though there are a number of p...
Netflix & Diversity
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Netflix & Diversity

Orbital's Georgia Beith gets to grips with an issue bigger than Netflix and Chill: the topic of Netflix and Diversity. Netflix is widely recognised as the future of the entertainment industry - it’s not news to anyone. It’s a way of watching film and TV that has rapidly increased in popularity. But it isn’t just its quickly garnered success that sets Netflix apart; it also far outstrips traditional forms of media in terms of representation. TV and film’s lack of diversity is not a new issue by any means but, more recently people have finally been taking notice of this problem. The #OscarsSoWhite controversy, a response to the lack of diverse acting nominees at last year’s Oscars, highlights the limited opportunities and recognition given to actors of ethnic minorities. The lack o...
A Triumphant Team Effort at the ‘Winter Concert’.
Culture & Literature, Music

A Triumphant Team Effort at the ‘Winter Concert’.

This year’s Winter Concert was a lovely collaborative effort between two of Royal Holloway’s many choirs: the Gospel Choir and the resident A capella choir, Absolute Harmony. Set against the simply stunning backdrop of the Chapel in Founder’s Hall, the two choirs treated the audience to a selection of songs, both new and old, traditional and contemporary, to create a special evening of live music. Topped off with a traditional Christmas carol, performed by both choirs together, it was a great way to get into the festive spirit. Perhaps some questions could be raised over whether some of the song choices were quite appropriate, considering the particularly religious venue, but I’m sure no one would have changed the setting for the world. Besides from being visually beautiful, the high ec...
Shakespeare Society Presents ‘Much Ado About Nothing’
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Shakespeare Society Presents ‘Much Ado About Nothing’

For their first term production, Royal Holloway’s Shakespeare Society are tackling one of Shakespeare’s best loved comedies: Much Ado About Nothing. It’s no small feat taking on such a well known play, but it’s a challenge they rise to wonderfully. It’s the age old tale of a love/hate relationship as we watch Beatrice (Olivia Dutson) and Benedick (Dan Scott) bicker their way through the marriage of Claudio (Will Maidment) and Hero (Samantha Van Den Esschert) and the troublesome scheming of Don John (Tom Knight), the bastard half brother of the honourable Don Pedro (Momin Ahmad). No production of Much Ado would be complete without the iconic overhearing scenes, which are staged hilariously, and this time there’s even the appearance of a small dance number – because, why not? The s...
Anti-Halloween Film Picks
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Anti-Halloween Film Picks

The Orbital's Arts journalists give you their favourite films to watch to combat the spooky season of Halloween and the cold wintry nights to come! Beth Carr - Love Actually You can't not smile while watching a load of people fall in and out of love and connect their lives in unexpected ways. The music is sublime and the storyline is extremely clever, brought to life by a stunning cast of cinematic favourites. Plus, Halloween means it's basically almost Christmas, right? Isabella Mansell - Mamma Mia Who doesn't love an Abba singalong? The feel-good plot of love and comic wit leaves everyone with a smile on their face and a toe-tapping experience! Why not escape the British cold and drizzle through the Grecian Summer and nothing could be further away from the t...