Friday, April 26Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Tag: Arts

Jealousy
Culture & Literature

Jealousy

Her lipstick bruises your cheek again - cheap pharmacy purple, of all narcissus' blooms. In the year's twilight my hands, cold with longing, bury themselves in dead words, hoping to find love pressed, like some rare flower, between the pages. In the space between the music and lights she turns, oozing glitter, spiraling in the crush of sweat and lust. She is fool's gold, forest-fire, ice-queen; snagging drinks for the promise of a kiss never given. Outside, in the frost-stunned night, leaves are falling like hope.
Highbrow Horror: Our Current Golden Age of Scary Cinema
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Highbrow Horror: Our Current Golden Age of Scary Cinema

Something strange is happening in the film industry today: horror, the longstanding recipient of film critics’ harshest vitriol, is experiencing its very own renaissance. The genre, which for decades has been derided as only a source of schlocky thrills and cheesy plotlines, is finally gaining positive attention thanks to a new wave of horror films garnering rave reviews. Films like The Babadook, The Witch, It Comes At Night, and Hereditary are challenging viewers’ suppositions of what a horror movie is, and how good it can be. These films eschew common horror tricks, like numerous jump scares or gratuitous gore, instead choosing to find horror in more thought-provoking places. It Comes At Night in particular foregoes the inclusion of a supernatural entity or crazed serial killer at all...
When The Clock Strikes 00:00
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

When The Clock Strikes 00:00

Engaging, thought-provoking and transparent are some of the adjectives that come to mind thinking back on the brilliant performance at The Packhorse, ‘00:00’, a play put on from the 7th to the 9th of December by ‘from (a)basement theatre collective’. The plot involves an exploration into the lives of employees of the Network Rail and is a conversation starter for tough and heavy topics such as mental health, suicide and social conventions. The small cast of four manage to tackle these serious and controversial topics in an empathetic yet frank way, unapologetically showing the audience the truth of the lives and struggles of those who run the behind-the-scenes of England’s Rail system. The cast are not given names, but instead letters of the alphabet, which further reiterates how unreco...
Through The Lens of a Camera: Comedy Virgins
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Through The Lens of a Camera: Comedy Virgins

On Thursday November 15, Royal Holloway’s very own Comedy Society had their first show of the year, and what a blast it was! Going to a comedy show is always exciting, and a great night full of fun and laughter is almost always guaranteed. But what happens when you’re not just there as an audience member? I attended as a videographer to film the event, and while you might assume the excitement would be pretty much non-existent due to the mere fact that I was there to do my job and be ‘professional’, this was not the case! Just seeing the enthusiastic faces of the people performing on the stage, even if only from behind my camera, was enough to make me happy for days and days to follow. From the name of the performance itself - ‘The Comedy Virgin Show’ - which immediately stirs up cur...
Mind the Gap: Good Enough to Make Even a Londoner Smile
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Mind the Gap: Good Enough to Make Even a Londoner Smile

It's easy for an abstract drama production, while aiming for a profound, almost philosophical execution, to slip unwittingly into turgid verses of stilted disarray. Entering the Student Workshop’s latest production, Mind the Gap, whose social commentary, I had heard, bubbled at the surface of the show, I was convinced it would follow the same conceited creed. While watching the opening scene, I chuckled sombrely to myself, having found another esoteric piece to lambaste relentlessly. However, come the dropping of the figurative curtains, I had come to the resolute conclusion that my initial interpretation was entirely and profoundly incorrect. Anton Ego had his taste of ratatouille. The cast radiate a comforting exuberance throughout the show, allowing it to narrowly avoid the classic t...
Introducing: Lesedi
Culture & Literature, Music

Introducing: Lesedi

So perhaps we can start with you guys introducing yourselves. Who are you, what do you play and what do you study? E: I'm Eve! I play sax, flute, and sing, and I study music along with Dan and Tom. D: I’m Dan, I’m going into my second year studying music and I play keys for the band. T: I'm Tom, I'm also going into second year and I'm the drummer!   Awesome! Did you all meet on the music course at Royal Holloway? D: Yes we did! It didn’t take us long to realise we were all interested in similar things, and Eve approached Tom and I and asked us to start a band with her! T: We mainly play funk music, which ranges from covers to originals but we also cover rock, pop and plenty of genres in-between.   An interesting mix then! Who are your greatest influence...
Interview: Callum Pardoe takes the Reigns of Holloway Players
Sports & Socs

Interview: Callum Pardoe takes the Reigns of Holloway Players

Today we sit down with Callum Pardoe, who this year has taken on the role as the Holloway Players Representative with Drama Society. We spoke to Callum, who is going into his second year at Royal Holloway, about all things Improv and what to him makes The Holloway Players the crazy, talented group of performers they are. What persuaded you to join the Holloway Players last year? I'd always wanted to get into improv and after seeing the Players perform at the Drama Society Taster sessions I was dead set on working with them. I thought to myself 'these are the most hilarious people I've ever seen in life! I have to get to know them!' What are your highlights from last year? Last year had its fair share of highlights for me but if I had to pick one it would have to be performing i...
Three Fish in a Tree: Review
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Three Fish in a Tree: Review

“If you forever judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its life thinking that it's stupid”- Albert Einstein. This quotation is the foundation on which the Student Workshop’s recent production, Three Fish in a Tree, is based. I’m not normally one to endorse the use of Instagram-bio pseudo-philosophical quotes, however I would argue that in the context of this production the quotation is actually quite profound. Three Fish in a Tree is a celebration of originality: following the story of three characters whose lives have been affected by Dyslexia, Autism and ADD. The charming nuisances were at first completely lost upon an uncultured swine such as myself, as the abstract script is ambiguous towards the concept of time and space, which was somewhat confusing. However, onc...
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 ...
What Can the Royal Opera House Do For You?
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

What Can the Royal Opera House Do For You?

  Situated in Covent Garden, the current Royal Opera House is the third building to stand in the area after the two previous theatres burned down in a fire. The second re-opening kicked off with the royal seal of approval and a new name ‘the Royal Italian Opera House’. After hosting composers such as Handel and Michael Costa, the Royal Opera House was growing in both audience and repertoire. It was renamed once again to what we know now as ‘the Royal Opera House’ after it sadly burned down for the second time. However this has not affected its popularity as it now covers over two acres – from main stage to rehearsal studio… But over the years  words such as ‘Elitist’, ‘snobby’ and ‘highbrow’ have been used to describe ballet, opera and other art forms on display at the Royal Ope...