Culture & Literature – The Orbital

‘Nocturnal is the New Sexy’ is dreamy, absurd, and grounded in truth

11Sep

By Suhana LimbuNo Comments

‘Nocturnal is the New Sexy’ is dreamy, absurd, and grounded in truth

Suhana Limbu, Associate Culture Writer Glas Scorpion Theatre Company’s Nocturnal is the New Sexy uniquely contributes to the well-known–yet still overlooked–fact that the NHS workforce is experiencing staff shortages, high turnover, and unmanageable workloads. Written and directed by Esme Sharpington, this dark comedy follows Alice (played by Alix Lander), an NHS call-handler, who’s been switched to night shifts whilst her boyfriend, Ben (played by Toby Lyons), works a nine-to-five job at a stationery company. Nocturnal challenges what we think we know about modern relationships, revealing how external systems cause greater strain than realised. Inspired by Sharpington’s shifts as bank staff for NHS services, perhaps that’s why the play’s vulnerability is undoubtedly...

In Conversation With… Louise Parker and Insanity Radio: How Radio Is Shaping the Path For The Future of Media.

15Apr

By Ruby SharkieNo Comments

Music, News

In Conversation With… Louise Parker and Insanity Radio: How Radio Is Shaping the Path For The Future of Media.

By Ruby Sharkie, Associate News Editor With the rise of streaming services, on demand and AI, its easy to assume that radio is an old and dying industry… and that may also have been my opinion, before I found out what it really is when researching this article. I found that radio isn't dying, it's constantly evolving and adapting. From the 19th century to the 21st, radio has helped humans to wirelessly communicate - whether it be Morse Code, military messages, news, drama performances, music and so much more. So, whether it’s a shift from interior design to the BBC or student presenters finding their voices for the first time, the "magic" of the mic is as potent as ever. I went behind the scenes to speak with the producers and presenters who prove that radio’s heart is still beat...

9Mar

By Liv Briens MonteroNo Comments

Culture, Music

The Striking Fortune of Thunder

by Liv Briens Montero, staff writer Fortune at the Teatro Coliseo When Trueno, a young growing star of Argentinian rap, stepped onto the stage of the renowned Teatro Coliseo for his collaboration with Red Bull Symphonic, the evening felt larger than a musical collaboration. It was a statement about space, legitimacy, and cultural power. Dressed in Air Force 1s and an oversized formal suit, Trueno appeared to reinvent orchestral protocol. The silhouette echoed classical tradition, yet subtly disrupted it. The whole orchestra was wearing the same sneakers as Trueno, as a nod to the overlapping of the two worlds. Streetwear met symphony; formality met defiance. The visual message was immediate: he was not adapting to the institution, he was reshaping it. Reinve...

22Feb

By Marnie BakerNo Comments

Culture, Literature

Are All Great Writers Honest?

By Marnie Baker, Staff Writer Honesty is a fundamental part of life and growth. It enables us as human beings to connect not only with ourselves, but with others. It allows for whole, meaningful relationships and a fulfilling life rich with discovery and freedom. But is it integral for writers to be honest, and what is the purpose of honesty in literature? Whilst fiction may seem to be simply fabrication or invention, there are often always traces of truth, however small, within a writer’s work. For writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin, honesty was a quality within his writing that he found inescapable. His goal was to be “an honest man and a good writer”, implying that the two are intrinsically interlinked. Alongside being a monumental figure in Black history, Baldwin rem...

‘God bless these 20-somethings’: Looking back on SZA’s Ctrl in young adulthood

17Feb

By Suhana LimbuNo Comments

Culture, Music

‘God bless these 20-somethings’: Looking back on SZA’s Ctrl in young adulthood

Suhana Limbu, Associate Culture Editor It’s 2018, and my thirteen-year-old self is screaming along to the lyrics of SZA’s album, Ctrl. I was especially devoted to her hit single, ‘Drew Barrymore’. Hairbrush in hand, still dressed in my school uniform—though my missing blazer must’ve been thrown on the staircase banister—I borrowed SZA’s woman-ness to sing as a young girl, ‘Is it warm enough for you inside me, me, me, me?’. Now, I had actually thought that the lyrics were, ‘Is it woman enough for you inside me?’, and didn’t realise the line’s sexual innuendo. Instead, thirteen-year-old me was convinced that the then twenty-seven-year-old SZA understood my frustrated entrapment from womanhood—a magical, distant transformation in time that would surely fill in the gaps of my teenage i...

Mapping the Music Scene of 1986: Orbital’s Founding Soundtrack, 40 Years On

16Feb

By Isobel CarnochanNo Comments

Culture, Music

Mapping the Music Scene of 1986: Orbital’s Founding Soundtrack, 40 Years On

By Isobel Carnochan, Senior Culture Editor I have never considered myself to be an expert on the ‘80s. Something about the ‘90s glitzy, glamorous grunge always appealed more to me: I worshipped Kate Moss, listened to Nirvana and Hole more than any other artists combined, and treated Buffy Summers like my personal fashion inspiration. But this winter break has brought me back home and reunited me with my record collection, and for the first time I noticed just how many of my favourite albums were released in 1986. In celebration of the Orbital’s 40th birthday, I’m taking you on a trip through the deepest nooks and crannies of my music library to uncover the tracks of the Orbital’s founding year. 1986 was undoubtedly a monumental year for music. Honestly, what wouldn’t I give to have ...

‘Man’s greatness is determined by his heart, not by his caste’: Moving Towards Literature amidst Nepalese Disparity

12Feb

By Suhana LimbuNo Comments

Culture, Literature

‘Man’s greatness is determined by his heart, not by his caste’: Moving Towards Literature amidst Nepalese Disparity

By Suhana Limbu, Associate Culture Editor When I began planning this article, I asked my British-Nepalese peers a simple question: “What do you think of when I say ‘literature’?” They answered profusely. They recited writers, novels, and poems, but they were all Western-centred. Once I asked what comes to mind when I say “Nepalese literature”, I was met with a pause. After a moment of struggle, they admitted to their limited knowledge; many of their answers connoted ideas of ancient folklore, religion, and lost literature. The phrase "lost literature" particularly gripped me. In recent years, there’s been a clear rising interest in Asian culture. Although seeing this representation heartens me, I’ve noticed that there’s no presence of Nepalese literature––how have we com...

The Year of Reading: A Concerning Decline in Reading Rates amongst Youths

9Feb

By Ruby SaggersNo Comments

Literature, News

The Year of Reading: A Concerning Decline in Reading Rates amongst Youths

Ruby Saggers, Editor-in-Chief January 1st officially marked the start of ‘The Year of Reading’, an initiative introduced by the Department of Education and the National Literacy Trust. This is a campaign supported by an array of sponsors, and delivered by a group of literacy sector charities with hopes of making reading pleasurable, accessible, and a hobby to introduce regardless of age or circumstance. The National Literacy Trust found that in just two decades there has been a 36% drop in eight to eighteen year olds reading in their spare time. Queen Camilla issued a statement in regards to the fifth anniversary of The Queen’s Reading Room, in which she stated: “Reading truly changes how we perceive, how we think and how we connect.” In light of this, I conducted an i...

The Failures of Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein

25Jan

By Isobel CarnochanNo Comments

Culture, Film & TV, Literature

The Failures of Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein

By Isobel Carnochan, Senior Culture Editor Content Warnings: Death and killing Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has been one of my favourite books since I was a young teenager. To me, Frankenstein is literature at its peak: it has gorgeous prose, a compelling narrative, and is topped with intricately complicated themes and moral wonderings. Naturally, I was ecstatic when I learnt that a new adaptation was being made for Netflix. But, after watching it, I was nothing short of disappointed. Del Toro’s adaptation removed all of Shelley’s luscious nuance and complexity in favour of spoon-fed, vapid moral messaging (a character literally tells Victor “you’re the real monster”, just in case we hadn’t picked up on that already) and outdated gender norms. In the end, all this new adaptation amou...

Born With Teeth: Education at the Theatre

5Jan

By Ruby DayNo Comments

Culture, Theatre & Performance

Born With Teeth: Education at the Theatre

By Ruby Day, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Some experiences are electric. Watching legendary playwrights Christopher ‘Kit’ Marlowe and William Shakespeare prowl around, pine for, and pounce on one another is undeniably worthy of such categorisation. Running for a limited 11-week season on the West End (13th August to 1st November 2025), Liz Duffy Adams’ Born With Teeth combines historical fact, scholarly speculation, and poetic license into an exceptional play that stands testament to the idea that a night at the theatre can be just as educational as attending a lecture. I admit, I was principally drawn to this production because of the undeniable crush I have on Edward Bluemel, who takes up the role of Shakespeare alongside his forcefully dynamic co-star, Ncuti Gatwa’s Marlowe. Attending ...