Culture – Page 2 of 5

Jonathan Bailey as Shakespeare’s Richard II

9Mar

By Madeline SidgwickNo Comments

Jonathan Bailey as Shakespeare’s Richard II

By Madeline Sidgwick: Editor-In-Chief Recently, my friend and I had the privilege of watching Nicholas Hytner’s production ofShakespeare’s Richard II at the Bridge Theatre in London. I have studied Shakespeare in the pastbut only seen one of the plays live before, so I was incredibly excited ahead of this production.With staging in the round and nuanced performances from all, it is safe to say that I was beyondimpressed with the play. Bridgerton and Wicked star Jonathan Bailey took on the role of, as the Bridge Theatre describeshim, the “charismatic, eloquent (…) dangerous and politically incompetent” Richard II. As a fanof Bailey’s screen work, it was brilliant to witness his skills on stage. From capturing Richard’sself-absorbed and witty nature, to delivering intense soliloquies,...

The New Archival: Thoughts On Diary-Keeping in the Digital Age

26Feb

By Ruby DayNo Comments

Culture

The New Archival: Thoughts On Diary-Keeping in the Digital Age

By Ruby Day -- Senior Culture Editor Recently, I read an article on Substack about the typography of band names on old concert tickets. The piece mourned this specific art form in the wake of QR codes and nylon wristbands, but what really caught my attention was the name of the newsletter itself: The Casual Archivist. Using the term ‘archivist’ invokes images of innumerable shelves and dusty books and white cotton gloves, but when I really got to thinking about it, the words ‘archive’ and ‘archivist’ were cropping up again and again in unexpected places. Namely, the bios of various blogs and Instagram accounts I like to keep up with. They vary in content, based on similarly varying interests. A few favourites include an account dedicated to the daily exploration of a late father’s ...

22Feb

By Lucy GriffithsNo Comments

Culture, Music

Let’s talk about Slowdive’s ‘Souvlaki’

By Lucy Griffiths-- Deputy Illustrator I first listened to Slowdive when I was 15 years old, after coming across the music video to ‘Shine’ on YouTube. Other than being completely obsessed with the band Ride, I hadn’t previously heard of any other shoegaze bands. I was transfixed by Slowdive’s sound from that moment on, with Rachel Goswell’s ethereal vocals and the mesmerising vastness of everlasting guitar effects; this catapulted me into a sound world that guided me through the turbulence of growing up. Souvlaki was Slowdive’s second studio album released by Creation Records in 1993. For a bit of context, the front duo Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead had recently broken up, having been together since the formation of the band, and knowing each other since childhood. The bre...

A Guide to Finding the Relevant Book For You

13Feb

By Jess SmithNo Comments

Culture

A Guide to Finding the Relevant Book For You

By Jessica L. SmithChoosing the right book to read can be hard. Really hard. I’ve been an avid reader since I was a little kid, so you’d have thought it would get easier picking my next read, but often that is not the case. It can feel overwhelming, and like there’s too many books to read, and not enough time. So, how do you find the relevant book for you?To start simply, you have to read what you like, which relies on genre. Finding a book that appeals to you largely depends on the genres you’re interested in. This can be impacted by your current situation. Maybe you want to forget your reality and become engulfed in a fantasy. Maybe you’re feeling passionate about something and want to read a collection of non-fiction essays. Maybe you’re craving a feel-good romance that will have you k...

13Feb

By Kiera GarciaNo Comments

Culture

The Best Way to Crack an Egg

Image via Unsplash by Katie Smith By: Kiera Garcia – Associate Culture Editor Spoilers Ahead Back in October, I had the opportunity to see an advanced screening of We Live In Time atthe London Film Festival and since then I have been unable to stop telling people to see it.We Live In Time follows the lives of Almut and Tobias, two 30-something year-oldLondoners, as they navigate the ups and downs of their relationships together, specifically asAlmut is diagnosed with Ovarian cancer. The story is told non-chronologically, jumpingbetween the early stages of their relationship and what could be considered the present day,where Almut is struggling between her diagnosis and wanting to still do things that matter toher in the time she has left. The film gives you the feeling that yo...

13Feb

By Lena ZellerNo Comments

Culture, Culture & Literature, Literature

An Interview with Nicola Dinan

By Lena Zeller I had the pleasure of interviewing Nicola Dinan, a Creative Writing tutor at Royal Holloway, whose novel Bellies moved me deeply. Q: Would you introduce yourself to our readers? A: I’m a full-time novelist - my debut, Bellies, came out in 2023, and my sophomore novel, Disappoint Me, is out in January 2025. I’m currently a visiting tutor for the MA Creative Writing. Although I spend much of my working day thinking about books this is my first foray into an academic environment for writing, which might surprise people! I studied Natural Sciences at university and then trained as a lawyer before writing Bellies. Q: What has it been like to translate your experience as a writer into teaching? Did you learn anything about yourself as a writer...

A Girly Guide to Art History: In Defence of Pinterest

13Feb

By Rhian KilleNo Comments

Culture

A Girly Guide to Art History: In Defence of Pinterest

By Rhian Kille One thing about me, is that I love going into an art gallery and seeing a painting from the 1890s by a mentally ill Norwegian man and saying to my friend: ‘that’s sooo girl-coded!’ For some of you there is no convincing needed (the photo dumps look lovely by the way) but for others I think it’s so easy, when approaching ‘fine’ art or art history, to worry that you just don’t ‘get’ it. A similar mystique exists around poetry – these artistic mediums have gained a reputation for being inaccessible and pretentious. Especially since there is often a financial cost to galleries making this intangible barrier, well, tangible. People don’t look for fine art outside of galleries because the spaces seem elevated and impenetrable. The physical isolation associated with fine art...

BBC’s ‘The Hour’: Why You Should Watch and Learn

10Feb

By Madeline SidgwickNo Comments

Culture

BBC’s ‘The Hour’: Why You Should Watch and Learn

By Madeline Sidgwick-- Editor-In-Chief ‘The Hour’ is one of those TV series that has you intrigued immediately; combining a Russian spy mystery, romance, and the impeccable aesthetic of journalism in the 1950s.The shows two seasons revolve around a fictional current affairs program, The Hour, at the BBC in the 1950s-60s. Journalists aspiring for more, Bel (Romola Garai) and Freddie (Ben Whishaw) work with the smooth talking Hector Madden (Domonic West) to expose alleged government corruption and, as they argue, essential censorship that the BBC is under at the hands of government. The show also follows the mystery of a professor stabbed on the London Underground, but I will allow you to watch the series for yourself to find out where that leads. Despite facing negative reviews for ...

Media Cycles, Microtrends, and the Rise and Fall of Chappell Roan

5Feb

By Isobel CarnochanNo Comments

Culture, Music

Media Cycles, Microtrends, and the Rise and Fall of Chappell Roan

TW: Death, manslaughter For the past six months, Chappell Roan has been the name on everybody’s lips. Despite attempting to make it as a singer for the larger part of a decade, in the April of this year she was catapulted to new heights of fame when her song ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ went viral online, granting her A-List celebrity status practically overnight. Roan’s songs became a staple in every summer playlist, and I personally struggled (without complaint) to escape a daily viewing of at least one Instagram story that consisted of her music playing in the backdrop. In simpler words: Chappell Roan was pop culture’s newest princess. But, like every media-adored woman who came before her, her reign didn’t last long. In an Instagram post published on 24th August 2024, Roan publicl...

Sleeper Hits: Or, the Lost Art of The Cult Classic

5Feb

By Ruby DayNo Comments

Culture

Sleeper Hits: Or, the Lost Art of The Cult Classic

By Ruby Day -- Senior Culture Editor Cult Classic: noun “A work of fiction that is extremely popular with a select audience but may or may not be successful at the time of the work’s original publication.” Some of the best films I’ve ever seen are ‘sleeper hits’. Pieces of media that, on release, weren’t commercially profitable, but have garnered fascination and devotion in successive years. At the heart of a cult classic is unconventionality in its purest form; subcultural, hyper-specific, often anti-establishment concepts brought to life on the big screen. Other key features of the sleeper hit include distinctive aesthetic styles that dedicated fanbases emulate and relate to, original storytelling that can admittedly lead to misinterpretations, and ‘iconic’ characters and dial...