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Culture Film Reviews

Review: Enys Men

Released on BFI Player earlier this month, Mark Jenkin’s Enys Men follows the daily routine of a plant researcher (Mary Woodvine) on the remote Cornish island of the same name. Each morning, she checks on a patch of flowers overlooking the sea and drops a stone down an abandoned mine shaft (Is it to reassure […]

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Culture Theatre

The Juke Box Musical Experience in Slovakia

I have recently written to the Student about my negative experience seeing the juke-box musical The Bodyguard at the Edinburgh Playhouse. To summarise my negative experience, the musical was amazing, but the rowdy audience members sitting next to me were problematic — singing, talking, eating loudly, and using their phone flashlights during the performance. I […]

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Book vs Film Culture Literature

Jane Austen on Film: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

It is a truth universally acknowledged that any article about Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice must begin with a naff riff on the ‘universally acknowledged’ line. It is also much acknowledged (rightly so) that Pride and Prejudice is one of the best books ever written. The BBC’s 2003 Big Read poll named it the nation’s second-favourite […]

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Culture Literature

Secondhand Books and the Stories They Tell

Picture this.  It’s a rare sunny day in Edinburgh; the meadows are scattered with groups of people with cans in hand and portable BBQ grills creating billows of smoke funnelling into the cloudless sky. The cherry blossom trees scatter petals across the pavements, and dandelions line the grass. Life is good – it’s the perfect […]

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Culture Literature News

Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023 Shortlist Announced

The Women’s Prize for Fiction (formerly known as the Bailey’s Prize) has announced its shortlist for 2023. The prize celebrates literary fiction published by female authors in the UK between the 1st of April to the 31st of March in any given year (though authors themselves do not have to be from the UK, nor […]

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Culture Feature TV

Women are at the Heart of House of the Dragon

I was sceptical going into House of the Dragon, HBO’s new(ish) Game of Thrones spin-off. The grim-dark edginess of the original and the increasing prioritisation of plot twists over thematic coherence caused me to abandon it after the sixth season. I was particularly irked by Game of Thrones’ use of rape to add texture to […]

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Culture Theatre

Review: Scottish Ballet’s A Streetcar Named Desire

The Scottish Ballet’s A Streetcar Named Desire is a magnificent, heart-wrenching depiction of loss and abuse. The dancers are charismatic forces of nature on the stage of the Festival Theatre, pouring their hearts and souls into portraying the complicated and tragic lives of their characters. This mesmerising production will leave you melancholy, yet A Streetcar […]

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Culture Literature

Muppet Adaptations of Classics (and the characters who remain human)

Prerequisite: Gonzo would always be the narrator.  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen This novel prompted this entire article. It just seems perfect. Miss Piggy is Elizabeth Bennet, of course. She’s got the sass, attitude, and charisma to play Jane Austen’s leading lady. We’d suggest Fozzie Bear as Mr Bingley and maybe Camilla the Chicken […]