What's in the Cinema this Week? (May 4 - 10)

Opening in Oxford this week is Spider-Man 3, starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, Theresa Russell, and Bill Nunn. While Peter Parker is enjoying his success as a superhero, he learns of who might have killed Uncle Ben, which sends him into battle with Sandman and former friend, Harry Osbourne. At the same time a strange life force is brought back to earth by an astronaut, which forms a symbiotic relationship with Spider-man. The alien party influences Spider-man's behaviour for the worse, which eventually forces him to rip said symbiote from his body, creating the deadly 'Venom'. This film contains strong fantasy violence. (12A)

Also opening this week is Goya's Ghost , starring Natalie Portman, Javier Bardem, and Stellan Skarsgard. A beautifully shot film set at the time of the Spanish Inquisition. Natalie Portman, playing painter Franciso Goya's muse, admits to an act of heresy after being tortured, or 'put to the question'. This film contains moderate violence and torture sequences. (15)

Opening at the Phoenix this week is Lights in the Dusk (Laitakaupungin Valot) starring Janne Hyytiäinen, Maria Heiskanen, and Maria Järvenhelmi. Shy night watchman Koistinen (Hyytiäinen) is virtually ostracised by his fellow security guards and lives alone in a modest apartment... until he meets Mirja (Järvenhelmi), who seems to respond sympathetically to his slightly old-fashioned, gentlemanly manner. Sadly, Koistinen's sense of honour is no longer the norm in a world brutishly devoted to the advancement of social standing, political power and material wealth. This film contains scenes of mild violence. This film is subtitled. (PG)

Lastly, opening at the Vue Cinema this weekend is Fast Food Nation, starring Wilmer Valderrama and Greg Kinnear. Richard Linklater directs an adaptation of Eric Schlosser bestselling book about several different aspects of the fast food industry. Don Henderson, a marketing executive at a major fast food chain, is sent to the company's slaughterhouse to discover why contaminated meat is finding its way into the company's bestselling burger. Initially unconvinced, he eventually discovers that the truth is much worse than he could have possibly imagined.The film contains strong language, sex and slaughterhouse images. (15)

Get showtimes for all the cinemas in Oxford

What's in the Theatre this Week? (May 4 - 10)

The Oxford Playhouse:

The Wonderful World of Dissocia - A colourful and exciting off-kilter trip in search of one lost hour. A curious blend of the funny, the friendly and the brutal. A magical and moving play from the National Theatre of Scotland.

Uncut Confetti - John Hegley - Singer, poet & stand-up John Hegley returns to Oxford Playhouse with a brand new show.

The Unexpected Guest - One of Agatha Christie's most mischievous and chilling whodunnits, The Unexpected Guest is filled with all the suspense, intrigue and surprise twists that you would expect from the undisputed first lady of crime.

Old Fire Station:
Anthony and Cleopatra - When a triumvir of Rome and the queen of Egypt, two of the world's most famous historical figures, indulge in a forbidden love affair, political chaos ensues. As Anthony flits between Western realpolitik and the delights of the exotic East, our hero soon finds himself in a crisis of identity.

Burton Taylor Theatre:
Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land - What happens when a theatre accidentally books 2 plays in the same rehearsal slot? Confusion and chaos reign when the contemporary tragedy 'Secret Love' collides with classic comedy 'Peach Blossom Land' packing the stage with sorrow and laughter. (in Chinese with English surtitles)

The Secret Sin of Septimus Brope - New play by award-winning playwright Jem Bloomfield. A Wilde-style society comedy - jokes about Methodism! Fun poked at folly and a chambermaid no better than she ought to be! New Writing (after Saki)

The Dance of Death - Marooned on an island the locals call 'little hell' and trapped in a sadistic marriage, Alice and Edgar viciously and mercilessly rip into one another as old age and death approach. The inspiration behind Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - this is a bleakly humourous treatment of marriage gone diabolic.

New Theatre:
Sing-A-Long-A ABBA

Mr Men And Little Miss - The classic Roger Hargreaves characters are brought to life in an interactive stage show for kids.

The King and I - The King and I tells the story of a young English widow who has been brought to the Orient in order to impart Western culture to the King’s court. She manages not only to educate the King’s numerous wives and children, but also the King himself - a stubborn, half tyrannical, half childish, but surprisingly charming and always fascinating individual.

College Theatre:
The Cherry Orchard, by Anton Chekhov - President's Garden, Magdalen
Set in Magdalen College garden, this production presents a Chekhov not often seen. Neither a comedy nor a tragedy, but a snapshot of life in all its shades. The mixture of progressive politics and hereditary hierachy gives the play a dramatic tension, while at the same time clumsy romantics and childish naïveté lighten the mood. Just as the cherry orchard blossoms, delights and gives cause for reflection, so this production.

For all theatre information, times and dates, click here

This Week's Music Highlights (May 4 - 10)

Friday:

• Prema Kesselman - Flute with Tommy Harrington - Piano- Holywell Music Room


• Paul Lewis plays Beethoven Complete Piano Sonatas - Sheldonian Theatre


• Jazz in the Meadow - Magdalen Swing Band - Magdalen College

Saturday:

• Free lunchtime recital with Elizabeth Kelly (soprano) & Oliver Thomas (piano) - Queen's College


• The Melting Pot Presents Blind Pilots + Sketchbeat + The Sea + The Follys - Jericho Tavern

Sunday:

• Coffee Concert with Libor Novacek - Holywell Music Room


• The Music Box Presents A PRS Fund Raiser - An all day event - Exeter Hall

Monday:

• A PRS Fund Raiser with the Green Onions + The G's + more - Exeter Hall
  

Tuesday:

• Don Giovanni - a modern English production brought to you by Opera Anywhere - Jacqueline du Pre Music Building


• Zena James with Luis D’Agostino - The Big Bang

Wednesday:

• Magdalen Contemporary Orchestra play an exciting concert of Gerswhin and Bernstein - Sheldonian Theatre


• Don Giovanni - a modern English production brought to you by Opera Anywhere - Jacqueline du Pre Music Building


• Luis D’Agostino Quartet - Exeter Hall


• Oxford Punt - various music gigs around Oxford - The Music Market, The Wheatsheaf, QI Club, The Cellar, Borders, Purple Turtle

Thursday:

• Andrew Chamblin Memorial Concert - Christ Church


• Spring Concert by the Thames Vale Youth Orchestra - Sheldonian Theatre


• The Spin 8th birthday experience featuring Roger Beaujolais with the Spin Trio - The Spin at the Wheatsheaf


• Joby Burgess (percussion) and the Elysian Quartet: Powerplant - Jacqueline du Pre Music Building

Get information for Music Events in Oxford: Classical, Gig Guide, Folk, Jazz