What's in the Cinema this Week? (Oct 12-18)

Opening in Oxford this week is Black Sheep, starring Nathan Meister, Danielle Mason, and Peter Feeney. Black Sheep is a horror comedy about a New Zealander with a phobia of sheep and his brother who genetically engineers them. When animal activists release one of the lambs, its bite turns people and other sheep into killers. (15)

Also out this week is Ratatouille. Disney/Pixar’s latest animated extravaganza cooks up a kitchen-full of fun as Remy the food-loving rat struggles to become a top chef whilst avoiding those who don’t appreciate his culinary ambitions. This film contains comic violence and one use of mild language. (U)

Resident Evil: Extinction, opens on Friday, starring Milla Jovovich - the final instalment from the series based on the hugely popular video game. Subjected to biogenic experimentation and now with super human strengths, Alice (Milla Jovovich) must eliminate a new deadly virus. This film contains strong bloody violence. (15)

Opening at the Odeon on Magdalen Street is The Nanny Diaries. Scarlett Johansson stars as a graduate working as a nanny for a rich family. Can she juggle the demands of a dysfunctional family, romance and the brat in her charge? This film contains one use of strong language. (12A)

The Invasion, starring Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, and Jeremy Northam, opens this week. Nicole Kidman stars as a psychiatrist whose son becomes infected by an extraterrestrial disease, the only way to save her son and the world is to find a cure. (15)

Showing at The Phoenix this week is The Counterfeiters, starring Martin Brambach, August Diehl, Karl Markovics, and Devid Striesow. A devastatingly effective wartime thriller based upon real events, THE COUNTERFEITERS crackles with class and intelligence. In 1936, the Nazis established the largest counterfeiting operation in history, with the intention of flooding the British and American economies with fake currency. Enlisted to assist were any concentration camp inmates with skills in the right department - among them master forger, gambler and charismatic rogue Salomon ‘Sally’ Sorowitsch, who is at first energised by his new task. But as the war grinds on, the moral frailty of Sorowitsch’s position becomes more and more apparent, and he must choose which side he is on. (15)

Lastly, on Wednesday and Thursday are advanced screenings of Stardust. Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer and Charlie Cox star in this fantasy adventure by bestselling author Neil Gaiman. A young man promises to retrieve a fallen star from a magical realm. (PG)

Get showtimes for all the cinemas in Oxford

What's in the Theatre this week? (Oct 12-18)

Oxford Playhouse:

Burial at Thebes - A tale of conflict between personal loyalties and responsibility to the state. Antigone's brother lies where he fell in rebellion against the authorities. Her uncle, King Creon, outlaws his burial. Antigone's appalling dilemma is whether to obey Creon and offend against the gods, or to follow her heart and plunge her accursed family into a fresh cycle of violence.

Chris Packham - Did you know that there is only one truly blue bird? Could you guess that the oldest living things on earth are still thriving just around your corner? This lively, informative and entertaining illustrated talk is a romp through some of the most peculiar, amazing, disgusting or confounding aspects of the world’s wildlife. Using his own superb photographs, Chris Packham relates his encounters with weird and wonderful creatures and with tales of their strange lives, regales young and old alike.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Following a sell-out run at the RSC last year, and created from the luminous diversity of modern India, mythic warriors, lovers, artisans and spirits are conjured up in an exhilarating mix of fierce poetry and the madness of love in Tim Supple’s spectacular take on Shakespeare’s glorious comedy.

Old Fire Station:

Personals The Musical - Written by the creators of hit sit-com 'Friends', and the composers of 'Wicked' and 'Little Shop of Horrors', Maple Giant Theatre bring 'PERSONALS' to Oxford, a hilariously quirky two-act show with a comic musical look at singledom and the desire to find the ultimate life partner. Will Internet dating really lead to life-long love?

Burton Taylor Theatre:

Greek - Berkoff’s Oedipal East End prophecy is stuffed full of vomit, leering faces and incest. Crawl after Eddy in his attempt to escape Tufnell Park - will he succeed, or has his fate got other plans?

Fewer Emergencies - A surreal series of scenes, in which anonymous characters chase anonymous narratives down anonymous roads and never quite get to the end; from the writer of 'Attempts On Her Life'.

New Theatre:

South Pacific - One of the best-loved musicals by Rogers and Hammerstein. Set in an American naval camp in the South Pacific during WWII, it has choruses of US marines and navy nurses interacting with native islanders. In spite of background tension from the war, comedy and romance flourish in this tropical paradise.

An Audience with Antony Hanse - Abingdon’s own Antony Hansen, made famous by his appearance in the hit BBC 1 programme Any Dream Will Do performs in aid of the drama departments at Didcot Girls and St Birinus Boys School. Antony will be joined on stage by judge Zoë Tyler and fellow competitors of the programme including Johndeep Moore, Chris Crosby as well as boy band Eclipse and the Choirs of Didcot Girls and St Birinus Boys School.

Pegasus Theatre:

Spring Forward/Fall Back - Using a remarkable group of dancers ranging in age from 16 to 86 and the spontaneity of a live musician, Spring Forward/Fall Back explores the relationship between young and old and the things that can unite and divide us all. Performance is 20 mins. Workshop is 75 mins. The performance and workshop will be followed by afternoon tea.

Theatre at Headington:

Dylan Thomas: Return Journey - Bob Kingdom’s legendary interpretation of Dylan Thomas’s American lectures has been touring the world for 21 years now, and has been immortalised in the film of the same name directed by Anthony Hopkins. Now Kingdom returns to the stage for a farewell anniversary tour, proving that his one-man show remains as powerful and captivating as ever. Featuring the poems ‘Fern Hill’, ‘Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night’, ‘Poem in October’, ‘And death shall have no dominion’ as well as the broadcast ‘Return Journey’ and prose piece ‘A Story’, it offers a tangibly heartfelt portrayal of Kingdom’s countryman. Reviewers have spoken of the way in which Kingdom ‘becomes’ Thomas on the stage, and this celebration of the poet’s short life and work is theatre at its low-tech best. This farewell tour performance will also include the classic Thomas’ story A Child’s Christmas in Wales.

The Janet Young Memorial Lecture - The sixth annual lecture in memory of Baroness Young is delivered by Headington parent Tim Haines. Tim Haines was a journalist before joining the BBC in 1988 as Assistant Producer on Tomorrow’s World, subsequently working on series such as QED and Horizon. Today, he is best known as the creator and series producer on the ground-breaking, multi-award winning BBC Science series Walking with Dinosaurs. A founding director of Impossible Pictures, Tim’s more recent projects include the spectacular four part drama documentary Space Odyssey, the ‘talking animals’ drama The Legend of the Tamworth Two, and his latest project, ITV’s Primeval.

College Theatre:

Guardians - O’Reilly Theatre, Keble College
Smile. Click. A split second: enduring evidence. Front page news. Political fodder. But does anyone question what happens behind the lens? Guardians will change how you look at the news. Striking, edgy and dark, the story of the photos from Abu Ghraib tackles thorny issues of media, politics and morality.

Wish I Had A Sylvia Plath - The Pilch, Jowett Walk
One Women. One Talking Oven. One Hour… Following a FRINGE FIRST Award and sweeping praise at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year, Edward Anthony’s moving and darkly funny new play uses the last ten seconds in the life of a suicidal housewife to lay open the heart and soul of one of the most elusive and unsettling American icons of the 20th Century, Sylvia Plath.

For all theatre information, times and dates, click here

This Week's Music Highlights (Oct 12-18)

Friday:

• Mozart, Haydn and Bach with James Bowman in Oxford - University Church of St Mary
• The Ruins + Liddington + No Machine - Jericho Tavern

Saturday:

• Stone/Kynoch: Opening concert of 2007 Oxford Lieder Festival - Holywell Music Room
• Vivaldi’s Women: In Memory Of Elsie Arnold (1925-2007) - University Church of St Mary
• Flute And Piano Recital - St Giles Church
• Coo Coo Club with Morrison Steam Fayre + Tristan & The Troubadours + Little Fish + Roxanne: The Early Years - Jericho Tavern
• OXJAM with Jaberwok / Mr Shaodow/ Rubber Duck/ The Swamis. All proceeds to Oxfam - Backroom at the Bullingon

Sunday:

• Coffee Concert with John Myerscough (Cello) - Holywell Music Room
• Tord Gustavsen Trio - Jacqueline du Pre Music Building
• Chilingarian String Quartet - Holywell Music Room
• Spiers & Boden - Backroom at the Bullingdon

Monday:

• Famous Monday Night Blues - featuring The Ian Parker Band - Backroom at the Bully
• Oxford New Concertante - New College Chapel
• Belle Musette - St Michael at the North Gate
• Foals - Carling Academy

Tuesday:

• Blues for Pablo- The Big Bang
• The Oxford Jazz Club featuring Katya Gorie & Denny Ilett Jr - Backroom at the Bully
• Flute Recital: Kathryn Ball - Christ Church Cathedral
• Lunch with Schubert - Holywell Music Room
• Seth Lakeman - Carling Academy

Wednesday:

• Oxford Lieder: Broderick/Beatty - Holywell Music Room
• Oxfordbands.com in aid of Oxjam: Witches + Harry Angel + Richard Walters + Mewgatz - Port Mahon

Thursday:

• Oxford Philomusica performs Elgar - Sheldonian Theatre
• Kate Williams Band - Spin at the Wheatsheaf
• Alan Tyler & The Lost Sons of Littlefield + The Marmadukes - Jericho Tavern

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