What's in the Cinema this Week? (Jan 25-Feb 1)

Opening in Oxford this week is Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Dijmon Hounsou, and Jennifer Connelly. Set during Sierra Leone's civil war of the 1990s, Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a South African ex-mercenary who makes an unlikely union with a Mende fisherman in a quest to find a rare diamond. The film contains strong violence and language. (15)

Also opening this week is Venus starring Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Griffiths, Peter O'Toole, Leslie Phillips, and Jodie Whittaker. Acting institutions Peter O'Toole and Leslie Phillips collaborate with acclaimed director Roger Michell on an engaging 'coming of very old age' story in which the pair star as Maurice and Ian, two unsuccessful English actors who eke out a living doing bit-parts in TV and film. When Ian's (Phillips) grand-niece Jessie (Whittaker) comes to stay, Maurice (O'Toole) shows her the sights and sounds of London while trying to teach the youngster a thing or two about life. All does not go according to plan however, and Maurice ends up learning some hard lessons about himself. Sharply scripted by Hanif Kureishi, this is a funny and perceptive take on responsibility and growing old disgracefully. The film contains Contains very strong language. (15)

Opening at the Phoenix this week is Blue Blood, which follows five Oxford University students who leave behind their books and pencils to prepare themselves for a bloody fistfight. In a tradition that dates back more than 100 years, Oxford University closes its doors once a year to settle its bitter rivalry with Cambridge University once and for all. A story as much about sports and personal determination as it is a social commentary, BLUE BLOOD reveals a side of the Oxford student that is virtually unknown. (15)

Opening this week at the Vue Cinema is Salaam-e-Ishq, starring Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Akshaye Khanna, Ayesha Takia, John Abraham, Vidya Balan, Govinda, Sohail Khan, Perizaad Zorabain, and Karan Johar. This Bollywood drama focuses on six couples of different characters. Coming from different countries but unknown to each other's existence, their paths cross in the name of love. This is their story. (PG)

Get showtimes for all the cinemas in Oxford

What's in the Theatres this Week? (Jan 25-Feb 1)

The Oxford Playhouse:

Our Country's Good -
Australia, 1789. A young lieutenant prepares to stage a play, facing the opposition of his colleagues, a cast of headstrong prisoners and a leading lady who is about to be hanged.

Blonde Bombshells of 1943 - The Blonde Bombshells, the most glamorous all-girl swing band in the North, loses members every time it plays a GI camp. With an important BBC job in the offing, they need new members fast! A warm witty musical play filled with live swing band performances.

Old Fire Station:
Tales From Hollywood - A fast-paced, controversial and charmingly funny story of European expatriates writing American films in the 1940's. As they fall in and out of love and adjust to American life, they explore their roles as artists and come to terms, from afar, with the political disorder of their home countries. A mix of politics, film history, and raw comic genius, this play has something for everyone.

The Hothouse - On Christmas Eve at a government psychiatric hospital, one patient is discovered dead and another has just given birth. Before long, the man in charge starts unravelling, and a conspiring staff leaves unattended the tensions simmering beneath them. Rarely performed, this riotous blend of farce and terror is roundly considered to be Pinter's most comic play.

Burton Taylor Theatre:
Diary of a Madman - by Joe Spence adapted from Gogol - Poprishchin's love-induced hallucinations steadily drive him mad. Gogol's famous and amusing short story brought to life in a fresh new adaption for the stage. A fast-paced adaption of Gogol's comic masterpiece. The tale of a hapless clerk who falls for his boss's daughter. His unrequited love drives him to hallucination and insanity.

The Enormous Space - devised by the company, based on writing by J G Ballard
A man decides never to leave his house again. As time slips away, the man wonders why he hadn't ever noticed how much space there was within his four walls....

Baby With the Bathwater - by Christopher Durang - An absurdist, hilarious and familar look at how hard it is to be a parent and how scary it is to be a child.

We Got Chickens! - Corpus Comedy Collective - Oxford's newest and best sketch comedy team combine the best of their first two shows with some brand new material for an evening of mirth, hilarity and jokes about AIDS.

New Theatre:
Peter Pan On Ice: The Russian Ice Stars - The finest company of professional skaters in the world with a line-up that includes Loulia Barsoukova, the 2000 Olympic gold medallist. Expect a magical show with exciting choreography and world class skating.

Theatre at Headington:
Forgetting Myself - Forgetting Myself tells the story of Lindy, a teenage girl who defies her mother and sneaks out late at night. Her mother goes out to find her, and is involved in a car accident. The action of the play unfolds as Lindy waits in hospital for her mother to recover. There, she encounters a mysterious stranger who takes her back in time to experience her mother’s teenage life, revealing that she and her mother are not so different after all. The stranger reveals how our perception of time, living and dying are but small elements in the grand scheme of existence.

Hamlet: Cut to the Bone - In this breathtaking performance, David Keller captures the essence of Hamlet. His one man production cuts to the heart of every character with the help of little more than a toy box and a stuffed shirt. That Keller is no ordinary Hamlet is apparent from his first appearance on stage, peeling off his mother's stockings. This vivid performance is guaranteed to hold audiences enthralled from opening scene to shocking climax. Stripped of the politics and side-shows, yet faithful to Shakespeare's vision, the plays raw passions are laid bare.

College Theatre:
Muse Monologues - Eight lives. Four voices. One city. The Oxford Muse [and the ETC] takes you into the heads of eight people living in Oxford through a series of monologues.

Have you seen where a blind woman finds beauty? Have you met a paranoid schizophrenic with a history of violence? Find out why a sixty year old didn't know who she was or how a suicidal teen is still alive, how a college porter writes his poetry or why a PPEist lives on the streets of Oxford. Muse Monologues takes you to places in Oxford you won't have been, brings you voices you won’t have heard, shows you people you won't have seen.

The Oxford Revue: Cagoule Weather - Do you ever wish you were in a Lunn Poly advert? Do you ever resent the continual low pressure? Is all this doom and gloom really starting to bobble your jumper? After last year's sell out success, the Oxford Revue return to the Moser Theatre with a bout of inclement sketches designed especially for this intemperate weather we're having. So come, wring your socks out, and get comfy.

Oxford Amnesty Lectures 07 - Incarceration and Human Rights - Sheldonian Theatre:
Oxford Amnesty Lectures invites internationally respected figures to debate the future of human rights. Lectures are open to the paying public and texts published as a book. OAL has to date donated over £100,000 to Amnesty International

Speaking this week: 31st Jan - Anne Owers: Prisons Inspection and the Protection of Human Rights

Abingdon Touring Theatre:
Aesop's Fables
Their third tour is a specially commissioned adaptation of Aesop's Fables. This tour has been written to be suitable for the entire family and will combine Aesop's stories with tales from his own life. This is the FINAL WEEK.

Showing this week at - Radnor Hall in Salisbury, Kingsclere Village Club, and Harwell Village Hall.

For all theatre information, times and dates, click here

This Week's Classical Music (Jan 25-Feb 1)

The Holywell Music Room will host this week's Coffee Concert, featuring the Salomon String Quartet. Also at the Holywell this week is Oxford Classic Jazz Band performing Swingin' Against the Bomb.

The Jacqueline du Pre Music Building is hosting the next installment of their Concert Series, featuring Stephen Marchionda on the guitar, as well as a free lunchtime recital from Catherine Groom (Recorder), Katherine Cooper (Mezzo), Thomas Foster (Harpsichord) and Corrina Connor (Cello)

There are two free recital performances at Queen's College, this week - the Eglesfield Music Society will be performing Beethoven and Chopin (featuring Oliver Coates on Cello and Berenika Zakrzewski on Piano), and Mark Swinton from the Bath Abbey will be performing an Organ Recital.

Other notable performances coming up this week include Oxford Philomusica's Rococo Variations (Guy Johnston and John Lubbock) at the Sheldonian Theatre, Summertown Choral Society performing Beethoven Mass in C at St Barnabus Church in Jericho, and the Oxford University Music Society performing a show called Mozart, Champagne and Chocolate at the Oxford Union.

Get information for all classical music events in Oxford

This Week's Jazz and Blues (Jan 25-Feb1)

Sunday has Natalie Williams with Tim Dawes (double bass) and Tim Lapthorne (piano) at Gee's and Peter Parker at QI; The Backroom at the Bullingdon Arms is featuring Split the Riff from the UK on their famous Monday Blues night, and Tom Grey will play there with his quintet on Tuesday; also on Tuesday are The Kate Garrett Band at Bar Milano; Wednesday has the Frank Harrison Trio (pictured) playing at The Big Bang and the Adam Waldmann Quintet at the Jericho Tavern; Thursday has The Jonathan Bratoeff Quintet at the SPIN jazz club at the Wheatsheaf; and Friday has Tim Lapthorne (piano), Tim Dawes (bass) and Simon Lea (drums) at The Old Parsonage.

Get information for all jazz and blues music events in Oxford

For music other than classical, jazz, and blues, check out our extensive gig guide

Smoking Ban Begins July 1!

As of July 1, 2007, there will be a ban on smoking in all all enclosed public places in England, including pubs and bars. The details regarding outdoor areas are still being ironed out. England will become the last part of the UK to enforce a blanket ban. Wales is due to go smoke-free on April 2 and Northern Ireland on April 30. Scotland introduced a ban earlier this year and the Republic of Ireland outlawed smoking in 2004.

To read more, visit The Publican website.

What's in the Cinema this Week? (Jan 19-25)

Opening in Oxford this week is Babel, starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, and Gael Garcia Bernal. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett play an American couple whose accident on holiday in Morocco links them to people at the Mexican-US border and in the heart of Tokyo, who are also dealing with misunderstandings and a sense of isolation. The film contains strong language, violence, sex references and drug use. (15)

Also opening this week is Rocky Balboa starring Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, and Milo Ventimiglia. Sylvester Stallone returns as Rocky, now a retired middle-aged fighter, and given the chance to step into the ring against the new reigning champion of the world. The film contains infrequent moderate boxing violence. (12A)

Opening at the Phoenix this week is Black Book (Zwartboek). Set during the end of WWII, Black Book is the story of a Dutch Jewish girl who narrowly survives the war in Holland. She joins the resistance to find out who betrayed her family after all of them were killed in an attempt to reach the liberated south. The film contains very strong language, strong violence and nudity. (15)

Opening this week at the Vue Cinema is Guru, starring Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Vidya Balan, R. Madhavan, Mithun Chakraborthy, and Mallika Sherawat. The film concerns a man, Gurukant Desai, from an average village who, starting from very modest means, attempts to build a successful business in Bombay. His troubled private life includes with his frustrated wife, Sujatha, who must adjust to being in a marriage she never really wanted. He must overcome a number of personal and professional problems in order to fulfill his ambitious dreams of success. (12A)

Also at the Vue only this week is The Return, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. Estranged from her father and stalked by an obsessed ex-boyfriend, Joanna Mills' problems worsen when she starts experiencing increasingly terrifying supernatural visions. The nightmares revolve around the violent and brutal murder of an anonymous woman, and guided by those nightmares, she travels to the woman's hometown to uncover the horrific mystery. (15)

Get showtimes for all the cinemas in Oxford

What's in the Theatres this Week? (Jan 19-25)

The Oxford Playhouse:

Bobby Baker - How To Live - A highly entertaining, thought-provoking and inspirational show asking the biggest questions of all...How To Live? Bobby Baker opens up her unique Therapy Empire in a show guaranteed to affect ordered and disordered minds alike.

Our Country's Good -
Australia, 1789. A young lieutenant prepares to stage a play, facing the opposition of his colleagues, a cast of headstrong prisoners and a leading lady who is about to be hanged.

Old Fire Station:
Tales From Hollywood - A fast-paced, controversial and charmingly funny story of European expatriates writing American films in the 1940's. As they fall in and out of love and adjust to American life, they explore their roles as artists and come to terms, from afar, with the political disorder of their home countries. A mix of politics, film history, and raw comic genius, this play has something for everyone. If you see one play in Oxford, this should be it!

Burton Taylor Theatre:
Diary of a Madman - by Joe Spence adapted from Gogol - Poprishchin's love-induced hallucinations steadily drive him mad. Gogol's famous and amusing short story brought to life in a fresh new adaption for the stage. A fast-paced adaption of Gogol's comic masterpiece. The tale of a hapless clerk who falls for his boss's daughter. His unrequited love drives him to hallucination and insanity.

The Enormous Space - devised by the company, based on writing by J G BallardA man decides never to leave his house again. As time slips away, the man wonders why he hadn't ever noticed how much space there was within his four walls....

New Theatre:

Imogen Heap - A singer songwriter of astonishing emotional eloquence, and one half of the art-rock band Frou Frou. Classically trained when she was younger, her own songs explore electronica, alternative pop and rock and Euro-pop. 'Although she employs bells and whistles from equipment I can't comprehend and instruments I can't pronounce, the songs are so well-written, they would stand on their own'- Performing Songwriter.

Peter Pan On Ice: The Russian Ice Stars - The finest company of professional skaters in the world with a line-up that includes Loulia Barsoukova, the 2000 Olympic gold medallist. Expect a magical show with exciting choreography and world class skating.

Theatre at Headington:
ODT productions presents The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui -
Described by Brecht as 'a parable play, written with the aim of destroying the usual disasterous respect which we feel for mass murderers' Arturo Ui is a savagely witty satire of the rise of Hitler. Written for an American audience just before Brecht's arrival in the USA in 1941, the play casts the fuhrer as a small-time Chicago gangster who, with his cronies, holds the entire vegetable trade to ransom.
This prize-winning translation by Ralph Manheim vividly captures the wide range of paraody and pastiche in the original without reducting the horror of the actual nazi originals.

Linda Marlowe presents Believe - The tales of the old testament can seem wild and implausable to a modern sensibility. But re-cast these stories in a psychologically truthful light,or sometimes in a totally contemporary re-imagining, and they are shocking even by today's sensationalist tabliod standards. Decapitation. Pregnant at ninety. Incest. Child abduction. Rape. Male rape. Murder! Disguise. Seduction.

Believe looks at the lives of women who carved their names into history; women who believed fervently in a God who had forgotten them. Their stories raise questions that are more pertinent now than ever before: what does it mean to have faith? If God exisits, what is He like? is He or She or It something outside of us, or is a force within us all? And just where does God fit in to our lives NOW-if at all?

Oxford Amnesty Lectures 07 - Incarceration and Human Rights - Sheldonian Theatre:
Oxford Amnesty Lectures invites internationally respected figures to debate the future of human rights. Lectures are open to the paying public and texts published as a book. OAL has to date donated over £100,000 to Amnesty International
Speaking this week: January 25th - Jan Loic Wacquant: The Uses and Misuses of the Penal State in the 21st Century

Abingdon Touring Theatre:
Aesop's Fables
Their third tour is a specially commissioned adaptation of Aesop's Fables. This tour has been written to be suitable for the entire family and will combine Aesop's stories with tales from his own life.
Showing this week at - Abingdon Museum; Magdalen College Auditorium in Oxford; Cassington Village Hall; Icknield Community College in Watlington.

For all theatre information, times and dates, click here

This Week's Classical Music (Jan 19-25)

The Holywell Music Room will host this week's Coffee Concert, featuring Thomas Carroll (Cello) & Anthony Hewitt (Piano). Also at the Holywell this week is Oxford Lieder - Song Evening, featuring Geraldine McGrerevy (soprano) and Graham Johnson (piano); A Violin and Piano Recital featuring Jack Liebeck playing Bartok, Ravel, Rachmaninov, and Franck; and finally, Oxford University Music Society's Ceri Owen performing a solo piano recital.

Also this week is Oxford Sinfonia perfoming an orchestral concert at the University Church of St Mary; City of Oxford Orchestra's Viennese New Year at the Sheldonian; Oxford University Music Society's Oxford New Concertante at New College Chapel; and Winterreise by Schubert being performed by David Crown (baritone) and Charlotte Tomlinson (piano) at the Jacqueline du Pre Music Building.

There are two free recital performances on Wednesday - an organ recital by Tom Wilkinson at Queen's College, and Henry Carter and Marina Johns (oboes) with Nicholas Race (piano) at the Jacqueline du Pre Music Building.

Get information for all classical music events in Oxford

This Week's Jazz and Blues (Jan 19-25)

The Backroom at the Bullingdon Arms is featuring Pete Boss & The Bluehearts from the UK on their famous Monday Blues night, and Tom Grey will play there with his quintet on Tuesday; also on Tuesday are NPK Jazz Duo at Bar Milano; Wednesday has the Terry Hutchins Trio – Frank Hockney (drums), Paul Jefferies (bass) playing at The Big Bang; Thursday has Chantelle Pike at QI and Jim Hart on Vibes at the SPIN jazz club at the Wheatsheaf. One gig we're particularly excited about is Ben Taylor (son of James Taylor and Carly Simon) (pictured) at the Zodiac on Wednesday, Jan 24th.

Get information for all jazz and blues music events in Oxford

For music other than classical, jazz, and blues, check out our extensive gig guide

This Week's Classical Music (Jan 12-18)

Oxford is getting back into the music scene slowly after the holidays, starting with a few great shows this week. First up, at the Sheldonian on Saturday is Music at Oxford's Paul Lewis playing the piano. Also on Saturday at the Burton Taylor Studio, are Rafael and Marcus John - flamenco guitar plus latin guitar/r'n'b. The Jacqueline du Pre Music Building has cushion concerts for the youngsters this Sunday featuring the harp. This week's coffee concert will be held at Magdalen College Auditorium and will feature the Angell Piano Trio. Lastly, the Holywell Music Room will host the Atrium String Quartet on Sunday afternoon.

Get information for all classical music events in Oxford

This Week's Jazz and Blues (Jan 12-18)

The Backroom at the Bullingdon Arms is featuring the King B Blues Band from the UK on their famous Monday Blues night, and Tom Grey will play there with his quintet on Tuesday; also on Tuesday are Los Hombres at Bar Milano; Wednesday has Lady Daze (pictured) playing at The Big Bang; and lastly, Thursday has Chantelle Pike at QI.

Get information for all jazz and blues music events in Oxford

For music other than classical, jazz, and blues, check out our extensive gig guide

What's in the Theatres this Week? (Jan 12-18)

The Oxford Playhouse:

Dick Whittington - The Panto!

A capital pantomime for young and old, with rats, a cat and streets of gold! Christmas just isn't Christmas without an Oxford Playhouse pantomime, the purrfect treat this festive season with magic, sparkle and fun for all the family. This show closes on Sunday.

Omid Djalili No Agenda -
One of Britain's funniest, freshest and most original stand up comedians, the award-winning British-Iranian Omid Djalili,makes his debut visit to the Playhouse with his show No Agenda.

Creation Theatre Company:

Arabian Nights - Celebrate the festive season with us as we whisk you away on a magic carpet ride to an unforgettable world of colourful characters, fantastical creatures and devious villains.

Suitable for children 5+

This show closes on Saturday.

Old Fire Station:

Man in Black - Tribute to Johnny Cash

This musical tribute takes you on a journey from the fifties up to the final recordings of the legendary Cash, bringing to life songs from the hit movie 'Walk the Line'.

Burton Taylor Theatre:

Calling all Artists - Your chance to look behind the scenes at the Burton Taylor Studio, and see how you or your group may be able to present your work at Oxford's most exciting venue. The Burton Taylor Studio is an intimate, adaptable and affordable space, open to local artists from across all performing art forms. Drop in between 5 and 8pm on Friday the 12th. For further information, contact Studio Manager Robert Bristow on 01865 305350.

Rafael and Marcus John - Join Oxford Playhouse favourite, flamenco guitarist Rafael, with special guest Marcus John. Marcus is one of most original new artists to hit the music scene in recent years, blending an RnB style with Latin guitar chords, infectious choruses and original lyrics.

New Theatre:

One Night Of Queen With Gary Mullen - Gary Mullen, the winner of 2000 'Stars In Their Eyes' series, with his tribute to Freddie Mercury and Queen, backed by his band The Works. The former computer operator from Stepps, Glasgow is now Freddie full time. One Night of Queen promises to be the ultimate Queen tribute. This time Freddie is not alone and the rest of Queen joins him on stage. The artists who perform as Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor are also superb. Coupled with the stunning lights and the excellent musicianship this is an unbeatable show.

Scrooge The Musical, starring Michael Barrymore, has been cancelled due to the star's illness.

Theatre at Headington:

ODT productions presents The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui - Described by Brecht as 'a parable play, written with the aim of destroying the usual disasterous respect which we feel for mass murderers' Arturo Ui is a savagely witty satire of the rise of Hitler. Written for an American audience just before Brecht's arrival in the USA in 1941, the play casts the fuhrer as a small-time Chicago gangster who, with his cronies, holds the entire vegetable trade to ransom.

This prize-winning translation by Ralph Manheim vividly captures the wide range of paraody and pastiche in the original without reducting the horror of the actual nazi originals.

Oxford Amnesty Lectures 07 - Incarceration and Human Rights - Sheldonian Theatre:
Oxford Amnesty Lectures invites internationally respected figures to debate the future of human rights. Lectures are open to the paying public and texts published as a book. OAL has to date donated over £100,000 to Amnesty International

Speaking this week: 17th Jan - Roger Graef: The Media and Criminal Justice, the Loop of Disinformation; 18th Jan - Lawrence Gostin: New & Old Institutions for the Mentally Ill; Treatment, Punishment or Preventive Confinement

Abingdon Touring Theatre:

Aesop's Fables
Their third tour is a specially commissioned adaptation of Aesop's Fables. This tour has been written to be suitable for the entire family and will combine Aesop's stories with tales from his own life.

Showing this week at - St Francis Primary School, Cowley; Chilton Foliat Village Hall; Longworth Village Hall; Abingdon Museum

For all theatre information, times and dates, click here

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

Opening in Oxford this week is Smokin' Aces, starring Jeremy Piven, Ben Affleck, and Jason Bateman. Featuring an all-star cast, this dark comedy follows a Las Vegas stand-up comedian who becomes the target of the FBI, the Mob and a motley crew of opportunistic assassins. The film contains strong bloody violence. (18)

Also opening this weekend is The Last King of Scotland starring Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, and Gillian Anderson. A man who is brought back from the brink of death finds he can tell which people are about to die. But when he tries to save them, he discovers there's a price to be paid. The film contains supernatural horror. (15)

Also opening at the cinema this week is The Pursuit of Happyness. Will Smith stars as a single father who takes on a job with great prospects but no immediate salary. Forced to sleep rough, he and his son stick close together to overcome their obstacles. The film contains two uses of strong language. (12A)

The Pheonix Cinema will be closed Monday and Tuesday.

Get showtimes for all the cinemas in Oxford

This Week's Classical Music (Jan 5-11)

Not quite back into the full swing of things, there are still few classical performances this week. Tonight, at the Holywell Music Room, is Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi - Vivaldi's Women - sopranos, altos, tenors, basses... and on Sunday, there will be a coffee concert featuring the Adderbury Ensemble.

Get information for all classical music events in Oxford

This Week's Jazz and Blues (Jan 5-11)

Monday sees the return of the fabulous and legendary blues at the Bully, featuring Reservoir Cats from the UK (pictured). Tuesday has Jazz Emporium at Bar Milano, and the wonderful Abi Strevens plays The Big Bang on Wednesday.

Get information for all jazz and blues music events in Oxford

For music other than classical, jazz, and blues, check out our extensive gig guide

What's in the Theatres this Week? (Jan 5-11)

The Oxford Playhouse:

Dick Whittington - The Panto!
A capital pantomime for young and old, with rats, a cat and streets of gold! Christmas just isn't Christmas without an Oxford Playhouse pantomime, the purrfect treat this festive season with magic, sparkle and fun for all the family.

Creation Theatre Company:
Arabian Nights - Celebrate the festive season with us as we whisk you away on a magic carpet ride to an unforgettable world of colourful characters, fantastical creatures and devious villains.

Suitable for children 5+

Burton Taylor Theatre:
22 Death Scenes - Watch us as we meet our ends simply, quietly, loudly, gloriously, haltingly, and beautifully. Listen as we tell you about the scenes we wished we had seen, and play you the music we wished we had heard. Jumbled explore the need to play at death and how we just can't get those soap opera death scenes out of our heads.

Jumble it Up (Night #1) - Bitesize tastes of the newest ideas from emerging companies from Oxfordshire and beyond. Help them test the waters with the shows that just might be the next big thing. Get in on the act and give your feedback!

Jumble it Up (Night #2) - Lucy Panesar's Bashfully British Book Balancing Boogie and Temple Theatre's Really Wild Show With Brian The Clown, first seen at the June Jumble It Up, return longer, more developed, and all the better for your feedback. Be part of the next stage in the shows' evolutions!

Abingdon Touring Theatre:
Aesop's Fables
Their third tour is a specially commissioned adaptation of Aesop's Fables. This tour has been written to be suitable for the entire family and will combine Aesop's stories with tales from his own life.

Showing this week at - Bampton Village Hall, Players Theatre in Thame, Arlington Arts Centre at the Mary Hare School in Newbury, and Lains Barn in Wantage.

For all theatre information, times and dates, click here

What's in the Cinema this Week? (Jan 5-11)

Opening in Oxford this week is Employee of the Month, starring Dane Cook, Dax Shepard, and Jessica Simpson. Two co-workers at a bulk-discount retailer, who have been working together for ten years, start competing for the affections of a new beautiful cashier who only dates 'Employees of the Month'. The film contains strong language and moderate sex references. (12A)

Also opening this weekend is White Noise 2. A man who is brought back from the brink of death finds he can tell which people are about to die. But when he tries to save them, he discovers there's a price to be paid. The film contains supernatural horror. (15)

Opening at the Magdalen Odeon Cinema this week is Apolcalypto - Mel Gibson's epic historical drama about a declining Maya kingdom led by rulers who insist the key to prosperity is more temples and human sacrifices. A young man chosen for sacrifice flees the kingdom to avoid his fate. The film contains strong bloody violence and gore. (18)

At the Phoenix this week is Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion, with an all star cast that includes Lindsay Lohan, Kevin Kline, Meryl Streep, Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, and many more. The film takes a look at what goes on backstage during the last broadcast of America's most celebrated radio show, where singing cowboys Dusty and Lefty, a country music siren (Streep), and a host of others hold court. This film contains mild language and comic references to suicide and sex. (15)

Magdalen Street's Odeon Cinema will have sneak previews of Babel and The Pursuit of Happyness on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

Get showtimes for all the cinemas in Oxford

This Week's Music (Dec22-28)

Aside from Christmas Carols, there's not much music in Oxford during the holidays. The Oxford Waits will be playing the Holywell Music Room on Saturday, December 23rd, and Charivari Agreable will perform their Christmas by Candlelight - Ringing Changes in Paris at the Holywell Music Room on Thursday, December 28th.

Get information for all classical music events in Oxford

Get information for all jazz and blues music events in Oxford

For music other than classical, jazz, and blues, check out our extensive gig guide

What's in the Theatres this Week? (Dec 22-28)

The Oxford Playhouse:

Dick Whittington - The Panto!

A capital pantomime for young and old, with rats, a cat and streets of gold! Christmas just isn't Christmas without an Oxford Playhouse pantomime, the purrfect treat this festive season with magic, sparkle and fun for all the family.

Creation Theatre Company:

Arabian Nights - Celebrate the festive season with us as we whisk you away on a magic carpet ride to an unforgettable world of colourful characters, fantastical creatures and devious villains.

Suitable for children 5+

Old Fire Station:

A Little Christmas Night Music - brings songs by Stephen Sondheim, Richard Rodgers and Noel Coward into an anthology which ranges from operatic hits to Victorian ballads and modern classics, - and all interspersed with some seasonally appropriate favourites.

New Theatre:

Cats - See the world's best loved musical and the memory will live forever. Enter the magical, musical world of Cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber's record breaking adaptation of T S Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. With an amazing musical score, spectacular set design, stunning costumes and breath taking choreography, Cats really is a uniquely magical musical.

Abingdon Touring Theatre:

Aesop's Fables

Their third tour is a specially commissioned adaptation of Aesop's Fables. This tour has been written to be suitable for the entire family and will combine Aesop's stories with tales from his own life.

Showing this week at - the Ashmolean Museum

For all theatre information, times and dates, click here

What's in the Cinema this Week? (Dec 22-28)

Opening in Oxford this week is Night at the Museum, starring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and Ricky Gervais. Ben Stiller stars as a security guard who accidentally releases an ancient curse in the Museum of Natural History. A wax figure of Theodore Roosevelt is the only person who can help him. The film contains comic scary moments. (PG)

Also opening this weekend is It's A Boy Girl Thing. A boy and a girl who despise one another wake up one morning to find themselves in each other’s bodies. As lifelong sworn enemies, both set out to destroy the high school reputation of the other. The film contains moderate sex references and language. (12A)

Opening at the Phoenix Cinema this week is Hollywoodland, starring Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Ben Affleck, and Bob Hoskins. Hollywoodland is based on a true story, the mysterious death of George Reeves, an actor who found fame as Superman on American television in the ‘50s, and who apparently committed suicide in his Hollywood Hills apartment in 1959. The film contains strong language and violence. (15)

Also at the Phoenix this week is Perfume: The Story of A Murderer starring Alan Rickman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Hurd-Wood, and Ben Whishaw. In mid-18th-century Paris, young Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Whishaw) realises he has a highly refined sense of smell and becomes an apprentice at the perfumery of Baldini (Hoffman). The art of mixing scents soon becomes his obsession, which drives him away from human company. Possessed by the idea of preserving human aromas, he murders young women whose scent turns his head. This film contains sexualised nudity and disturbing images. (15)

Opening at the Vue Cinema this week is Flags of Our Fathers, starring Ryan Phillippe, Jamie Bell, and Jesse Bradford. Based on James Bradley's book about his father, John 'Doc' Bradley, Clint Eastwood's new film revolves around the last survivor of the six soldiers who famously raised the American flag on Iwo Jima. Following the bloody battle on the Japanese Island, Bradley and his fellow flag raisers use their hero status to drum up support for the war effort in its dying weeks. Still haunted by the horrors they had witnessed, the job proves too much to take. The film contains strong language and war violence. (15)

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This Week's Classical Music (Dec 15-21)

This week's Coffee Concert at the Holywell Music Room features the Adderbury Ensemble. The Holywell Music Room is also hosting Oxford Folk Festival's Martin Simpson and Magpie Lane, Moonrakers Celtic Music featuring harps, flute, mandola, fiddle, guitar, and female and male vocals, Oxford Opera Studio's A Victorian Christmas, and Opera Anywhere's Christmas Double Bill: The Little Sweep & Amahl & The Night Visitors.

The Sheldonian Theatre is hosting The Oxford Spezzati's Bach: Christmas Oratorio, Oxford Philomusica's Messiah, and Oxford Bach Choir's Carol Concert.

Christ Church Cathedral is hosting Music at Oxford's Carols from Christ Church, and The Cathedral Singers' A Victorian Christmas.

Exeter College Chapel will host Charivari Agreable's Christmas by Candlelight - Shepherd's Pipe Concerto, Sweet Silence, and Concerti Pastorali de Natale, as well as City of Oxford Orchestra's Christmas Concerto by Candlelight.

The University Church of St Mary's is hosting the University Church Choir's Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in aid of Family Links.

And lastly, Keble College is hosting Oxford Pro Musica Singers - Concert of Christmas Music.

Get information for all classical music events in Oxford

This Week's Jazz and Blues (Dec 15-21)

The Backroom at the Bullingdon Arms features their Christmas Party with Never the Bride, as well as the Tom Grey Quintet on their Oxford Jazz Club Tuesdays; The Old Parsonage has the Frank Harrison Trio; Gee's has the Tim Dawes Trio; The Big Bang Restaurant has the Abi Strevens Quartet (pictured); and lastly, Bar Milano has Delicious Music Jazz Night with Kate Garrett.

Get information for all jazz and blues music events in Oxford

For music other than classical, jazz, and blues, check out our extensive gig guide

What's in the Theatres this Week? (Dec 15-21)

The Oxford Playhouse:
Dick Whittington - The Panto! - A capital pantomime for young and old, with rats, a cat and streets of gold! Christmas just isn't Christmas without an Oxford Playhouse pantomime, the purrfect treat this festive season with magic, sparkle and fun for all the family.

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Creation Theatre Company:
Arabian Nights - Celebrate the festive season with us as we whisk you away on a magic carpet ride to an unforgettable world of colourful characters, fantastical creatures and devious villains.

Suitable for children 5+

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Old Fire Station:

Winters Tale - Tomahawk returns with a story of love, jealousy and reconciliation. An action packed 2 hours with music, dance and song.

A Little Christmas Night Music - brings songs by Stephen Sondheim, Richard Rodgers and Noel Coward into an anthology which ranges from operatic hits to Victorian ballads and modern classics, - and all interspersed with some seasonally appropriate favourites.

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Burton Taylor Theatre:

Jali Fily Cissokho & Dave Noble - Jali Fily is a praise singer from southern Senegal and a virtuoso player of the kora, a 21 string African Harp. Expect to hear Oxfordshire based musician Fily fuse the traditional rhythms of Senegal with classical, afro, cuban, blues and jazz styles.

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New Theatre:

Cats - See the world's best loved musical and the memory will live forever. Enter the magical, musical world of Cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber's record breaking adaptation of T S Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. With an amazing musical score, spectacular set design, stunning costumes and breath taking choreography, Cats really is a uniquely magical musical.

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Abingdon Touring Theatre:

Aesop's Fables

Their third tour is a specially commissioned adaptation of Aesop's Fables. This tour has been written to be suitable for the entire family and will combine Aesop's stories with tales from his own life.

Showing this week at - the Unicorn Theatre in Abingdon, Sparsholt Memorial Hall, Sunningwell Village Hall, and Filkins Village Hall

For all theatre information, times and dates, click here

What's in the Cinema this Week? (Dec 15-21)

Opening in Oxford this week is Deja Vu, starring Denzel Washington, Val Kilmer, James Caviezel, and Adam Goldberg. During an investigation into a bomb on a New Orleans ferry, an ATF agent played by Denzel Washington is led on a mind-bending race to save hundreds of innocent people. The film contains moderate action violence. (12A)

Also opening this weekend is Eragon. Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich star in this fantasy adventure of a farm boy whose discovery of a dragon's egg leads him on a journey to defend his home against an evil king. The film contains mild fantasy violence and scary moments. (PG)

Opening only at the Vue Cinema this week is Black Christmas, starring Katie Cassidy, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Oliver Hudson. This latest remake of a 1970s teen slasher classic pits a psychotic killer against a house full of college sorority sisters in festive good cheer. Billy Lenz is a young boy who was traumatically abused by his mother whilst being forced to watch her shower his sister with love. Years later and the same house is occupied by a group of sorority sisters and their housemother over the Christmas period. The present swapping comes to an end when a mysterious phone caller makes disturbing threats... The film contains strong gore and language and moderate sex. (15)

At the Phoenix this week is Deep Water - a documentary about the disastrous 1968 round-the-world yacht race. (PG)

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