Reviews by CharlieM
Happy Birthday, Gregory Bellings!
CharlieM
“Happy Birthday Gregory Bellings encourages us to ask the
big questions about success, family and love and, at the end, what we
will remember and be remembered for.”
Quirky origin stories ...
3 months ago
Happy Birthday, Gregory Bellings!
Papa Nui + Brickwork Lizards
CharlieM
Wherever you go - there you are. That’s how I felt crossing a West Oxford industrial estate on a wet, gusty evening . “Are you taking me to an illegal rave?” was my other half’s question - ...
a year ago
Papa Nui + Brickwork Lizards
Matt Richardson's Comedy Club
CharlieM
With Darren Harriot, Lily Phillips and Felicity Ward.
I had high hopes for Matt Richardson’s
comedy show - when I looked at the line up I’d heard of 2 out of the 3
featured comedians ...
2 years ago
Matt Richardson's Comedy Club
The Tempest
CharlieM
More and more these days, we are having firsts online – meetings, birthday parties, nights out, all beamed directly into our home. So, without really thinking about it, I signed up to my first ...
5 years ago
The Tempest
Nigel Slater's Toast
CharlieM
Toast is the theatrical adaptation of an autobiography by food writer Nigel Slater (it was previously a BBC film with Helena Bonham Carter). Slater’s food writing tends to both glorify and ...
5 years ago
Nigel Slater's Toast
MESSY
CharlieM
A strange thing about kids' theatre is most shows seem to be targeted at kids ages 3 to 8. Unfortunately this means, as soon as my oldest turns 9, we won't be visiting the theatre for a while. In the ...
6 years ago
MESSY
SK Shlomo: Surrender Album Tour 2019
CharlieM
Entering the Jericho Tavern for the SK Shlomo gig was a bit like entering a secret society. The upstairs venue didn't open until the dot of 8pm - the show's start time - so as I sipped cider in the ...
6 years ago
SK Shlomo: Surrender Album Tour 2019
Mischief and Mystery in Moomin Valley
CharlieM
Visiting the day after their 10th Anniversary party, the staff at the Cornerstone could be forgiven for being a bit worse for wear; however, they were surprisingly chipper when we arrived to see ...
6 years ago
Mischief and Mystery in Moomin Valley
National Poetry Day: 'Stressed Unstressed', Can Poetry Make You Happier?
CharlieM
This event, organised by Blackwells and crowd-sourcing
publisher Unbound, timed to coincide with national poetry day (who
knew?!), sought to answer the question 'Can poetry make you happier?'. ...
7 years ago
National Poetry Day: 'Stressed Unstressed', Can Poetry Make You Happier?
OxPHWOARd: The Self Love Show
CharlieM
It's not often that naked bottoms perform a service to society so hats, coats (and other garments) off to the OxPHWOARd crew for their brilliantly titled 'Self-Love Show'. The show was billed as ...
8 years ago
OxPHWOARd: The Self Love Show
Turin Brakes, Toy Tin Soldier
CharlieM
This may be controversial but I'm not a big fan of being a fan. I would class Turin Brakes as one of my favourite bands but to be honest I've only properly listened to two of their albums. For a band ...
8 years ago
Turin Brakes, Toy Tin Soldier
Moon Hooch, Marco Benevento, Tiece, Train Robbers
CharlieM
In my view there's a recipe for a great live show - talent and heart. One without the other can be good, but never great. This 'recipe' becomes increasingly important in in an age where bands make ...
8 years ago
Moon Hooch, Marco Benevento, Tiece, Train Robbers
Laura Bates - Girl Up
CharlieM
Laura Bates is the woman behind the Everyday Sexism project – a website which started as a repository of experiences of sexism and now has hundreds of thousands of posts. Her new book, Girl Up, ...
9 years ago
Laura Bates - Girl Up
Analyse Thou
CharlieM
When you go to see something new you're often buying into an idea. I think my enjoyment of a gig, film or play relates to how much my idea of what it will be like matches reality (the 'reality minus ...
9 years ago
Analyse Thou
Hammer and Tongue
CharlieM
Call it a sheltered upbringing but I'd never been to a performance poetry gig before. Those in the know describe Hammer & Tongue as 'the best' so it seemed a good place to pop my live poetry cherry. ...
9 years ago
Hammer and Tongue
Lucy Rose
CharlieM
Whenever I hear of a new band the first thing I do is check them out on YouTube. I think you can tell a lot about a band from their videos – primarily whether they're too busy getting famous to ...
9 years ago
Lucy Rose
Paul Thorne, Fredrik Andersson, Stephen Bailey
CharlieM
I think we can all agree that there are few things worse than bad comedy. Bad stand-up is like gone-off milk – it makes me feel a bit queasy. So when a friend suggested going to Oxford's Glee Club ...
9 years ago
Paul Thorne, Fredrik Andersson, Stephen Bailey
Oxford Muslim Music Festival
CharlieM
As an agnostic music lover I wondered whether a Muslim Music Festival would be for me. Though the 4th event of its kind the website of the festival's organisers, the Muslim Educational Centre of ...
16 years ago
Oxford Muslim Music Festival
Barry Adamson: Back To The Cat tour
CharlieM
Barry Adamson is the original funk soul brother! The un-mistakable Mancunian was in Oxford on Monday on tour to support his latest, and 7th, album "Back to the Cat" (out April 7th). Originally a punk ...
17 years ago
Barry Adamson: Back To The Cat tour
Mort
CharlieM
Terry Pratchett is a marmite author - while the mainstream is put off by his reputation as a favourite amongst teenage boys and ageing goths, here in Oxford the great 'discoverer' of the fantasy ...
17 years ago
Mort
Cloudcuckooland
CharlieM
Cloudcuckooland: Aristophanes for the X factor Generation
Have you ever wanted to see a robin playing a trombone? How about a Dodo negotiating with Gordon Brown? No... I didn't think so... but I ...
17 years ago
Cloudcuckooland
Supergrass
CharlieM
I know what you're thinking - how could a group like Supergrass who've been on the scene for over 10 years and play lively pop-rock produce anything new and exciting without offending their hardcode ...
17 years ago
Supergrass
OxPHWOARd: Pride Edition
CharlieM
You know it's been a good night when you can't get the words 'Big Fat Fabulous Queer Canadian' out of your head! With their Pride show OxPhwoard have again managed the alchemy of turning the cringey ...
6 years ago
OxPHWOARd: Pride Edition
