Oxford City Guide - Culture

Music, Dance and Theatre: Jacqueline Du Pre Music Building, St Hilda's College, Cowley Place (tel: (01865) 276 821; website: www.st-hildas.ox.ac.uk/jdp) puts on classical concerts, recitals, opera and also some jazz at times. The University Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, High Street (tel: (01865) 279 111; website: www.university-church.ox.ac.uk) is regularly used as a venue for classical concerts. Classical music can also be enjoyed in the Sheldonian Theatre, Broad Street (tel: (01865) 277 299; website: www.sheldon.ox.ac.uk). The Oxford Coffee Concerts (tel: 0797 674 0024; website: www.coffeeconcerts.com) were started in 1986 and are among the most successful chamber music series in the country. The concerts are held in the Holywell Music Room on Holywell Street, the oldest purpose-built concert hall in Europe. It opened in 1748 and has excellent acoustics well suited to chamber music concerts. The Oxford Playhouse, Beaumont Street (tel: (01865) 305 305; website: www.oxfordplayhouse.com) is the main theatre in Oxford and one of Britain's leading theatres. It hosts a rich programme of drama, dance, music, music theatre and children's theatre. Much more intimate is the Burton Taylor Studio, Gloucester Street (tel: (01865) 305 305; website: www.oxfordplayhouse.com) just around the corner from the Playhouse. It is an intimate 50-seater studio theatre situated at the top of two flights of stairs, and during each 8-week university term, it plays host to a wide variety of student productions, while out of term it is host to professional touring companies or local small-scale community theatre groups who stage various pieces, often newly written. The largest theatre in Oxford is the New Theatre, George Street (tel: 0870 606 3500; website: www.livenation.co.uk). It stages a busy programme of top class entertainment, from opera and ballet performances to cutting edge comedy, musicals and pantomime. More cutting-edge drama can be experienced at the Pegasus Theatre, Magdalen Road (tel: (01865) 722 851; website: www.pagasustheatre.org.uk), the home of Oxford Youth Theatre and Oxford Youth Ballet. Contemporary arts from all over the world is on the Pegasus programme. The Creation Theatre Company (tel: (01865) 245 745; website: www.creationtheatre.co.uk) stages popular performances of Shakespeare in their open air theatre at Headington Hill Park, and at Oxford Castle, from June to September. In the winter, performances continue in the ornate setting of the mirrored Spiegel Tent, in the grounds of BMW Oxford at Cowley. The Oxford Shakespeare Company (tel: (020) 7351 5417; website: www.oxfordshakespearecompany.co.uk) gives open-air performances in both Oxford and London in July and August.  

Comedy: Jongleurs Comedy Club, 3-5 Hythe Bridge Street (tel: (01865) 722 437; website: www.jongleurs.com), is as mainstream as comedy gets in Oxford, but it can be an entertaining night out all the same, with a line up combining a bit of everything -improvisation, observational and even the odd lead balloon. It varies depending on the night but is generally popular with local residents. The excellent venue of the Back Room at The Bullingtonn Comedy Club, 162 Cowley Road (tel: (01865) 244 516) in Oxford hosts a cracking comedy night on the first Wednesday of every month.

Film: There are two Odeon cinemas (tel: 0871 224 4007; website: www.odeon.co.uk) in Oxford, one with six screens on George Street and the other with two screens (and a big 652-seat auditorium) at Magdalen Street. They both show mainstream films. The Ultimate Picture Palace, Jeune Street (tel: 0778 632 5121) is an independent cinema screening a variety of international, classic and cult cinema, and the Phoenix Picturehouse, 57 Walton Street (tel: 0870 758 3218; website: www.picturehouses.co.uk) in the Jericho area has a programme of art-house, independent and classic films.