Francesca Forestal aka Christian Adore of Dragprov Revue

Hilary term Arts Week was a little different this year, turning virtual, with events ranging from a drag workshop to book binding. Clare Bayley, Visitor in the Creative Arts, helped to organise the week alongside Naomi Man (2020, Archaeology), Arts Rep, with Memoona Ahmed (2018, Psychology) and Guy Smith (2019, History and Politics) running the open mic!

On National Book Day Elizabeth Adams, College Librarian, ran a book binding workshop for the students who have been coming to Clare Bayley’s creative writing group, which has met weekly throughout Michaelmas and Hilary terms to produce poetry, playlets and short stories. The resulting zine, redefine, has a handmade cover by Elizabeth and contains work by Andrea Vitangeli (2019, DPhil Philosophy), Catty Tucker (2018, English), Daniel Cooksey (2018, English), Alexandra McLanaghan (2018, English), Chuanqi Wang (2020, Computer Science and Philosophy), Joshua Booth (2018, English) and Peter Manshausen (2020, DPhil Physics). Copies available on request!

redefine zine

During Univ Arts Week we ran a hugely popular Q&A with ex-Univite Armando Iannucci (1982, English), who answered questions with great verve, wit and generosity on subjects from John Milton to Malcolm Tucker, told stories of encounters with politicians from Tony Blair and Joe Biden, and the research he has done for his film and TV work which has taken him from the Passadena jet propulsion lab to the corridors of Whitehall.

Drag king makeup workshop

There was also a non-binary-inclusive drag workshop with Francesca Forestal aka Christian Adore of Dragprov Revue. Students created their own drag persona — from lovable soft-boy to sassy queen — with a little curiosity and a healthy dose of glitter.

Ellie Warr, resident director at Oxford Playhouse, ran an introduction to theatre directing, looking at approaches to working with text including actioning and imagining the world of the play.

Published: 9 March 2021

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