The Isis On: Kpop (Has K-Pop killed the pop star?)
The label ‘K-Pop’ is simultaneously unproductive and irreplaceable—multivalent creative output is funnelled through a misnomer implying singularity, yet its formula for success lies in a unique ecosystem which successfully sends troops of artists into the battle for chart dominance each week.
An identity crisis, or identity in crisis?
Niche. Esoteric. Underground. Buzzword, buzzword, buzzword. The perfect signifier—buzzword has itself become a buzzword of sorts. How apt! The rapidity with which these trends and aesthetics proliferate and the brevity, or lack thereof, with which they last is not just symptomatic of insidious inf
Under Review: On Colneis Road
The path to On Colneis Road is as winding as the one down memory lane. Behind heavily bolted doors lies the New College Warden’s Stables, a space which, much like the sprawling ivy interlaced with eroding stone walls by its entrance, is suspended between past and present, manufactured and natural.
re: guilty men
Too often we rush to extend grace to those in power who do not merit it. British politics is hopelessly divided and ineffectual. An embattled Prime Minister currently clings desperately to power. Two populists continue to surge in polls amidst growing pains, whilst the Conservatives and Liber
The Male Lousiness Epidemic
What do the ‘Male Loneliness Epidemic’ and Santa Claus have in common? They don’t exist. But the comparison doesn’t end there. They’re both myths which serve to give people a false sense of comfort in a difficult and confusing world, and most importantly, put men on a pedestal and cover u
Under Review: The Birthday Party
Stepping into the theatre for Postbox Productions’ adaptation of Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party, your perception becomes one with the play itself: locked into place, unwavering, unfaltering. Co-directed by Loris Avery and Marnie Frankel, the production is uniquely unsettling, never providing
The Isis On: Smoking (again)
If you’ve been following The Isis Magazine for some time, you’re probably sick of us talking about smoking. Alas, here we are again. New laws mean that we have no choice but to keep the conversation going—this time in a debate format. The recent Tobacco and Vapes Bill proposes a number of chan
The right to assume
Amongst my friends, and definitely amongst people I do not gel with, I am a notorious party-pooper. I take pride in being annoying, and I have no problem shutting down jokes by chiming in with a grating, ‘am I the only one who doesn’t find that funny?’ whenever I deem it necessary. In
Under Review: Oleanna
While linguist Robin Lackoff claims that men in academia are a group which has “taken itself out of the search for power and money”, the intersection between education, elitism, status, and masculinity is writ large in Boulevard Productions’ excellent new adaptation of David Mamet’s Oleanna,
