The term in review

My friend has a folder of Instagram story highlights called ‘MT the Final’ – it sounds rather ominous doesn’t it? Like the end is upon us. It’s a strange feeling to see the end of our degrees on the horizon, to know that even if we stay at Oxford things change after this year. We are looking into the mouth of the future and suddenly everyone is applying for a masters! This has been a term of deadlines, pressure and (of course) plenty of the theatre.

I began my term two weeks early, choosing to return to the city in -1st week, but unlike many in my college could not drag myself to 9th week, instead running the second my work was complete. Oxford was quiet in late September, there was barely a chill in the air and the streets were devoid of the hoards of summer tourists and the gaggles of newly arrived freshers. It was a time to take it easy, to hand in work over a week in advance, drink coffee and decorate my room with OUDS posters. There really is a benefit to living in the centre of town, as I rediscovered this term, and third year is for making the most of it. I began the year with a checklist of things that I had not yet done, ticking one off early with a glorious punting session with the wonderful Fitz. The adventure itself was a disaster and Ratty would be horrified, but the pictures were stunning and well worth witnessing the frustration of a friend while not lifting a finger to help. I also made them mime crashing a car to music that day – suffice to say we had fun. With 0th week came the return of my best friend, actual work and rehearsals. Suddenly Oxford as I knew it was back in full swing and I was once again juggling rehearsal schedules and essays.

I have lost count of how many shows that I have reviewed over the past three terms, how many times I have donned my heels to enter the rehearsal room… it never gets dull though. This term I got to see some excellent theatre, support friends and generally enjoy the feeling of being in the centre of the Oxford Drama world. To do a children’s show that I have loved for as long can remember felt like something of a last hurrah. Now the serious work begins. I have put away my director’s brain and have been relegated to the role of blank wall that questions are thrown at in my own production company. I am not complaining but it is certainly a little strange. What is less strange is the pleasure of photographing shows. I returned to the bloody reality of the War of the Roses to photograph Shakespeare’s final instalment. I now have yet more photos of dead Jesus College Shakespeare Project actors on my camera, but this time I joined the crew as Welfare Officer over the summer so I suppose these things balance themselves out… I have branched out this term, having the pleasure to work for Oxford Speaks to photograph some of their prominent speakers and dragged myself across the city before sunrise to photograph the cast of John and Jen for their poster. I daresay that may have been the only time that I got up to my first year alarm all term!

Of course there are times in my life where I don’t exist within the theatre. It has been a term of juggling fascinating tutorials on medieval manuscripts and classes on the various forms of life writing. The former ranged from a poorly written commentary finished on an early train to London to discussing the merits and downsides of digitisation. While the latter included copious reading and the classic weekly jumping through topics. It was a pleasure to have more control over my studies, to learn about the complexities of subjects, and to walk out of the faculty bubbling with excitement and with a reading list longer than when I walked in. Having already put one of those units to bed and close to completing the other, I find myself missing that passion and excitement but looking forward to a quieter term next.

Despite an action packed term, there is little more than a fantasy ball that stands out to me. Joining revellers from across the world, my friend and I danced the night away beneath the vaulted ceiling of the Divinity Schools. It has been a term of new friendships and the closer drawing of acquaintances, of regular Tse Noodle dinners, borrowing books from other college libraries and seeking the beauty of the natural world between the Oxford stone (whether this be in Magdalen deer park or the grounds of Blenheim Palace). My student centred term ended on a high, laughing the night away in the Isis Farmhouse surrounded by drunken college friends, while my final day in Oxford ended with the unusual sight of Barry Keoghan dancing naked through the halls of a stately home (Saltburn – love it or hate it?). All in all an eventful term that thankfully didn’t begin with a twisted ankle and JR trip… but did end with falling down some stairs in college and bruised ribs. One day this sleepy autistic girl will stop falling over… maybe!