Credit: The Guardian Over the past year, the internet has been plagued by the so-called ‘performative male’ who notoriously flaunts the effortlessly put-together outfit of a band t-shirt, of whom he has most likely never listened to, wired headphones, and a classic literature book that fits perfectly in his back pocket. Such a look has become so notorious, identifiable, and easy to recreate that I even had friends don the attire as a Halloween costume. Maybe he's carrying Sil

Mermaids’ student production of King Lear , directed by Eilidh Read, is an ambitious and moving stage production. Having seen both performances, it was clear the cast found their footing by the second night, settling into the rhythms of Shakespeare’s language and the emotional gravity of the tragedy.   India Kolb’s Lear is at the emotional centre of the production. Kolb gave a driven and powerful performance as Lear; Kolb breathes life into every scene she is in, displaying r

Years ago, I heard a story about a woman in a university seminar who would start or end any contribution to the discussion with a “Sorry”. It was a “sorry” of the excuse-me kind, like when you brush someone with your bag while boarding a bus: saying, “I didn’t mean to, and I regret my intrusion”. One day, the professor, fed up, commanded her to “Stop apologising!” Automatically the woman replied, “I’m sorry”, froze, and put her head down on her desk. This apology was differen

Literature has become obsolete. Literature has become meaningless and redundant. Literature has died – and this is coming from an English student with a concerning list of books to be read. The death of literature is not a new concept. One of the earliest proponents had brought the death of the novel-form to the attention of readers as far back as in 1925. José Ortega y Gasset addresses  literature’s impending death in his Decline of the Novel  (1925). Other media theorists a