ByStander

Hamming it Up: Mini Pigs Review

Whilst many envy the Rocky virgins of this town, I pity the pantomime first-timers. The number of St Andrews students who just don't understand the joys of the British institution that is pantomime distresses me on a daily basis. I pride myself on being the opposite. Maybe it's the anticipation of the end of exams and going home for Christmas, but I have embraced the onset of pantomime season with open arms. And what a welcome into the Christmas season it is! The Three Mini P

Sophie Rose Jenkins

Nov 25

Ctrl Alt Resistance : SZA and The Expression of Female Vulnerability

By Valentina Ronzoni SZA Image from Instagram (@sza) SZA (Solana Imani Rowe) has taken the world by storm with the release of her two albums Ctrl (2017) and SOS (2022). Her mature sound, blending R&B, neo-soul, and hip-hop, reaches out to a misunderstood, underrepresented female youth of the 21st century. Winning the best album of 2022 (Rolling Stone), and charting for 38 weeks at no1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, it’s safe to say she has a talent in communicating vulnerability

Valentina Ronzoni

Nov 17

The Gilbert and Sullivan Society’s Patience – Aesthetic, Witty and Endearing.

Alisha Reeve The clocks may have fallen back, the days may be getting colder, but that won’t dampen my spirits, for the St Andrews Gilbert and Sullivan Society returned to the Byre Theatre last week for their production Patience. Their three-night run came around a little earlier than expected (usually their productions take place a little later on in the semester). However, though they had a limited time to rehearse, the society nevertheless gave a satisfactory performance f

Alisha Reeve

Nov 3

60 Years of the Sound of Music: How the Iconic Movie Lives On Today

Asha Denhoy On the 2nd of March 1965, a movie called The Sound of Music was released. Little did the cast and crew know that sixty years later, the movie would have a lasting legacy, and it would impact and change the lives of thousands of people, including me. Not only that, but it would change the lives of the real von Trapp family, and become a cultural phenomenon. I had the opportunity to go to Salzburg over Independent Learning week, and experience the joy that was the

Asha Denhoy

Nov 3

Rhythms of Resistance: The Untold Origins of Salsa and Bachata

How familiar are you with salsa and bachata? Many people have “take a salsa class” on their bucket list. Others associate it with romance and a beautiful lady in a red dress, or maybe even Dirty Dancing . Many were recently drawn to it due to the rise of Bad Bunny and the surge of dance videos on TikTok to his new album Debí Tirar Más Fotos. However, there is an unfortunate lack of conversation about how salsa and bachata came to be. Given how little this topic is discussed,

Megan Boxwell

Oct 27

Students Rave about St Andrews’s Rise in Soft Clubbing

The Stand’s coverage of Espress’o'clock a few weeks ago marks the rise of a new era in party culture. It goes by many names: soft clubbing, daytime clubbing, dayclubbing. Pick your poison (or in this case, choose your coffee). Rewinding back to the stressful times of university applications, there are many factors which determine which university a prospective student may go to: student satisfaction rates; courses that are available to study; quality of teaching; but perhaps

Alisha Reeve

Oct 26

Ctrl Alt Resistance : SZA and the Expression of Female Vulnerability

Credit: SZA/Instagram (@sza) Solana Imani Rowe, better known by her stage name SZA, is a singer-songwriter whose influence is...

Valentina Ronzoni

Oct 13

Backpacking the Balkans: Off the beaten track for Euro-summer

By Megan Boxwell As reading week looms dangerously close, many St Andrews students will be coming to the realisation that they still...

Megan Boxwell

Oct 7

The Sabrina & Olivia Tribute Act: Did St Andrews Just Hit Peak Pop?

By Sarannya Nanda Glitter on the floor, sticker tattoos, and freshers singing their lungs out like their lives depended on it. This...

Sarannya Nanda

Oct 5

Espress'o Clock - A Fresh Take on Dayclubbing

Espress’o Clock is a perfect escape from your Sunday morning library grind or a nice start to a slow morning.

Casey Cortez

Sep 29

Ballin’ on a Budget (Or Not) - Is the Cost of Fun in St Andrews Too High?

Maybe it’s down to my own financial irresponsibility, or perhaps the ever-looming pressure of FOMO, but it’s hard to deny that in St Andrews, cheap social events are few and far between.

Freya Wedgwood

Sep 28