ART

Modern Art Oxford Jamie Bragg — Jamie Bragg at Tender Grounds, Modern Art Oxford. Credit: @mao_gallery

Well hello 2025, and may we say you’re looking mighty fine? First on the agenda, hit up the newly re-opened Modern Art Oxford which is still showing its exhibition of the work of Cuban artist Belkis Ayon (until 9 Feb). Using a printmaking process called collography, she produced richly detailed artworks recreating a secret Cuban religious society.

Head over to the Christ Church Picture Gallery to catch Secrets of the Sibyls: an exhibition of two intriguing paintings each showing five sibyls (female prophets) by Florentine Renaissance artists Sandro Botticelli and Filippino Lippi (ends 31 March). There’s still time to see the largest-ever solo show of the Bloomsbury Group’s pioneering modernist painter Vanessa Bell at the MK Gallery (until 23 Feb). And if you head on over to The Ashmolean it’s showing a free exhibition of photography by London-based artist Bettina von Zwehl, who has taken inspiration from The Ashmolean’s collections (until 11 May).

ON STAGE

The Varna International Ballet is always a treat on its visits to Oxford. This year, the respected Bulgarian dance troupe are performing The Nutcracker at the New Theatre Oxford on Weds 5 Feb followed by Swan Lake on 6 Feb and Romeo & Juliet on 7 Feb.

Over at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Strictly winner Chris McCausland’s new comedy show, Yonks, sold out before Christmas (no surprise there!), but you can still catch the family classic Annie the musical, with a three-night run from from Thurs 23-Sat 25 Jan. Then get the tissue boxes out for Blood Brothers on 28 Jan to 1 Feb, ergo, the nation’s favourite musical.

For a change of pace, Sally Woodcock directs a new production of Mike Bartlett’s award-winning Bull at Oxford’s Old Fire Station on Sat 25 and Sun 26 Jan. It’s a razor-sharp play about the fine line between office politics and bullying as three men fight to keep their jobs and has won multiple awards, including the UK Theatre Award for Best New Play.

And finally: one to book now for Feb is the 30th anniversary tour of Birdsong, the stage adaptation of Sebastian Faulks’s bestselling First World War epic. This mesmerising tale of love and courage is coming to the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre from 11-15 Feb starring Max Bowden, best known for playing Ben Mitchell in EastEnders, James Esler (Litvinenko) and Charlie Russell (the BBC’s And Then There Were None). Book here.

SCREENINGS

Beeline it to The Chipping Norton Theatre to see the Metropolitan Opera’s Aida on 26 Jan. For big-screen blockbusters, head to the cool Abingdon indie The Abbey. This month’s programme ticks all the entertainment boxes with new releases Wicked (including sing-along shows), Gladiator II, Paddington in Peru, Moana 2 and We Live in Time. Check show times here.

COMEDY

Let’s laugh our way through winter, shall we? If you like fast-paced, edgy one-liners then get ready for Jimmy Carr‘s brand-new show, which is coming to the Wycombe Swan on Weds 22 Jan.

MUSIC

Lady Whistledown has given her verdict on the classical music event of the season: Candlelight: Best of Bridgerton on Strings at Oxford’s Holywell Music Room on 18 and 31 Jan. A night listening to a string ensemble playing tunes from the Bridgerton score by candlelight is – surprise, surprise – proving rather a hot ticket, so they’re selling out fast. Book here before they go. Coldplay more your bag? There’s also a candlelight Coldplay tribute concert at Oxford Town Hall on 24 Jan, performed by the Sollar Music string quartet.

The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra will unleash its full force (with the help of some world-class soloists) with a concert of Verdi’s soul-stirring Requiem at Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre on 25 Jan, and internationally acclaimed pianist Angela Hewitt (awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II) will give a Bach, Brahms, Haydn and Handel recital at Oxford’s St John the Evangelist church on Tue 21 Jan. MK venue The Stables is one for an eclectic mix of music, comedy and performance from bigger and lesser known names. Jan Akkerman, once named the world’s greatest guitarist, is performing there on 5 Feb and not to be missed.

SCOFF & QUAFF

After Christmas, we all need something to look forward to in January – and The Greyhound in Beaconsfield has the solution: a fabulous wine dinner on Tue 28 Jan. It’s led by Michael Karam, a consultant for the Lebanese vineyard Château Ksara, and comes in at £150pp including a four-course tasting menu – and the wine, of course. We’ll be bored of Dry January by then anyway. Bookings by email to The Greyhound, find the info here.

Wild Rabbit supper club — The Wild Rabbit x Bell supper club

Cotswolds readers won’t miss out on the feasting though. We hear The Wild Rabbit‘s supper clubs are hopping over from Kingham to The Bell at Charlbury this month, while the Daylesford-owned Wild Rabbit has a refresh. Executive chef Sam Bowser will be cooking a five-course gamey lunch and dinner from Thurs-Sat this month, at £120pp. Get in there like a shot for the signature Rabbit ravioli and Wootton estate venison.

Fancy getting sloshed on whisky and reciting Address to a Haggis? The Burns Night supper at The Thatch, Thame is the place to be on 25 Jan for a three-course dinner (£55pp) and plenty of Scotch. Just book a table in the usual way, quoting “Burns Supper”. Room for one more? The spirit of Agatha Christie comes alive at Oxford’s Head of the River pub on 30 Jan, when it’s holding a Cluedo-themed murder-mystery night. You’ll have to go along to find out whodunnit, but here’s a few clues: it involves actors from Organise Events, a three-course dinner (£45pp), and themed cocktails, which sounds like a deadly combo. Book here to help solve the mystery.

OUTDOORS

It’s snowdrop season. Pretty displays will be popping up this month – check out the Elysian Fields, Sleeping Wood and Lamport Garden at Stowe Gardens in North Bucks, Hughenden Manor‘s 680 acres, and Waterperry Gardens near Oxford, which has 50+ varieties of snowdrops.

FAMILY

The Christmas may be behind us but the Mill Arts Centre in Banbury hasn’t got the memo: it’s showing a family friendly take on Jack & the Beanstalk on Sun 26 Jan. This lively show is suitable for the over 3s, plus adults feeling full of beans in the new year.

If you have under 5s, The Walled Garden in West Wycombe is starting weekly Monkey Music classes from 8 Jan, and weekly Creation Station craft sessions from 17 Jan. Check out the dates here – and while you’re there, the classy Clara’s Corner soft-play area (for under 7s) is a great option too. Rainy Jan weekend to fill? Had to the Saturday family days at the Science Oxford Centre, or the free drop-in sessions at Oxford’s Museum of Natural History – there’s Out of the Deep for getting up close with marine creatures on Saturday mornings, or family-friendly craft afternoons on Sundays. The child-friendly paleontology exhibition called Breaking Ground is also worth a mooch. Head to the museum’s basement to investigate the fossil-hunting work of the 19th century paleontology power couple William and Mary Buckland. January’s looking rather jolly, wouldn’t you say?

TOO LATE! BEEN AND GONE IN JAN

Tender Grounds at Modern Art Oxford showcasing some of the most exciting emerging artists in the South (until 12 Jan). The Ashmolean headline Money Talks: Art, Society & Power closed 5 Jan. Mega show tunes and natty costumes came to the New Theatre Oxford for Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat (Tue 7 to Sat 11 Jan). Milton Keynes Theatre brought central American sizzle to these shores on 17 & 18 Jan with Nutcracker in Havana: a newly commissioned Cuban take on The Nutcracker. The Chipping Norton Theatre‘s screenings this month included Wicked, The Room Next Door, and The Tales of Hoffmann, Jaques Offenbach’s dreamlike opera.

Ha!Milton at the Milton Keynes Theatre was Fri 10 Jan. It’s just like the smash hit musical Hamilton – except Milton Jones (Mock the Week, Live at the Apollo) is tone deaf and has no sense of rhythm. The Oxford Playhouse billed Tragedy Plus Time (the Mark Twain definition of humour) by Ed Byrne on Fri 17 Jan. A classic folk treat came to Oxford Playhouse, in the form of upbeat blues, rock and country combo Montmorency on Sat 18 Jan.

Dry January didn’t get a look-in at Paris House in Woburn Park near Milton Keynes. On 16 Jan it hosted a battle of the wines-style evening called The Judgement of Paris, after the famous 1976 taste test between France and the US, matched with a five-course tasting menu at £225pp.

Little ones aged 4-8 got a taste of classical music: The Oxford Philharmonic put on its FUNomusica family concert on Sun 19 Jan at Oxford Town Hall.

Jump in to January! Our pick of what’s on in Bucks & Oxon this month

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