Bucks &amp; Oxon

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-art">ART</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="999" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/01/7-copy.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-154517" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/01/7-copy.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/01/7-copy-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/01/7-copy-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/01/7-copy-526x525.jpg 526w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/01/7-copy-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Rebirth from the Motherpot, 1987, Modern Art Oxford, © Monica Sjöö Estate</figcaption></figure>



Well hello 2024, and may we say you&#8217;re looking mighty fine? First on the agenda, hit up Modern Art Oxford to see the stunning retrospective of the artist, activist, writer and eco-feminist, Monica Sjöö – <a href="https://modernartoxford.org.uk/whats-on/monica-sjoo">The Great Cosmic Mother</a>. Showcasing pieces from Sjöö’s 40-year career including many large scale paintings which explore the relationship between art, spirituality and politics (until Sun 25 Feb). While you&#8217;re there, have a nosey around <a href="https://modernartoxford.org.uk/whats-on/children-heard-and-seen-hand-in-hand">Children Heard and Seen: Hand&nbsp;in Hand</a>, where the kids have taken the reigns in this colourful collaboration between young creatives and the super-talented Oxford-based artist, Mills Brown, (until Sun 25 Feb).&nbsp;



Just a few weeks left to catch <a href="https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/visit/picture-gallery/exhibitions-and-events">Drawing in Colour </a>at The Christchurch Picture Gallery&nbsp;(ends Mon 22 Jan) for a deep dive into how Renaissance and Baroque drawings incorporated colour. MK Gallery&#8216;s <a href="https://mkgallery.org/event/beyond-the-page/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Beyond the Page</a>&nbsp;also closes this month (Sun 28 Jan), offering a journey back to the 1600s and how South Asian miniature painting influenced contemporary artists in everything from sculptures, installations and film. Still showing at The Ashmolean is <a href="https://ashmolean.org/exhibition/colour-revolution-victorian-art-fashion-design">Colour Revolution </a>(until Sun 18 Feb), with a focus on the Victorian era’s brightly coloured fashion, jewellery, furnishings and paintings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-on-stage">ON STAGE </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="844" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/The-Wizard-of-Oz-at-New-Theatre-Oxford-copy.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-154337" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/The-Wizard-of-Oz-at-New-Theatre-Oxford-copy.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/The-Wizard-of-Oz-at-New-Theatre-Oxford-copy-800x450.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/The-Wizard-of-Oz-at-New-Theatre-Oxford-copy-1000x563.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/The-Wizard-of-Oz-at-New-Theatre-Oxford-copy-400x225.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/The-Wizard-of-Oz-at-New-Theatre-Oxford-copy-900x506.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



Follow the yellow brick road to&nbsp;New Theatre Oxford&nbsp;for its <a href="https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-wizard-of-oz/new-theatre-oxford/">The Wizard of Oz</a>&nbsp;(Wed 10 – Sun 14 Jan), fresh from&nbsp;The London Palladium&nbsp;with the fab-u-lous RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner, The Vivienne, as the Wicked Witch of the West, plus an Oscar-winning musical score. Book ahead to see the glitzy jukebox musical <a href="https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/i-should-be-so-lucky/new-theatre-oxford/">I Should Be So Lucky</a> (Mon 5 &#8211; Sat 10 Feb) &#8211; a young love tale that suddenly goes wrong just before the couple tie the knot. Add to that iconic pop songs from the likes of Kylie Minogue and Mel and Kim, plus choreography by Strictly’s creative director Jason Gilkison, and you&#8217;ve got an unbeatable recipe for a girls&#8217; night out.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Six-the-musical-.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-154057" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Six-the-musical-.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Six-the-musical--800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Six-the-musical--400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Six-the-musical--788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Over at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Henry VIII’s sassy wives (heads still on) return again with Tony award-winning <a href="https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/six/aylesbury-waterside-theatre/">Six</a> (Tue 23 Jan – Sun 28 Jan) whilst at the Wycombe Swan another West End transfer rocks up this month, from Tue 30 Jan – Sat 3 Feb with <a href="https://trafalgartickets.com/wycombe-swan-theatre/en-GB/event/play/222-a-ghost-story-tickets" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2:22 A Ghost Story</a>, winner of Best New Play at the Whatsonstage Awards. The cast changes regularly (I saw it with Tom Felton in London and loved it) and this tour&#8217;s roster includes Jay McGuiness (The Wanted), Fiona Wade (Emmerdale, Silent Witness), George Rainsford (Call the Midwife, Casualty) and Vera Chok (Hollyoaks, Cobra). In the same week (Tue 30 Jan &#8211; Sat 3 Feb), Matthew Bourne gets his brilliant hands on Tim Burton’s gothic classic <a href="https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/edward-scissorhands/milton-keynes-theatre/">Edward Scissorhands</a> for an enchanting ballet adaptation at Milton Keynes Theatre.



Speaking of classics, there’s still time to catch Creation Theatre’s superb rendition of Dickens’ <a href="https://www.thenorthwall.com/whats-on/a-christmas-carol/">A Christmas Carol</a> at The North Wall in Oxford (until Sat 6 Jan) &#8211; before you go spending your pennies, <a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/arts-culture-things-to-do/review-a-christmas-carol-north-wall-oxford/">read the Muddy review here</a>. Not feeling it? There&#8217;s a change of pace at Oxford Playhouse&nbsp;for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/black-is-the-color-of-my-voice">Black is the Colour of My Voice</a>&nbsp;(Mon 29 Jan), which follows the life of blues Queen Nina Simone, from a three-year-old piano prodigy to being a leading force in the Civil Rights Movement. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-screenings">SCREENINGS </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Wonka-film.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-154060" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Wonka-film.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Wonka-film-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Wonka-film-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Wonka-film-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Gawd bless the end of the Hollywood writer&#8217;s strike! There&#8217;s a smorgasbord of hot releases for us to devour this month, now normal service has been resumed. Beeline it to The Chipping Norton Theatre for Joaquin Phoenix’s hugely anticipated version of Emperor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chippingnortontheatre.com/events/napoleon-12a">Napoleon</a>&nbsp;(Sat&nbsp;6&nbsp;–&nbsp;Thu&nbsp;18 Jan), if his French accent is anything to go by, he’ll be taking home another Oscar this awards season. Speaking of Oscar bait, catch Timothée Chalamet&#8217;s take on Roald Dahl’s wacky chocolate connoisseur in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chippingnortontheatre.com/events/wonka-12a">Wonka</a>&nbsp;(Fri 19 – Mon 22 Jan).



Royal Opera House fans listen up! If you missed Dvorák’s supernatural fairy-tale&nbsp;Rusalka live,&nbsp;you’ll be giddy to know there’s plenty of screenings in our hood this month: choose from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chippingnortontheatre.com/events/rusalka">Chipping Norton Theatre</a>&nbsp;(Wed 24 Jan),&nbsp;<a href="https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/roh-rusalka-as-live-screening/norman-bragg-studio-aylesbury/">Norman Bragg Studio</a>&nbsp;(Wed 24 Jan),&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://mkgallery.org/event/roh-rusalka/">MK Gallery</a>&nbsp;(Sun 28 Jan), and cool Abingdon indie cinema&nbsp;<a href="https://theabbey.ac/web?film=64dccf835f386474da0bcc9b">The Abbey</a>&nbsp;(Wed 24 Jan).&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-comedy">COMEDY </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Tatty-Macleod-Fugue-2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-153909" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Tatty-Macleod-Fugue-2.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Tatty-Macleod-Fugue-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Tatty-Macleod-Fugue-2-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Tatty-Macleod-Fugue-2-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Let&#8217;s laugh our way through winter, shall we?&nbsp;<a href="https://oldfirestation.org.uk/whats-on/tatty-mcleod-fugue/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tatty Macleod</a>&nbsp;leads the bunch following a cracking sold-out&nbsp;Edinburgh Fringe&nbsp;(Mazel Tov, Tatty) at the&nbsp;Old Fire Station&nbsp;(Thu 18 Jan), whilst&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thenorthwall.com/whats-on/sindhu-vee-alphabet/">Sindhu Vee</a>&nbsp;(you’ll recognise her as Mrs Phelps from Netflix’s Matilda) takes on the North Wall Arts Centre (Thu 18 Jan) and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.themillartscentre.co.uk/shows/chris-mccausland-yonks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chris McCausland</a> stands up at Mill Arts Centre (Tue 9&nbsp;–&nbsp;Wed 10 Jan).



Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/miles-jupp">Miles Jupp</a> returns to the stage for the first time since 2017 (Oxford Playhouse on Tue 16 Jan), and dives into the heartfelt and hilarious behind-the-scenes details of his unexpected seven-year break. Also making a comeback, Adam Kay hits the Wycombe Swan stage with <a href="https://trafalgartickets.com/wycombe-swan-theatre/en-GB/event/comedy/adam-kay-undoctored-tickets">Undoctored</a>, the sequel to his novel-turned-hit series, This is Going to Hurt (Wed 24 Jan).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-music">MUSIC </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Julian-Lloyd-Webber-and-Jiaxin.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-154062" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Julian-Lloyd-Webber-and-Jiaxin.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Julian-Lloyd-Webber-and-Jiaxin-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Julian-Lloyd-Webber-and-Jiaxin-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/Julian-Lloyd-Webber-and-Jiaxin-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



A classical treat at&nbsp;Oxford Playhouse&nbsp;with acclaimed cellist&nbsp;Julian Lloyd Webber&nbsp;and his wife Jiaxin in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/julian-jiaxin-lloyd-webber" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bach Explored</a>&nbsp;(Fri 12 Jan) &#8211; live music as well as a Q&amp;A with the couple about their lives and experiences. There&#8217;s a series of concerts this month at the&nbsp;Sheldonian Theatre with <a href="https://oxfordphil.com/event/maxim-vengerov-2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Maxim Vengerov</a>&nbsp;(Thu 11 Jan) performing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, a&nbsp;<a href="https://oxfordphil.com/event/berlioz-and-brahms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Berlioz and Brahms</a>&nbsp;evening with soprano Sophie Bevan and conductor Ryan Wigglesworth (Thu 18 Jan) and&nbsp;Leonard Elschenbroich performing <a href="https://oxfordphil.com/event/elgar-cello-concerto/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Elgar Cello Concerto</a>&nbsp;(Sat 27 Jan).



Celebrating Mozart’s birthday (Sat 27 Jan), the Oxford Sinfonia is hosting an exciting concert of his 23rd Piano Concerto performed by the ever-impressive 20-year-old pianist <a href="https://www.oxfordsinfonia.co.uk/event/jeneba-kanneh-mason-plays-mozart/">Jeneba Kanneh-Mason</a> (yep, the one from the hugely decorated Kanneh-Mason classical music family) at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-outdoors">OUTDOORS </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/stowe-gardens-snowdrops.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-154069" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/stowe-gardens-snowdrops.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/stowe-gardens-snowdrops-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/stowe-gardens-snowdrops-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/stowe-gardens-snowdrops-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



It&#8217;s snowdrop season. Pretty displays will be popping up this month &#8211; check out the Elysian Fields, Sleeping Wood and Lamport Garden at <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-berkshire/stowe-gardens/events/80431f1b-4b49-4495-b5d7-ea2d16e107e8">Stowe Gardens</a> in North Bucks, <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-berkshire/hughenden">Hughenden Manor</a>&#8216;s 680 acres and <a href="https://www.waterperrygardens.co.uk">Waterperry Gardens</a> near Oxford which has&nbsp;50+ varieties of snowdrops.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-family">FAMILY </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1041" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/05/Roald-Dahl-Childrens-Gallery.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-145720" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/05/Roald-Dahl-Childrens-Gallery.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/05/Roald-Dahl-Childrens-Gallery-800x555.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/05/Roald-Dahl-Childrens-Gallery-1000x694.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/05/Roald-Dahl-Childrens-Gallery-400x278.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/05/Roald-Dahl-Childrens-Gallery-756x525.jpg 756w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



A great way to get your little ones aged 4-8 years interested in classical music, The Oxford Phil puts on its <a href="https://oxfordphil.com/event/funomusica-the-fantastic-philharmonic-time-machine/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FUNomusica concert</a> on Sun 14 Jan at Oxford Town Hall, 4pm.Its <a href="https://oxfordphil.com/event/funomusica-the-fantastic-philharmonic-time-machine/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fantastic Philharmonic Time Machine</a> takes in music associated with Ancient Egypt, the Inca Empire and the Era of the Dinosaurs. 



There’s still time to catch&nbsp;<a href="https://www.roalddahlmuseum.org/see-whats-on/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wonka&nbsp;</a>activities including walks, storytelling sessions, and themed trails at&nbsp;Roald Dahl Museum &#8211; until&nbsp;Sun 7 Jan. Every Sunday between 2-4 there are <a href="https://oumnh.web.ox.ac.uk/event/family-friendly-sundays-103" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">family friendly drop ins</a> at the Museum of Natural History in Oxford Later in the month there&#8217;s an interactive <a href="https://www.experienceoxfordshire.org/event/family-day-at-the-science-oxford-centre-35/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Family Day</a> at the Science Oxford Centre.

Jolly Jan! 35+ things to do in Bucks and Oxon this month

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