Oxford Events
What’s on in Oxford & Oxfordshire this August
What’s on in Oxford and across Oxfordshire this August
Hello and welcome to your essential guide to the best events, exhibitions, and things to do in Oxford and across Oxfordshire throughout August.
From open-air theatre under golden evening skies to leisurely weekend brunches in sun-dappled courtyards, August is a glorious time to explore everything our beautiful city and surrounding countryside has to offer.
Whether you’re staying local with a picnic basket and a blanket or fancy venturing further afield for a cultural day trip to a quieter-than-usual London for a West End matinee, there’s plenty to inspire your days out.
Dive into our events section for more handpicked events and happening in Oxford and across Oxforshire – from family-friendly festivals and food markets to art shows and live performances – as well as unmissable events beyond the county that would make for a great day out.
So, here it is – your go-to guide for making the most of August in Oxfordshire. Enjoy the sunshine, soak up the culture, and relish your summer adventures. And if you’re hosting an event, list your event on The Oxford Magazine website and reach our growing audience of people who live, work or play in Oxfordshire.
Party in the Paddock returns in 2026 with two massive weekends of racing and live music at Newbury Racecourse. With world-class racing, unforgettable performances, and an electric summer atmosphere, this is a series you won’t want to miss.
Festival lineup includes: Gipsy Kings featuring Nicolas Reyes / Ronan Keating / Tinie Tempah / Jessie J.
Guiting Power Village Hall
Guiting Music Festival continues to grow its reputation as one of the leading music festivals in the Cotswolds, offering a superb eclectic mix of artists and genres of music at its annual event in the Cotswold village of Guiting Power. Over 10 days it will play host to world-renowned, international, European and UK artists.
Trot on over to the Stables in the West Courtyard this summer to meet our four-legged friends and discover the part horses and ponies have played in the story of Blenheim Palace.
The Oxford Piano Festival was founded in 1999 by Marios Papadopoulos, renowned pianist and Music Director of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra. Each year, the Festival welcomes piano players and pedagogues, experts and enthusiasts, to some of Oxford’s most historic venues, such as Sir Christopher Wren’s Sheldonian Theatre, the Holywell Music Room, and Christ Church Cathedral.
Blenheim Palace is delighted to be hosting a series of exclusive watercolour workshops led by acclaimed Woodstock artist Rod Craig.
Our Man in Havana follows the hilarious exploits of James Wormold, a British vacuum cleaner salesman in pre-revolutionary Havana, Cuba. Jack Ashton, Bob Barrett, Leon Ockenden, and Jodie Steele play over 30 characters to bring 1950s Havana vividly to life in this wonderfully funny and fast-moving romp!
Wilderness festival is the multi-award winning 4-day festival combining live music, contemporary arts and an array of theatre, artisanship, late-night parties, outdoor pursuits and culinary experiences. It’s one festival where genres are redefined, identity is turned on its head, and arts from across the spectrum sit side by side.
Festival lineup includes: Scissor Sisters / Carl Cox / The Last Dinner Party / Sisters: curated by Annie Lennox / Soulwax / Baxter Dury / Saint Etienne / Good Neighbours / The Hot 8 Brass Band / Groove Armada (DJ Set) / Nic Fanciulli / Eats everything / Olive F / Dan Shake • Say She She / Demi Riquísimo / Delilah / Chloe Qisha / Mr Cutts and many more.
Van Gogh & Me is a compelling new play starring Jack Ellis, examining the turbulent relationship between Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. Blending art, history and personal reflection, the production explores creativity, rivalry and the human cost of artistic ambition.
The remarkably talented participants of the Oxford Piano Festival receive masterclasses from acclaimed pianist Vanessa Latarche and fellow piano masters.
The remarkably talented participants of the Oxford Piano Festival receive masterclasses from acclaimed pianist Richard Goode and fellow piano masters.
Mozart’s beloved comic masterpiece The Marriage of Figaro is filled with sparkling melodies, mistaken identities, clever disguises and laugh-out-loud comedy, bringing one of opera’s greatest love stories vividly to life in period costume.
Oxford Piano Festival Participants take to the stage with fresh guidance from the world’s most esteemed pianists echoing in their ears.
Aylesbury Waterside Theatre
Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity proudly presents Fame packed with high-energy songs and unforgettable performances. Grab your leotards and legwarmers and be part of something amazing.
The remarkably talented participants of the Oxford Piano Festival receive masterclasses from acclaimed pianist Arie Vardi and fellow piano masters.
The All American Auto Club’s “Rally of The Giants” bring their 60th year celebration of classic American cars at Stonor Park. This year’s event is lining up to be unforgettable, with vehicles from 1900 right through to the modern day, live music, food and retail,
Enjoy Oxford Coffee Concerts with Huw Watkins, Ben Baker, Emma Wernig and Tim Posner performing Watkins’ String Trio No. 2 and Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 3.
The Waterperry Opera Festival returns in 2026 from 07 to 16 August, offering a mix of full-scale operas, recitals, and open-air performances at Waterperry Gardens. The festival showcases international singers and orchestras, alongside pre-performance talks, garden tours, and family-friendly activities.
From classic favourites to contemporary works, it promises an immersive cultural experience for both opera enthusiasts and newcomers. Tickets and passes are available online and on-site, with early booking recommended for popular events.
Cogges Annual Beer & Cider Festival is a party in the barns where you can try over 50 different locally produced craft beers and ciders, with live music all afternoon and evening to get the crowd dancing.
The Great Antique & Vintage Car Boot Fair returns to Stonor Park with more than 200 quality sellers offering antiques, collectibles and vintage treasures. Visitors can browse unique finds, enjoy delicious food and make the most of the beautiful parkland, with additional attractions available onsite.
Enjoy Oxford Coffee Concerts with the Kleio String Quartet performing Schubert’s String Quintet in C major, op 163, D 956 in Holywell Music Room.
The acclaimed pianist and composer Jack Gibbons is joined by award-winning pianist Sarah Beth Briggs for an evening of much loved piano duets including Fauré’s Dolly Suite, Debussy’s Petite Suite, Schumann’s masterly Piano Quintet Op.44, and the world premiere of a new transcription for piano duet by Gibbons of Gershwin’s dazzling Girl Crazy Overture (featuring the classic songs I Got Rhythm and Embraceable You).
Instruments of Time & Truth recreate intimate musical evenings from Oxford, London and Lübeck in Ayres of the Night. Featuring mezzo-soprano Martha McLorinan and period-instrument specialists, the programme explores evocative works by Purcell, Bach and Buxtehude as dusk falls.
Cropredy Village, Banbury
The Fairport Cropredy Convention 2026 will be staged over the weekend of 13 to 15 August. The annual festival of folk and rock music, headed by British folk-rock band Fairport Convention is held on the edge of the village of Cropredy near Babnury in Oxfordshire.
Festival lineup:
Thursday – Fairport Acoustic / Banter / Soft Machine / Matt Bragg / Turin Brakes / Le Vent Du Nord
Friday – Cropredy Primary School Folk Class / Danny & The Champions of The World / Danny Bradley / The Celtic Social Club / Marshall Gilmour Webbs / Breabach / Spooky Men’s Chorale / Richard Thompson with Zara Phillips (plus S Nicol, D Mattacks & D Pegg)
Saturday – Gerry Colvin Big Band / Rob Jones & The Restless Dream / The Haar / Barbara / Hayseed Dixie / Will Pound & Jenn Butterworth / Fairport Convention & Friends
Step inside a current exhibition with one of the curators. These focused, 30-minute tours offer in-depth insights into the ideas, processes and stories behind the work on display.
Fame Jr. brings young performers to the stage in a vibrant summer production celebrating talent, ambition and creativity.
NW Inventors: Comedy Workshop invites young people to develop comedy skills through movement, facial expressions and voice. Across three fun-filled mornings, participants will build confidence, explore performance techniques and showcase their talents to a supportive audience in a lively environment.
Join this actor focused workshop where your acting skills will be refined through voice, movement and script exploration, featuring classical, contemporary and self-written monologues with an opportunity to present a mock audition.
Discover the fascinating history of make-up, from the Egyptians, Ancient Greeks and Romans, to the glamour of the Roaring Twenties, the bold looks of the Swinging Sixties, and everything in between! Join us in one of our traditional dressing rooms and get creative with your own theatrical designs.
Get ready for some dramatic fun! In this workshop, children will uncover the secrets behind creating realistic bruises, cuts and wounds for the stage. (You might want to double-check those injuries before reaching for the first aid kit!)
Temple Island Meadows, Henley-on-Thames
Rewind Festival South is probably the biggest 80’s music festival in the world. It is a spectacular event, packed full of fun, laughter, great (and terrible!) costumes and friends. Celebrate the best decade around with all your favourite 80s icons. Get your tickets and join the biggest party of the summer. This really is going to be one of the 2025 festivals in Oxfordshire you can’t afford to miss.
Festival lineup includes: TBC
Get ready for some dramatic fun! In this workshop, children will uncover the secrets behind creating realistic bruises, cuts and wounds for the stage. (You might want to double-check those injuries before reaching for the first aid kit!)
Discover the fascinating history of make-up, from the Egyptians, Ancient Greeks and Romans, to the glamour of the Roaring Twenties, the bold looks of the Swinging Sixties, and everything in between! Join us in one of our traditional dressing rooms and get creative with your own theatrical designs.
Legendary 2 Tone pioneers The Selecter bring their unmistakable blend of ska, punk and social commentary to the stage. Expect a high-tempo set packed with classic hits, brass-driven hooks and dancefloor-friendly grooves, delivered with the band’s signature urgency and feel-good spirit.
Aylesbury Waterside Theatre
Our Stage Summer Drama is an exciting week-long project offering the chance to young people with disabilities, neurodivergence and additional needs to develop skills in Drama, Dance, and Design, ending with a celebratory showcase for friends and family in the Norman Bragg Studio.
For those curious about what happens behind the curtain, this workshop is a brilliant introduction to the technical side of theatre. Children will work alongside the technical team, learning the basics of lighting, rigging and sound.
Richfield Avenue, Reading
Reading Festival, one of the UK’s most iconic music events, returns in 2026 with an electrifying lineup across multiple stages. Known for showcasing the best in rock, indie, hip-hop, and dance, the festival promises an unforgettable weekend of live music, vibrant energy, and festival culture. Join thousands of music lovers and make Reading Festival 2026 your highlight of the summer!
Festival lineup includes: Travis Scott / Chappell Roan / Bring Me The Horizon / Hozier / Becky Hill / AJ Tracey / Sammy Virji / Shikari / Conan Gray / Lola Young / Amyl and the Sniffers / Wunderhorse / Lancey Foux / Royel Otis / Wallows
The ICHF Henley Craft Show returns to Stonor Park over the August Bank Holiday weekend, featuring more than 200 artisan stalls, handmade gifts, food and drink, live craft demonstrations, falconry displays, family entertainment, live music and a petting zoo.
Claydon Estate, Buckingham
Found Festival is a micro festival blend live music, wellness, creativity, comedy and dance together for a weekend of pure joy. . Relax and let the music, dance, art & craft wash over you or jump in with both feet and experience a creative process through performances, workshops, informal gatherings and masterclasses.
Festival lineup includes: TBC
Alex James’ Farm, Kingham
The Big Feastival will be back on Alex James’ beautiful Cotswolds farm this August Bank Holiday. This family-friendly music and food festival promises to be one truly unforgettable weekend. Expect a top-drawer selection of live music acts, some of the country’s top chefs, and plenty of hands-on activities for both big and little ones. The Big Feastival is for everyone, big and small.
Festival line-up:
Good Music – Basement Jaxx / The Streets / Bastille / Rudimental / Perrie / Mimi Webb / Doves / White Lies / Freya Ridings / The Coral / Antony Szmierek / Meek / Red Rum Club / Ms Dynamite / Nubiyan Twist / Tors / The Ordinary Boys / + Much more!
Good Food – Simon Rogan / Anna Haugh / Emily English / Rachel Allen / Poppy O’Toole / Tom Barnes / Meera Sodha / Nokx Majozi / Sally Abé / + Much more!
Good Times – Harriet Kemsley / Joel Dommett / Suzi Ruffell / Suzi Ruffell / Shappi Khorsandi / Joe and James Fact Up / Scott Bennett / The Scummy Mummies / Daniel Foxx / Justin Fletcher / Mc Grammar / Nick Cope / + Much more!
Sick of the summer holidays? Pop along to New Theatre Oxford’s piano bar for a light hearted escape, enjoy the best comedians from around the country and a big drink.
Come and join Nick Cope for a brand new, delightful family concert, featuring all your favourite hits and more. Nick has a magical way of reaching into people’s hearts, igniting children’s imagination in an organic, unpatronizing, educational and fun way.
Foodies Festival Oxford is a celebration of food, drink, and live entertainment. Across the festival, visitors can watch top chefs and bakers create mouth-watering dishes, sample fine wines, cocktails, and craft beers, and enjoy immersive cookery workshops.
Complementing the culinary delights, live music fills the festival, creating a vibrant, energetic atmosphere. Whether tasting new flavours, learning kitchen skills, or dancing to the music, the festival offers a full sensory experience for all ages.
Music lineup includes: Boyzlife / Gareth Gates / B*Witched
Chef lineup includes: Radhika Howarth / Joe Wadsack / Andrew Carr / Mark Peregrine / Tom Surgey / Gary & Jay
Michael Ball is Britain’s leading musical theatre star, a double Olivier Award-winning, Grammy nominated, multi-platinum recording artist and a hugely popular radio and TV presenter. Join him as he hits the road in 2026 with his Glow UK headline tour, coinciding with the release of his brand new solo album, Glow.
Enjoy Oxford Coffee Concerts with the Adderbury Ensemble and Lawrence Cummings performing Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 and the delightful Coffee Cantata.
Every Saturday (Except 26 December)
Out of the Deep is a family-friendly specimen handling and exploration of the underwater world of marine reptiles.
Step back into the golden age of the Great Western Railway at this 21-acre living museum, where trains from Victorian times to the 1960s bring railway history to life. Explore historic engine sheds, restored locomotives, interactive signalling displays and wartime exhibits, with the rare chance to see steam-era engineering up close in a quieter, immersive setting.
Modern Art Oxford is delighted to present Little Fennel’s Complaint, a major solo exhibition by Olivia Plender (b. 1977, London), exploring historic and ongoing inequalities in women’s healthcare, from early modern witchcraft to contemporary debates on reproductive rights and medical authority. Plender developed the exhibition through research with leading Oxford institutions, including the Bodleian Library, Oxford Botanic Garden and John Radcliffe Hospital.
The exhibition displays a collection of work created using foraged plants, transformed through ancient techniques such as cordage and weaving, to reflect the raw beauty and cyclical nature of the natural world, that is both ephemeral and enduring.
In Bloom: How Plants Changed Our World at the Ashmolean Museum uncovers the hidden histories behind Britain’s most beloved blooms. Explore over 100 artworks and objects that reveal how plant exploration and trade shaped landscapes, cultures, and economies – from roses and tulips to camellias and peonies.
The Oxford Shakespeare Festival is back for its 16th year! This outdoor theatre experience that takes place in the castle yard of Oxford Castle & Prison will see Wild Goose Theatre, BMH Productions, Siege Theatre, and Greensleeved will be putting on marvellous performances of Shakespeare’s finest classics.
Anna Ridler’s A Perfect Language of Images is a digital artwork created with Oxford’s Dr William Poole, exploring systems of classification through AI. Inspired by John Wilkins and Jorge Luis Borges, it reflects on how machine learning both organises and destabilises knowledge.
Meet the four-legged and feathered summer guests this summer as the Walled Garden comes alive with the sights, sounds and snuffles of the Marlborough Mini Farm.
Camp Tumblestone arrives at Tumblestone Hollow with a brand-new outdoor adventure included in every summer holiday ticket. Families can enjoy giant garden games, an agility trail, imaginative play in the teepee camp area and even more exciting activities alongside the popular adventure playground.
Developed through research into the Bate Collection of Musical Instruments at the University of Oxford, the exhibition brings together sound, video and photography to consider what is revealed and concealed through the collection, preservation and display of musical instruments. At its centre is a new sound work created using recordings of historic instruments from the collection.
Blenheim Palace presents Life Through a Royal Lens, a major photography exhibition tracing the Royals’ enduring relationship with the camera, from the reign of Queen Victoria to the present day.
The Bodleian Libraries’ Wonder of Birds exhibition explores art, science and culture through the lens of avian life. Featuring rare archives, manuscripts and immersive sound, it invites visitors to reflect on both the beauty of birds and their decline.
Join Pip & Posy’s Treehouse Trail in Adventure Play on an adventure to solve the mystery of the missing toy Piggy!
Where to go pumpkin picking in Oxfordshire in 2026
Here are our favourite places to pick your own PYO pumpkins in Oxfordshire and beyond.
It’s that time of the year. That’s right, pumpkin season is here. Whether you associate it with Halloween or not, Pumpkin picking, a somewhat American concept, has taken off in the UK, with patches and pick-your-own farms springing up all over the place.
Here are our favourite places to go to make the most of pumpkin season this year. Put on your wellies, and head to one of these pick-your-own PYO pumpkin patches in Oxfordshire and beyond. Due to the rural nature of these farms, you’re probably going to need a car to get to most of them.
And whilst some PYO pumpkin patches are all about the pumpkin picking experience, others have gone all out with playgrounds, bale mazes or maize mazes and Halloween trails so that you can have a fun family day out.
Rectory Farm, Stanton St John
Rectory Farm is delighted to bring back The Pumpkin Patch for 2026. Families can wander through the pumpkin field to pick their own farm-grown pumpkins and squashes in a rainbow of colours, perfect for Halloween. Tickets are priced at £8.50 per person. Children under 2 go free and require no ticket for entry.
Millets Farm has been nurturing a large number of pumpkins in their fields this year, and now’s the perfect time for picking a pleasingly plump one. The pumpkin patches are open at weekends from Saturday 03 October, then daily from Thursday 22 October. The patch costs from £4.00 to enter, and then you pay for what you pick before leaving. Pumpkin and squash prices vary depending on the size and variety.
10&11 / 17&18 / 24 to 31 October
High Lodge Farm, Abingdon
The Midnight Moon Halloween Adventure at High Lodge Farm invites families to explore a spooky woodland trail, solve a magical mystery, pick pumpkins, enjoy crafts and games, ride the ghost train and discover plenty of autumn fun.
Put on your boots and head to the pop-up pumpkin picking event for 2026 at Hadsham Farm near Banbury. Collect a sledge and head to the pumpkin patch, where you can choose your perfect pumpkin. There are a variety of sizes which are priced between £1.00 and £10.00 each. Take your pumpkin back to the barns, where you can collect a carving kit to transform your pumpkins.
Pumpkin picking just beyond Oxfordshire
A selection of pumpkin picking experiences just beyond Oxfordshire, but close enough…
Cotswold Farm Park, Guilting Power, Cheltenham
Founded by Joe Henson in 1971 – to help protect some rare breed farm animals – Cotswold Farm Park is about an hour’s drive from Oxford and even closer to Chipping Norton. Wrap up warm and head over to the field. Explore the pumpkin trail and choose a spooky face paint design. Then grab yourself a plump pumpkin to take home for crafts and pies. The pumpkin patch is open on 02 to 04, 09 to 11, 16 to 18 and 21 to 31 October 2026.
Weedon Hill Farm, Aylesbury
Farmer Paul at Weedon Hill Farm – about half an hour from Bicester – has been nurturing beautiful pumpkins on his predominately beef and arable farm. As well as the classic orange Jack-o-lantern pumpkin, which looks fantastic when carved, you can get your hands on a whole gaggle of gourds that are delicious to eat as well. The pumpkins are displayed in ‘The Pumpkin Barn’ to keep them dry when it rains. No need to book. Free entry into the barn. Open on 03, 04, 10 to 11, 17 to 18 and 24 to 30 October 2026.
Bucks Goat Centre, Stoke Mandeville, Aylesbury
The Bucks Goat Centre is a friendly open farm situated in Stoke Mandeville (some 40 minutes from Bicester). They have a pop-up pumpkin farm with over 2,000 pumpkins to choose from. There will be pumpkins for sale from 17 to 31 October (priced from £4.00) and details on the Halloween Trail is coming soon on their website. They’ll have fun activites running all week, including Walk Wilbut the Pig and Childminder Wednesday. Book online or pay on arrival.
Roves Farm, Sevenhampton, Swindon
Roves Farm is a brilliant day out for all ages. Visit the Pumpkin Barn to choose your pumpkin. Then get creative carving your design. Bonus for the grown-ups – you get to leave the mess behind! Extra charge applies, and it’s subject to availability. Pre-booking is essential. Over the October half term (22 October to 01 November), they will be hosting a range of events and activities to run alongside the pumpkin carving event. You’ll find further details on their website.
Glebe Farm, Lower Brailes near Shipston-on-Stour
It’s PYO pumpkins time at Glebe Farm in Lower Brailes (OX15 5HR), on the edge of the Cotswolds about 10 miles from Chipping Norton and Banbury. We’re told the pumpkins are growing well with 20 varieties of pumpkin and winter squash to choose from this year – with plenty of colours and sizes from the little white “Ghost” Casperita pumpkins to the appropriately named “Warty Goblin”. You can book your entry tickets for our Pick Your Own Pumpkins by visiting their website.
Need more spooky activity inspiration? See our list of brilliant half-term & Halloween activities in Oxfordshire.
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Are you looking for what to do in Oxford and across Oxfordshire this October half term and Halloween?
Look no further. We’ve scoured the length and breadth of Oxfordshire and put together a list of the best October half-term and Halloween activities, events and things to do in Oxfordshire.
There are loads of things to do with kids – even if a downpour threatens to send you inside – including child-friendly shows and great things to do indoors with the kids over the October half-term in Oxford and across Oxfordshire.
And dare we mention that ‘Trick or treat’ season is also upon us. What to do with little ones dressed up for a celebration that may very well look and feel a little bit different this year due to the “rule of six”.
Have a look at our suggestions below and get planning. We hope this list will help you to find all the half-term and Halloween activities near you for a truly amazing half-term from Friday, 23 October through to Monday 02 November, including Halloween on Saturday, 31 October.
The Pumpkin Picking Patch at Rectory Farm
Rectory Farm is delighted to bring back The Pumpkin Patch for 2026. Families can wander through the pumpkin field to pick their own farm-grown pumpkins and squashes in a rainbow of colours, perfect for Halloween. Tickets are priced at £8.50 per person. Children under 2 go free and require no ticket for entry.
Pick your own Pumpkins at Millets Farm
Millets Farm has been nurturing a large number of pumpkins in their fields this year, and now’s the perfect time for picking a pleasingly plump one. The pumpkin patches are open at weekends from Saturday 03 October, then daily from Thursday 22 October. The patch costs from £4.00 to enter, and then you pay for what you pick before leaving. Pumpkin and squash prices vary depending on the size and variety.
The Midnight Moon – Halloween Adventure
The Midnight Moon Halloween Adventure at High Lodge Farm invites families to explore a spooky woodland trail, solve a magical mystery, pick pumpkins, enjoy crafts and games, ride the ghost train and discover plenty of autumn fun.
Halloween at Tumblestone Hollow
Children are invited to join Halloween at Tumblestone Hollow as they weave through Stonor’s gardens and into the woodland adventure playground, completing wild and mischievous challenges along the way, to win a Magical Mayhem Certificate, together with a chocolate treat.
Waterperry October Snake Hunt
Take part in the Waterperry Halloween Hunt throughout this October half term. It costs £4.50 per child with a prize. Children must be accompanied by an adult for whom the garden entrance fee applies. Open from 10.00am till 5.30pm daily.
IF Oxford Science + Ideas Festival 2026
IF Oxford returns in 2026 with events from 17 to 31 October. It is a thought-provoking and interactive science and ideas festival that creates an opportunity to bring together hundreds of researchers with thousands of people every year – with science, ideas and creative activities for everyone to explore.
Howl-O-Ween Half-Term at Stowe House
Howl-O-Ween Half-Term at Stowe House promises a frightfully fun family day out, with a Pug in a Pickle trail, Halloween treasure hunt and spooky make-and-take crafts to enjoy this October half-term.
Dracula Spooktacular – Halloween at Cogges
The Manor House is mystically transforming into the home of the most famous Vampire in history – Dracula. Step inside his castle and enjoy an immersive experience as you journey from room to room, experiencing the daily life of the charismatic count and meeting some of his friends along the way. It’s a spooktacular and entertaining experience – perfect for all the family.
Halloween at Blenheim Palace
As Halloween creeps closer and the days shorten, there’s a chill in the air at Blenheim Palace, where ghosts, ghouls and witches get ready to deliver a whole host of tricks and treats along a spooktacular trail. Your very spookiest Halloween starts here…!
Didcot Railway Centre Steam Days
Experience the magic of historic rail travel at Didcot Railway Centre this season. Enjoy unlimited steam train rides during October’s family-friendly Pumpkin Express events, or book a timed slot in December to experience the festive Steam Into Christmas program.
Haunted Half Term at Blenheim Palace
Get ready for a frightfully fun family adventure at Blenheim Palace this October. Haunted Half Term brings creepy creatures, magical activities and plenty of spooky entertainment to the Walled Garden. Meet friendly snakes, tarantulas, giant snails and frogs at the Zoolab show, then enjoy circus workshops, witchy storytelling, wizard walkabouts and more.
Ghost Fest: Potion Making
Ghost Fest: Potion Making at Oxford Castle & Prison invites families to uncover magical ingredients, solve clues and create drinkable potions with Merlin’s apprentice. You can also craft a wand, enjoy magical demonstrations and explore an interactive experience inside a real medieval crypt.
Mystic Pets: Halloween Crafting
Come along and create your own spooky friend based on the animals that appear alongside witches in tales from English folklore. Join in crafts and try out the new spooky Halloween gallery trail.
Fam Jam
This Halloween, families are invited to join a fun-filled, fancy dress Fam Jam. Guests can come dressed as their favourite spooky characters and enjoy Halloween-themed games, creative activities, and dancing — all set within a lively Halloween party atmosphere perfect for little ones and grown-ups alike.
Halloween Slime Lab at Stowe House
Halloween Slime Lab at Stowe House is a hands-on Halloween workshop perfect for creative children who aren’t afraid to get a little messy, mix their own gloriously gooey creation, choose between bubbling cauldron slime or playful pumpkin slime and then take their finished creation home to enjoy.
Ghost Fest: Spooky Tours
Oxford Castle & Prison’s annual spooktacular Ghost Fest is back with Spooky Tours! Do you dare visit for one of their evening Spooky Tours? Hear the haunting stories of their 1,000-year past and let their gruesome history come to life! It won’t be too long before their ghosts reveal themselves!
Musical Theatre Workshop – Annie
Join this Musical Theatre Workshop for an engaging and high energy musical theatre workshop run by Scott’s Performing Arts, where you will learn the number ‘Hard Knock Life’ from the musical Annie ahead of the show coming to New Theatre Oxford this December.
JukeBox: Halloween Special
JukeBox Halloween Special brings decades of feel-good music, singalong favourites and spooky fun to Oxford for a night of dancing with friends.
Dance in the Dark
Come in your favourite PJs for a slumber party in a giant sleepover den and a playful night-time adventure. You’ll meet friendly nocturnal creatures, some slithering slugs, magical moths, and fantastical fireflies. Discover the magic of the dark, whirl and twirl, catch a shooting star and learn to be brave at bedtime.
The Spooktastic Halloween Show
Dantastic Productions and the hilarious panto comic Dan Whitley return to the Kenton theatre with a brand new high energy, interactive, musical, Halloween adventure – The Spooktastic Halloween Show.
Half Term Halloween Crafternoon
Join a frightfully fun afternoon of creativity at this Halloween Crafternoon packed with Halloween-themed arts and crafts, creative activities and plenty of seasonal fun.
Stars at Stowe Stargazing
Experience an unforgettable night of stargazing at Stowe with UK Astronomy. Enjoy a captivating talk on the mysteries of our solar system, then explore the night sky through telescopes on the South Front. Perfect for astronomy enthusiasts and curious minds alike.
The Halloween Red Light Boiler
The Halloween Red Light Boiler is an adult-oriented indoor Halloween club night featuring techno and garage music.
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Pumkin picking in and around Oxfordshire
It’s that time of the year. That’s right, pumpkin season is here. Whether you associate it with Halloween or not, Pumpkin picking, a somewhat American concept, has taken off in the UK, with patches and pick-your-own farms springing up all over the place. Here are our favourite places to go to pumkin picking in and around Oxfordshire.
The post 20 (or so) brilliant October half term & Halloween activities in Oxfordshire appeared first on The Oxford Magazine.
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Stage Watch: John Partridge and Mollie Gallagher on bringing The Silence of the Lambs to Oxford
John Partridge has spent almost four decades inhabiting some of theatre’s most recognisable characters. Now, as The Silence of the Lambs comes to New Theatre Oxford, he is taking on one of the most indelible figures in modern popular culture — Hannibal Lecter — alongside Mollie Gallagher, making her professional stage debut as Clarice Starling.
We spent time with John and Mollie to explore the process of bringing these iconic characters to the stage, the complex relationship between them, the strange intimacy of performing behind glass and what happens when a cinematic classic is reimagined for the theatre.
There are roles for which an actor can draw upon a character’s established history, and there are those in which the history of the performance itself becomes part of the challenge. Hannibal Lecter belongs firmly in the latter category.
Since Anthony Hopkins’s Oscar-winning performance in the 1991 film adaptation of Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs, Lecter has become one of the most recognisable villains in popular culture: cultivated, articulate and unnervingly composed, his menace deriving as much from restraint as violence.
For John Partridge, who now takes the role in a major new stage adaptation, the problem was therefore not simply how to play Lecter, but how to make him his own.
“When I first heard about it being put on, I thought, ‘Ooh, that would be fantastic!’” he recalls. Ahead of his audition, Partridge was sent the script and asked to prepare two scenes. He enlisted his friend Tamzin Outhwaite to read with him; when she discovered what the material was, her reaction was immediate. “Oh my god!”
Partridge’s own reaction has proved rather more considered. He was a teenager when The Silence of the Lambs appeared in cinemas, part of the generation for whom Hopkins’s Lecter quickly became inseparable from the character itself. “I’m a child of the 70s, so when the film came out in 1991, I was one of those core Silence viewers,” he says. “It lives in our zeitgeist.”
That familiarity could easily become a constraint. Instead, Partridge found a way of using it as a starting point. He was intrigued to learn that Hopkins had drawn on such unexpected influences as Truman Capote, Katharine Hepburn and HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey when constructing his Lecter. The revelation gave Partridge permission to undertake a similar act of imaginative disassembly.
“My three are Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor, and John Malkovich,” he says. “Lecter is intelligent, mocking and acerbic, but also serious and malevolent. Now, I try to forget any other version of Lecter and just put myself firmly in that cell.”
That cell is one of the defining features of the stage production. For much of the play, Lecter is physically confined behind glass, a visual image familiar from the story but transformed by the theatre’s particular relationship between actor and audience. Cinema can place the viewer wherever the director chooses; theatre leaves the audience in the room, sharing the same space and the same passage of time as the performers.
Partridge initially wondered how he could overcome the obvious theatrical limitation of placing his character inside a box. The answer, he says, was to stop thinking about projecting beyond it and instead draw the audience towards him.
“When I was first placed in the box, I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, how do I push my performance beyond it?’ Then I realised that rather than trying to push, I have to pull the audience into the box.”
It is an approach that also reveals something about Partridge’s interpretation of Lecter. The character is not merely a monster imprisoned for the protection of others; he is a man who considers himself intellectually and aesthetically superior to the people who have confined him. He loves music and art, possesses considerable social grace and remains capable of exquisite courtesy even while discussing acts of extraordinary brutality. His physical confinement therefore becomes part of the psychological contest.
The stillness required of him is also a significant departure for an actor whose career has frequently involved expansive physical and vocal performances. Partridge trained in ballet at the Royal Ballet School before studying musical theatre, and at 16 joined the original UK tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats. His subsequent stage career has encompassed A Chorus Line, Grease, Starlight Express, Tommy, Cabaret and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, alongside television work that includes his long-running role as Christian Clarke in EastEnders.
“Lots of the roles I’m known for are quite gregarious,” he says. “I’ve played a lot of larger-than-life characters. Lecter is larger-than-life, but it’s very, very different.”
At 55, Partridge sees the role as an opportunity to draw together experiences accumulated over a long career rather than discard them in favour of something entirely new. “If you’re lucky enough to be in this business for a long time — I’m 55 now, I went into Cats when I was 16 — parts like this come along where you can roll up everything you’ve done, and colour with all the crayons in your colouring box.”
His dance training has consequently become part of the performance in a more restrained form. Lecter’s movements are economical, but they are not without precision; the physical discipline of ballet can be repurposed as control. “I can use my dance background, my physicality, in a new way to inhabit Lecter,” Partridge says, while drawing on “the actor I am now, with all my experience” to bring him to life.
If Lecter is defined by his control, Clarice Starling enters the story having to learn how to establish her own authority. Mollie Gallagher, best known for playing Nina Lucas in Coronation Street, makes her professional theatre debut as the FBI trainee whose investigation brings her into Lecter’s orbit.
For Gallagher, the role carries its own cultural weight. She has always loved the film, and the character of Clarice was familiar long before she was asked to play her. “She’s such an iconic heroine,” she says. “You can’t get much cooler than Clarice. She’s a badass.”
Yet Gallagher has deliberately avoided simply reproducing Jodie Foster’s performance. Her preparation has involved changing the way she holds herself and speaks. Clarice’s voice sits lower, her physicality is more grounded, and her movements are more deliberate.
“I’m quite airy, whereas Clarice is the complete opposite,” Gallagher says. “She’s grounded at all times.”
The transformation has extended beyond technique. Gallagher describes Clarice as highly intelligent, articulate and psychologically disciplined, qualities that require her to move beyond the instincts she associates with herself. “Weirdly, she makes me feel stronger and more confident. Now, in any situation in life, I can just think, ‘What would Clarice do?’”
There is, however, a personal point of connection. Clarice is an outsider within the FBI, a woman from West Virginia who has not inherited the wealth, status or institutional authority surrounding her. Gallagher identifies with the character’s working-class origins and with the experience of having to establish credibility in environments where she feels she is being judged before she has spoken.
“I feel like I have to prove myself every day — coming from my background and also being northern,” she says. “When I’m speaking to someone, I feel I have to articulate more to make them listen to me — basically speak a bit more ‘proper’.”
That understanding gives the central relationship a particular texture. Clarice is not simply the investigator seeking information from an imprisoned killer. She is also someone who has spent much of her life learning how to be taken seriously, now confronting a man who seems almost unnervingly capable of seeing through the carefully constructed version of herself she presents to the world.
Gallagher describes her conversations with Lecter as the point at which Clarice becomes most vulnerable. Her history, particularly the death of her father, is something she rarely discusses, yet Lecter draws it out of her. “No matter how powerful, smart and strong you are, that is really scary,” she says.
The relationship therefore develops into something more complicated than the conventional opposition between detective and criminal. Gallagher describes an unusual friendship emerging between the two, with Lecter becoming something like a confidant and therapist for Clarice even as she remains determined to extract information from him. By the end, she suggests, there is a sense of loss when that relationship disappears.
For Partridge, the theatrical potential of that exchange is almost musical. “It’s inherently theatrical. It’s like a dance: I invite her to dance with me.” He describes the scenes between Lecter and Clarice as “a tight tennis match”, with each character attempting to anticipate the other’s next move.
The chemistry between the two actors appears to have developed quickly. Gallagher says that from the first read-through they could look at one another and immediately find the connection. Partridge describes her as an instinctive actor, noting that she, like him, did not follow the conventional route into drama training. Gallagher’s first professional theatre role is therefore opposite an actor with decades of stage experience, yet she says Partridge has made the process unusually easy.
“He’s amazing — I couldn’t ask for anyone better to do this with,” she says. “He is the loveliest man, and then he summons this darkness. Sometimes we’ll be chatting, and he’ll do this look, and I’ll be like, ‘Oh no, Hannibal’s here!’”
The production’s adaptation by Gina Gionfriddo is equally important to that dynamic. Rather than attempting to reproduce the film scene by scene, the playwright has created a version for the stage that combines Harris’s material with new writing. Partridge believes the two elements have been integrated almost invisibly. “She’s managed to weave her words in with Thomas Harris so seamlessly — it’s as if Buffalo Bill has stitched it together himself.”
That theatrical reinvention extends to some of the story’s more problematic elements. The production has changed Buffalo Bill’s treatment of gender identity from the original novel and film, removing the implication that a transgender identity itself is connected to the character’s violence. Partridge says the decision was important to the production’s contemporary perspective.
“We do not need to be villainising our trans brothers and sisters in that way,” he says. “Our story is much stronger for the changes we’ve made.”
The production also retains the story’s interest in behavioural science and criminal profiling, which occupies an intriguing position within its 1980s setting. The detectives who believe that violent offenders can be understood through their psychology are treated with scepticism, while Lecter dismisses profiling as a form of “junk science”. Yet the investigation depends upon precisely the kind of psychological understanding that the established authorities are reluctant to embrace.
For Partridge, the emergence of behavioural science is one of the story’s most interesting elements. “That science changed the world,” he says. “Profiling, understanding the mind of a killer, was a game-changer.”
The broader social context is also something Partridge has considered closely. He points to the production’s depiction of attitudes towards women, policing and gender during the 1980s, and draws connections to contemporary debates around misogyny, gender equality and the rights of LGBT people. These are his interpretations of the themes rather than a claim that the historical and contemporary contexts are identical, but they illustrate why the production is not being approached simply as a nostalgic recreation of a celebrated film.
For Gallagher, the enduring appeal is more direct. She is a committed fan of horror and thrillers, and says that when she was younger, “horror, horror, horror” was always her answer when asked what she wanted to perform. The opportunity to originate Clarice on stage therefore combines a character she has admired with the genre she already loves.
It also arrives at a moment when theatre audiences have shown an appetite for adapting familiar cinematic thrillers for live performance. Partridge sees The Silence of the Lambs as occupying a distinctive place within that trend.
“It’s the godfather of them all — the holy grail of psychological thrillers,” he says.
Whether that reputation can survive the transition from screen to stage is ultimately something the audience has to decide. The production’s task is not to compete with the film on its own terms, but to exploit what theatre can do differently: the proximity, the shared silence, the absence of an edit and the knowledge that the actors are performing the encounter in front of you, night after night.
That becomes particularly significant when the central figure is a character whose power has always depended on the sensation that he is studying the person watching him.
When The Silence of the Lambs arrives at New Theatre Oxford, John Partridge will once again enter Lecter’s glass cell. Mollie Gallagher will sit opposite him as Clarice Starling, bringing a character she has admired from the screen into an entirely different medium.
For Partridge, the attraction of the role may ultimately be its contradiction. Lecter has been seen before by millions, yet the theatre offers the possibility of seeing him anew — not through the camera’s eye, but at close range, in real time, with the audience sharing the same room.
The question is no longer simply what Lecter will do next. It is what happens when the audience is close enough to watch him think.
The Silence of the Lambs comes to New Theatre Oxford from 19 to 24 October 2026.
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