Are you like me and couldn’t give a rat’s ass about sport? Everybody has tried to bully me into taking the bloody thing up. Hockey, lacrosse, swimming, rowing - and if tiddly winks were on offer I’m sure somebody would try to convert me into a first-class winker. Even my Grandad has managed to drag his concentration away from The Six Nations to point out that I should do some sit-ups. I’m not sure why I’ve never been interested in sport. Don’t get me wrong...

I always thought that everyone loved a little bit of comedy. Certainly everyone in the Gala auditorium at the Durham Revue’s Comedyfest (with a bit of Oxford Revue and Cambridge Footlights on the side) was up for a laugh or two. And by and large the actors remembered to pick them up from...

Having never seen Neil LaBute’s The Shape Of Things before, the genuinely shocking denouement was always going to come as a surprise. What I wasn’t expecting, however, was the incredible high quality of First Person Theatre Company’s production; it was sensitive, amusing, startling...

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect of ‘A Single Man’. My desire to see it was based wholly on the rather cracking trailer, a few mixed reviews, and the somewhat surprising news that Colin Firth had...

‘Get Smash Gate Crash,’ is probably the best known tune from the Leeds based dance-punk band Hadouken. Judging by last night most people were indeed doing just that. After emerging in the dungeon-like Student’s Union of Newcastle University the black painted...

Is getting wasted just a waste of time or have you mastered getting plastered? The concept that it is OK to turn down a Quaddie in Klute is not one that I’m very well acquainted with. My worst enemy is the barman who says “You know, it would be so much cheaper with another shot of vodka in there,” and the next thing I know...

Well, I have to admit, I’m kind of stuck. What can I possibly say about Ooook! Productions’ Guards! Guards!? I suppose for the sake of journalistic integrity (I have such precious little of it, after all) I should mention that it was poorly acted, sloppily paced and clumsily staged. I should probably...

The average man knows little about Nietzsche (1844-1900) beyond his infamous quote “God is Dead”. A fascinating figure, arguably no philosopher other than Marx has had a greater impact on the 20th century. Born in Prussia into the Victorian era of

At the beginning of last year I remember reading several articles suggesting holidays at home rather than abroad on account of the recession. Now that we have, for the time being, crawled our way out of the longest and deepest recession since the Second World War, we are being told that we can once again venture abroad...

For two years in a row, round about January, I have been going to the Gala Theatre to watch a production in which DULOG kick the ever-living crap out of every other DST show that year. Anything Goes and Guys & Dolls remain two of my favourite Durham productions, with standards of performance and professionalism that put most...

“I can be best understood if one grasps grotesqueness”, wrote Durrenmatt of his theatrical style. True to this encapsulation, his 1956 tragicomedy, ‘The Visit,’ depends heavily on its interpretation. At once fairytale, parable, satire and farce, with a basis in realism yet moving into areas of the grotesque and the absurd, ‘The Visit’ is a play which demands a lot from its audience...

From coming out of the closet through to cruising gay websites for local sexual encounters, there is no denying that the internet has not only revolutionised the way the world as a whole connects, but has revolutionised and perhaps re-invented the queer world. For any...

Facebook groups have proliferated, emails have been sent – I feel somehow compelled to contribute to these keyboard recriminations on the subject of the second DUS cancelled invitation to the BNP. The stirring sound of 'Rule Britannia' blaring from a BNP truck outside the library the other day reminded me of the phone-call I made to a local BNP activist a couple of years ago: he had...

it just me? Or does anybody actually look forward to Valentine’s Day? I don’t and I don’t know anybody who does. Our calendars illuminate the day in evil bright red writing. Everywhere seems to be caked in sickly pink fluffy hearts. The whole day is difficult to ignore and about as subtle as Amy Winehouse’s weave. If you’re single then you spend it with your sad...

Waterproof, volumising, “sexy curves” mascara, an artist’s palate of brush colours to apply: surveying the local cosmetic shelves is, frankly, exhausting. Sexy, chic, “natural” looks are bombarded...

I am absolutely wetting myself with excitement about the final Lost series. It is going to be dramatic, funny, stressful, tense, and probably depressing. OK, I don’t actually know that many people who stuck with this hugely successful American drama after it moved to Sky; of those who did, many got bored by what some might call the perplexing and highly convoluted plotline, abandoning their viewing a few series ago. Some might...

Both series’ of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads were broadcast in 1988 and 1998 respectively and were comprised of numerous monologues delivered by various characters ranging from the humorous to the downright tragic. To perform such a play...

The current world we happen to inhabit is also one of breathtaking scientific richness. We can manipulate DNA to create specific forms of life, map the movement of atoms in inconceivably intricate biological systems, unlock deep secrets of the universe and learn the exact physical forces which allowed a few carbon atoms to come together for a brief period of...

It might be surprising to hear that a documentary about the process of putting together American Vogue’s biggest and best selling issue in September 2007 contains some memorable and tender moments, but it's true. They do not however, come courtesy of renowned Editor in Chief Anna ‘nuclear’ Wintour, but of...

On 6 May 2007 Kim Clijsters announced her immediate retirement from the game of tennis. A year later, her compatriot and world no. 1 Justine Henin followed suite, to the shock and disappointment of fans across the world. Between them they had won...

It's only since moving to France for my year abroad that I have truly come to appreciate British style; it’s like not appreciating what a great family you have until you become homesick. And what a family. Exciting, adventurous and ever so eccentric, one thing’s for certain

As a decade passes since Durham’s bid for the UK Capital of Culture '13 was shockingly granted, it would be prudent for D21 to take a look at the effect this prestigious award had on a once quiet city nestled twixt the northern, slightly aggressive arms of Newcastle and Sunderland. Most reading this won’t recall...

The machine gun attack on the Togo football team bus, killing three and wounding two, is the latest miserable day to record in the heavily blemished diary of world sport. Hostility has frequently found its way into the newspapers via sporting events and the genuine possibility that Emmanuel Adebayor, a Premiership...

Dark Matter is a difficult concept to understand. Many separate discoveries have led scientists to conclude that we can’t actually see all of the matter in the universe. For example, from observing light from other galaxies, we can see that some of their properties require much more mass than can be seen from starlight. Now, even a...

Alongside Avatar, Guy Ritchie’s reworking of the literary classic has been the other must-see blockbuster released over the Christmas period. Having grossed over $200 million worldwide so far, it may be lagging behind its gargantuan competitor, but nobody was expecting anyone...

Avatar arrived at the end of this year surrounded by a massive amount of hyperbole. Being the most expensive film of all time and hailed as James Cameron’s most gargantuan effort since Titanic twelve years ago, meant that the film has already taken over a billion dollars..

Most people I know hate High School Musical with a strange yet fervent passion, seeming to find the combination of banal plotline, questionable acting and saccharine songs excrutiatingly difficult to cope with, even if they are, like me, musical-lovers. Where on earth, they cry, can we find an excellent and entertaining musical to watch, with...

Students across the country have been heading home this week through the snow, filling the trains and buses with black bin bags full of washing for our mums. We may seem to be full of Yuletide joy, but the outlook for students this Christmas...