Theatre

WHODUNNIT?

Mill Arts Centre, Banbury

May 15-18 at 7.45pm

Box office: 01295 279002 or www.themillartscentre.co.uk Banbury Cross Players’ forthcoming production of Antony Shaffer’s tongue-in-cheek pastiche of a 1930s murder mystery opens with the voice of the murderer inviting the audience to follow the clues about to be presented to lead them to the identity of the murderer. During the course of the evening, one of the dinner guests, Andreas Capadistriou, informs each of the guests that he has the means to blackmail them. Not surprisingly he meets a spectacularly sticky end but . . . whodunnit? The wide variety of gloriously over-the-top characters – an old sea dog, a dotty aristocrat, a black sheep, an unconventional detective to name but a few – guarantee an evening of fun.

Art

THE OXFORDIANS 

Meller Merceux Gallery, High Street, Oxford

June 1 to July 16. Open daily, 10am to 6pm (11am to 5pm Sunday)

Admission free

Calling themselves The Oxfordians, these artists draw their inspiration from the sensual glamour found in the art of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and his colleagues in the notorious Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. The group centres on artists George Oak and Bethany Meyer, each of whom takes a different message from their artistic heroes.

Music

OUT OF THE BLUE

New Theatre, Oxford

June 7 and 8 at 7.30pm

Box office: 0844 8713020 or atgtickets.com/oxford

Out of the Blue is Oxford University’s premier all-male a cappella group. Formed in 2000, OOTB has gone on to enjoy international success, having sung in Japan, Spain, Scandinavia and the USA. In the UK, the group sings at a number of events, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe — where the group has won the Fringe sell-out award five times. Serving an unbeatable cocktail of hot harmonies and outrageous choreography, the 14 sharp-suited singers provide a musical experience like no other.

Theatre

BLUE REMEMBERED HILLS

Oxford Playhouse

June 4 to 8 at 7.30pm (8pm Fri), plus matinees at 2.30 on Thurs and Sat

Box office: 01865 305305 or oxfordplayhouse.com Following their success with Close the Coalhouse Door, Northern Stage returns with Dennis Potter’s seminal play Blue Remembered Hills. Seven children play in a world of dappled sunshine one wartime summer until their merriment turns sour. Hilarious games, complex friendships and moral dilemmas lead them headlong into sudden and unexpected tragedy. Potter’s charming and profound play captures humanity, wicked humour and his fierce intolerance of ordinary cruelty. Its title comes from a poem by AE Housman: “Into my heart an air that kills/ From yon far country blows:/ What are those blue remembered hills,/What spires, what farms are those?”