Whether you're cracking open a good book or smashing the glass ceiling, Daily Info has your week ahead sorted.

World Book Day

Today is World Book Day! To celebrate we’ve gathered some literary diversions across the week for voracious readers. The Story Museum , for instance, is offering half-price entry to younger bookworms this Saturday, so you can journey to the realms of Alice In Wonderland, Winnie The Pooh, Lyra Belacqua and more at a bargain.

Over at Caper, Nick Sharratt (best known for children’s classics like Don’t Put Your Finger in the Jelly, Nelly, and his illustrative work for Jacqueline Wilson, Jeremy Strong and Michael Rosen), comes to Caper for a very special storytime. Nick’s new book, Mullets, takes us on a trip to Mullet Isle, where every hairdo is business in the front, party in the back.

Meanwhile, a fairytale becomes reality with The Princess and the Pea at Cornerstone Arts. Let’s All Dance Ballet Company’s sparkling musical arrangements and choreography puts a fresh spin (well, pirouette) on the fable as a young girl is put to the test to see if she truly has the makings of a princess.

And for the grown ups in search of a new read, we have a plethora of author talks and book launches to pique your interest. Lucy Atkins , author of Magpie Lane, appears in conversation at Headington Library to talk Oxonian inspiration and her experiences writing for both page and screen. There will be a Q&A and book signing afterwards, so be sure to have a copy handy!

At Blackwell’s, Jill Dawson delves deep into the life of enigmatic occultist illustrator Pamela Colman-Smith in her latest novel, Pixie, richly characterising the mind behind the widely known Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck. And back at Caper, Simon Mason joins Carolyn Kirby to discuss the next instalment in his DI Ryan Wilkins series, The Dangerous Stranger ; set in Oxford; an attack on a young refugee sparks an investigation that will uncover more than Wilkins bargained for.

For more on Oxford’s history of the written word, be sure to have a look at our guide to Literary Oxford on our site.

Storytime with Nick Sharratt: Caper Books, Sat 7th March, 3pm. Tickets £3.

The Princess and the Pea: Cornerstone Arts Centre, Sat 7th March, 3pm. Tickets £12.

Lucy Atkins in Conversation: Headington Library, Thurs 12th Mar, 5pm. Free.

Jill Dawson - Pixie: Blackwells Bookshop, Mon 9th Mar, 5.30pm. Tickets £6 - £16.99.

Simon Mason - The Dangerous Stranger : Caper Books, Tues 10th Mar, 7.30pm. Tickets £7.

International Womens' Day

Another worldwide observance takes place this Sunday with International Women’s Day; in that spirit, we've got a roster of events celebrating women in politics, art and music. First and foremost, Oxford International Women’s Festival's flagship event this year features a film about Olive Gibbs, and a Ukrainian choir. Gibbs was very important in Oxford’s history: a national leader of CND, Mayor of Oxford and a longtime local Councillor, and a governor of Oxford Polytechnic, memorialised in what is now Brooke’s Gibbs building. Not afraid of a good battle, she stood against class divides and for education, opportunities and the environment. The 37th Festival main event invites you to learn more about her life, with refreshments, music and a discussion with the filmmakers. For more events from Oxford International Women’s Festival see their lineup online.

We also have two exhibitions currently running that platform the work of female artists. For Women By Women shows work by 26 artists, selected by Clare Pollard, Curator of Japanese Art at The Ashmolean. Some are regulars, like Robin Danely who uses alla prima techniques to give solidity and delicacy to her portraits of people and flowers. Charlotte Houlihan combines art and family life, and her observations feed into expressive figurative works. Sofia Bonati’s portraits convey their emotion through wild op-art backgrounds, leaving the women’s faces calm and still. And Addy Gardner’s contemporary landscapes suggest vivid busyness in tiny details, hinting at entirely hidden ecosystems. It’s a feast.

Small & Perfectly Formed doesn’t intentionally single out women - men are welcome at Textiles in Oxford! But groups like this are often mainly female-led and female-attended, and this exhibition celebrates its members and their textile art. All artworks are 6"x6”, small and regular. Within their confines is great variety, of technique and subject. Artworks are arranged in three theme groups: Spooling Around, Black & White + 1, and Into The Woods. Expect humour, skill, and creativity. And the tearoom’s not bad either!

Finally - music! If you’re feeling active, head to Tap Social’s Women’s Day Party on Saturday where Missnoma are on the decks. Missnoma are a female- and queer-led inclusive DJ collective, taking inspiration from global South sounds, house, and disco tunes. Plus Tap Social launch their official IWD beer. Or for a more calm and settled vibe, Oxford Contemporary Music's latest Listening Party celebrates women composers, musicians, and listeners. Bring a track to share or just sit back and soak it in.

37th Women's Festival Main Event: Oxford Town Hall, Mon 9th March, 7pm. Entry: £12 / £8 (concessions at door only).

For Women By Women VI: ronapainting gallery (Walton St), until 25th Apr, Tuesdays - Saturdays 11am - 5pm. Entry free, artworks for sale.

Small and Perfectly Formed : Vale and Downland Museum, Wantage, until 28th Mar, Mondays - Saturdays 9.30am - 3.45pm. Entry free, many artworks for sale (£35 each in aid of the museum).

International Women's Day Party with Missnoma: Tap Social Movement (North Hinksey), Sat 7th March, 8pm. Entry free.

Listening Party #17: Celebrating Women: The Workshop Cafe (Cowley Road), Fri 6th March, 7.30pm. Entry free.

Monsters, Shakers, Ravers and Beavers

It seems there’s a growing trend of out-of-pocket spin-offs of literary classics in cinemas at the minute, and Maggie Gyllenhaal gets in on the act with the release of her second feature film, The Bride. Starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, this moody modern-noir take on the Bride of Frankenstein sees the undead pair undertake a Bonnie and Clyde-style reign of love and destruction through 1930s Chicago.

Next, a star turn from Amanda Seyfried in the musical drama The Testament of Ann Lee. Set in 18th century Manchester, the film is an anarchic and energetic look into Ann’s real-life establishment of the fringe religious sect ‘The Shakers’, who incorporated ecstatic dancing and (for the time) radical gender politics into their spiritual practices. Setting the impact of Ann’s revolutionary teachings against her own trauma and personal insecurities makes for a complex and deeply engaging character study, set to a stirring soundtrack combining traditional Shaker hymns and original compositions.

Meanwhile Sirat, winner of the Cannes Jury Prize and serious Oscar contender for Best International Film, presents a road trip of epic proportions as a father searches the deserts of Morocco for his missing daughter. Accompanied by his son, Luis, and a misfit gang of ravers, Esteban embarks on a treacherous and often surreal pilgrimage through a hostile landscape, while in the background, the shadow of a global war threatens to engulf them all.

Or maybe after all that you’re in the mood for a lighter option, in which case, Pixar has your back with its new release Hoppers premiering tomorrow. In an imaginative return to form for the studio with a strong environmentalist undertone, student activist Mabel has exhausted all options to save her beloved forest glade from being destroyed for a developing freeway. All options, that is, except one: using advanced technology to transport herself into the body of a robot beaver and convincing the animals to fight back! Sometimes the simplest solution really is right in front of you.

The Bride: Vue Cinema, Curzon Oxford, The Oxford Cinema and Cafe

The Testament of Ann Lee: Phoenix Picturehouse, Curzon Oxford, The Ultimate Picture Palace

Sirat: Phoenix Picturehouse, The Ultimate Picture Palace

Hoppers: Vue Cinema, Curzon Oxford

Stage Directions

We have on offer this week inhuman dystopia, 18th century gender swap romcom, sinister grief counselling and some famous moustaches. What takes your fancy?

You’ll need a strong stomach for the first one, as Big Brother watches over the state. Box Tale Soup bring 1984 to life with human and puppet actors, some famous voices and an ever shifting version of the truth. Winston’s dream of freedom is dangerous, and not only for himself, in Orwell’s nightmare vision of the future. (Age guidance 12+, and if you miss it at North Wall you get another chance as it appears at Cornerstone in a couple of weeks.)

A rich girl is in love, but her chap is poor and her parents disapprove. When he’s falsely accused and thrown in jail she cuts her hair, dons a disguise and sets out to free him. So far so familiar, but this is no Shakespeare comedy, it’s a Chinese opera from Huangmei. Suzhen sits the Imperial exam, but she gets the top mark and is appointed a Palace official. Will Prince Consort Ladygirl get out of her betrothal to the Emperor’s favourite daughter and save her poor Zhaoting? Catch this rarity (complete with dancing and live orchestra of Chinese and Western instruments) at the O’Reilly this week!

In Josephine Krupa’s new play A Life’s Tale, six strangers are rehearsing a play designed to help the recently bereaved, but they soon learn they themselves are grieving the same person. The play within a play’s director has assembled the group to try and learn about his estranged daughter, but secrets begin to unravel, revealing dark truths.

Looking ahead, Wild Goose stage a caffeine-fuelled murder next week, with Agatha Christie's Black Coffee. Written as a stage play by Christie herself, it’s stuffed full of golden age tropes: the country house full of suspects, a stolen formula, Hastings blundering about, and a “you may be wondering why I’ve gathered you all together…” denouement. There are still tickets but I’d get in quick: the current run of A Murder is Announced in Abingdon is completely sold out, and there’s no sign the Queen of Crime’s crown is slipping.

1984: North Wall Arts Centre, Thu 5 March - Fri 6 March, 7.30pm. Tickets £12-£20.

(& again at Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot, Thu March 19th 2026)

Prince Consort Ladygirl: O'Reilly Theatre (Keble College), until Sun 8th March, 7.30pm. Tickets: £12/£8 conc.

A Life’s Tale: Burton Taylor Studio, until Sat 7th March, 7.30pm. Tickets: £8/£6.

Agatha Christie's Black Coffee: The Old Fire Station, Tue 10th - Sat 14th March, 7.30pm & 2pm Saturday matinee. Tickets: £15/£17/£19.

And Finally

Creation Theatre turns 30 this year! The team have been putting together innovative and community-minded theatrical productions in Oxford for three decades, and with this milestone birthday, they’re looking to raise £30,000 to secure their goals for the future.

Donations will go towards funding future productions and job roles, expanding educational bursaries and growing the company’s Pay It Forward scheme for charities and young carers. If you can afford to donate and want to support local theatre, you can donate to Creation’s JustGiving page here.

Image credits: Lucy Jollow, Oxford International Womens' Festival, Box Tale Theatre, Creation Theatre