Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities

Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities The Schwarzman Centre is a stage set for boundless creativity. Based at the University of Oxford, open to all.

We believe culture is for everyone and are building a programme that allows creativity to flourish. Inspired by Oxford research we’re connecting Oxford with outstanding artists, writers and thinkers from across the world. Many people from across the city and region are already involved as we create new opportunities and new experiences, but if you have an idea or suggestion for a future project or event, we’d love to hear it. The Cultural Programme is part of the Humanities Division at the University of Oxford and works closely with TORCH (The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities) and Knowledge Exchange.

28/09/2026

“We’re bringing her centre stage, and we’re telling her story.”

Ellice Stevens from Breach Theatre introduces Burning Down the House – an interrogation of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Laura Kieler was a young writer whose life inspired Ibsen’s play.
Now, she steps out of the shadows to tell her side of the story.

Hear Ellice discuss the process of working with a play that has been studied and performed across generations and geographies. This new production by Breach, the acclaimed company behind After the Act (Royal Court and national tour) and It’s True, It’s True, It’s True (BBC 4), is inspired by the research of leading Ibsen expert Kirsten Shepherd, Professor of English and Theatre Studies at Oxford University, her research assistant Tzen Sam and work by translator Gaye Kynoch.

Burning Down the House
25 September–10 October 2026
🔗 Book now: https://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/whats-on/burning-down-the-house-c7h1

Breach theatre

Installation is underway for On Paradise at the Schwarzman Centre!Opening 2 October, the exhibition brings together rece...
28/09/2026

Installation is underway for On Paradise at the Schwarzman Centre!

Opening 2 October, the exhibition brings together recent and newly commissioned works by Saad Qureshi, exploring ideas of paradise through imagined landscapes, memory and place.

A first glimpse behind the scenes as it all comes together.

On Paradise
Between Hope and Memory
📍 White Box, Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities

No booking required - drop in, 2 October-6 December

Discover more: https://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/whats-on/on-paradise-jhby
Saad Qureshi Studio

Part of Utopia Now!, a season exploring the role of the arts in making a better future possible.

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First look: Phase | Pattern | Pulse is now openCreated by spatial audio designers Loss >
27/09/2026

First look: Phase | Pattern | Pulse is now open

Created by spatial audio designers Loss >

25/09/2026

What stories will you uncover on a journey through over one thousand years of Oxford’s history?

Meet some of the remarkable pioneers whose stories are woven into When the Blackbird Sings — an immersive invitation to travel through Oxford, and through time.

Beginning in Blackbird Leys in 1966, join Paulette as she sets out in search of the ancestors on whose shoulders she can stand. Travel from the 8th century to the 21st and encounter pioneers, passionate changemakers and stories that have too often been left in the margins.

A love letter to Oxford, When the Blackbird Sings celebrates a city of sanctuary and pioneering firsts, drawing inspiration from the elders of Blackbird Leys who built a community of resilience and optimism — and whose legacies continue to shape Blackbird Leys and Greater Leys today.

Hop aboard the bus and discover some of the people and stories that have shaped the city of Oxford, and might just inspire its future.

When the Blackbird Sings
24 September 2026-11 October 2026
🎟️ Book now: https://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/whats-on/when-the-blackbird-sings-t2pc

Directed by Erica Whyman
Written by Natty Mark Samuels, Helen Eastman and Afsaneh Gray
Presented by the Schwarzman Centre in collaboration with Creation Theatre
Artwork by Bry Leighton

24/09/2026

Who was the real Nora?

Kirsten Shepherd, Professor of English and Theatre Studies at the University of Oxford, introduces the writer whose real experiences Henrik Ibsen drew upon when creating Nora in A Doll’s House.

In Burning Down the House, Laura Kieler steps out of Nora’s shadow as Breach brings her remarkable story centre stage, exploring the line between inspiration and exploitation — and who has the right to tell which stories.

Laura’s connection to Ibsen is only part of her story. Hear Professor Shepherd explore Laura’s life and work, and how she forged a career as a writer at a time when women faced significant barriers to being recognised, published — and, above all, heard.

Burning Down the House has emerged from the research of Professor Kirsten Shepherd, research assistant Tzen Sam and translator Gaye Kynoch, who have been uncovering and translating Laura’s articles, letters and plays to assist Breach in creating the show.

Burning Down the House
25 September–10 October 2026
🎟️ Book now: https://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/whats-on/burning-down-the-house-c7h1

Breach theatre
English Faculty, University of Oxford
TORCH - The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities

24/09/2026

What can you discover when you experience music from within?

For Phase | Pattern | Pulse, some of Steve Reich’s most extraordinary compositions are transformed into a 360° immersive audio experience, allowing you to move through the music and hear its shifting patterns, rhythms and harmonies from entirely new perspectives.

In this film, Colin Currie and Loss﹥﹤Gain explore what happens when spatial audio allows you to experience familiar works in a completely different way — from following the sound of the piano across the room to hearing marimbas dissolve into glockenspiels.

“It really is a way of being in the score, discovering the score, being richly in the music… I honestly found it to be a revelation.”

Created to celebrate Steve Reich’s 90th birthday, Phase | Pattern | Pulse brings together Loss﹥﹤Gain and the Colin Currie Group for a groundbreaking exploration of Reich’s music.

Phase | Pattern | Pulse, 25 September-11 October
📍Black Box, Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities
🎟️Book now: https://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/theme/phase-pattern-pulse-q9t1

Colin Currie

Bach, Schubert, Beethoven – and the start of a new season!Earlier this month, Víkingur Ólafsson opened our autumn season...
21/09/2026

Bach, Schubert, Beethoven – and the start of a new season!

Earlier this month, Víkingur Ólafsson opened our autumn season to a sold-out Sohmen Concert Hall, moving between Bach, Beethoven and Schubert in a programme exploring the connections between their music across centuries.

Víkingur Ólafsson also has a unique connection to the instrument at the heart of the evening. Before the Schwarzman Centre opened, he helped select the Steinway for the Sohmen Concert Hall – a piano chosen for the many different artists and performances the space will welcome.

Following the recital, he joined Professor Robert Quinney to share the story behind its selection and reflect on choosing an instrument that will help shape the musical life of the Centre for years to come.

A brilliant start to our autumn season. Take a look back at the evening.

Víkingur Ólafsson
📸 Oxford Atelier

Not long to go until the Oxford Chamber Music Festival comes to the Schwarzman Centre!Named the “No. 1 unmissable event”...
21/09/2026

Not long to go until the Oxford Chamber Music Festival comes to the Schwarzman Centre!

Named the “No. 1 unmissable event” by BBC Music Magazine, OCMF returns for its 26th year with New Worlds, a breathtaking musical voyage across the Americas.

This year, the Sohmen Concert Hall will come alive with performances from OCMF artists alongside Imogen Cooper, Roderick Williams and Meta4, plus fascinating talks, conversations and masterclasses with leading musicians and thinkers.

🎟️ Explore the programme and book tickets: https://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/theme/oxford-chamber-music-festival-c7h1

Oxford Chamber Music Festival

14/09/2026

What happens when you listen to familiar music in an entirely new way?

For Phase | Pattern | Pulse, Loss>

🚪 Discover the Schwarzman Centre as part of Oxford Open Doors Join us tomorrow on Saturday 12 September, 9am–5pm, for a...
11/09/2026

🚪 Discover the Schwarzman Centre as part of Oxford Open Doors

Join us tomorrow on Saturday 12 September, 9am–5pm, for a free day of exploring the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.

Come inside and experience our new home for the humanities, arts and culture. During your visit you can:

📚 Explore the library and join a tour
🎻 Discover the Bate Collection
🎭 Explore our recital hall, concert hall and theatre
☕ Stop by the café
🎤 Hear Alex Vincent, CEO, share the vision behind the building

Whether you’re curious about the architecture, our collections or our performance spaces, it’s a great opportunity to come in, look around and experience the Centre for yourself.

📍 Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, Oxford

Oxford Preservation Trust University of Oxford

Address

The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre For The Humanities, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road
Oxford
OX26GG

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 8pm
Tuesday 8am - 8pm
Wednesday 8am - 8pm
Thursday 8am - 8pm
Friday 8am - 8pm

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