In Common

Review: Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton - In-Common - Southampton By Joy McKay. A ballet of a film about a ballet about a book, it all gets a bit meta… As a child I dreamed of owning a musical jewellery box, the kind with a tiny ballerina inside who pirouetted in fr...

"the story was retold beautifully with obvious affection and reverence to the original but with a creative twist"

Review - Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton.
@mayflower.org.uk

www.in-common.co.uk/2026/03/11/r...

Review: The Boy at the Back of the Class – Mayflower Studios, Southampton - In-Common - Southampton By Charlotte Ndupuechi.  I was really looking forward to seeing The Boy at the Back of the Class, adapted for the stage by Nick Ahad. Having long been a fan of Onjali Q. Raúf’s much-loved book, I was ...

"A wonderful reminder of the power of friendship & empathy, told with humour, imagination, & a great deal of heart. A story that feels especially important right now."

Review - The Boy at the Back of the Class, Mayflower Studios, Southampton.
@mayflower.org.uk

www.in-common.co.uk/2026/03/11/r...

Anti-racist demonstration saw four times as many take to the streets as anti-asylum seeker protest in day of two Southampton marches - In-Common - Southampton Sunday saw two very different marches through Southampton city centre (1/3/26).  Some 250-300 people gathered in Portswood for a “Unite Against the Far Right” demonstration, organised by a range of co...

“We’re here to say everyone is welcome. We are the people and we will not be silenced.”
Anti-racist demonstration saw four times as many take to the streets as anti-asylum seeker protest in day of two Southampton marches on Sunday.
www.in-common.co.uk/2026/03/02/a...

March to celebrate Southampton's diversity becomes counter-demo after anti-asylum seeker protest announced - In-Common - Southampton A number of community organisations in Southampton are joining forces for a ‘Unite Against the Far Right’ march through the city on Sunday, March 1st. The groups involved in the counter-demonstration ...

A number of community organisations in Southampton are joining forces for a ‘Unite Against the Far Right’ march through the city on Sunday, March 1st.
March to celebrate Southampton's diversity becomes counter-demo after anti-asylum seeker protest announced.

www.in-common.co.uk/2026/02/26/m...

Review: Legally Blonde The Musical, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton - In-Common - Southampton By Joy McKay. Sat in the stalls at Mayflower Theatre watching staff scurrying about putting on a brave face over some panic. The show had started, the first number underway when a gentleman (from neit...

Despite first night teething troubles and a significant delay, Legally Blonde The Musical was a hit last night at Southampton's Mayflower Theatre.
www.in-common.co.uk/2026/02/25/r...

MS NOW EXCLUSIVE: First grade girl recounts searching for father after ICE detained him In an MS NOW Exclusive, Antonia Hylton sits down with Annabella, a New Jersey first grader whose life was uprooted when her father, Adonay Rodriguez, stepped outside to pick up a food order and was de...

ICE tackles and arrests New Jersey father outside his home, leaving his 6-year-old first-grade daughter at home alone.

She goes out looking for him.

"I got my boots and changed my clothes. I wanted to find some help to find my dad..."

www.ms.now/the-weekend-...

Review: Fozzy, Tailgunner, Marisa and the Moths at The1865, Southampton - In-Common - Southampton By Chris Taylor. Heavy metal is clearly alive and well in Southampton. I haven’t been to a sold out gig at 1865 for a while, so it’s a bit of a shock to the system to walk in at 7.15pm to an already-p...

"This old-school attitude of "put on a great show and support new talent," is the perfect fuel for the community atmosphere in The 1865 tonight."
See our review of Fozzy with support from Tailgunner and Marisa and the Moths at Southampton's 1865.

www.in-common.co.uk/2026/02/21/r...

Took my Grandma to see Rock & Roll Man at Salisbury Playhouse today and it was awesome. Really glad we went. 😊

Review: Rock & Roll Man, Salisbury Playhouse - In-Common - Southampton By Dan O’Farrell. Ever since the success of ‘The Buddy Holly Story’, the appeal of the ‘rock & roll’ musical has been a recurring theme of West End and Broadway successes, with shows like ‘Jersey Boys...

"Looking for a show that gets you up on your feet, a wop-bop-a-booming, clapping along and considering the J Edgar Hoover’s role in clamping down on the Civil Rights movement in early ‘60s America?"
See the full review of Rock & Roll Man at Salisbury Playhouse.
www.in-common.co.uk/2026/02/19/r...

Books: Series Retrospective -The Laundry Files by Charles Stross (2004-2026) - In-Common - Southampton By Chris Taylor. ‘I asked why we had to leave the EU, in one of those informal breakout sessions at Number 10. … “Can’t bring back the death penalty without ditching the ECHR,” he replied. “Also, we n...

"The novels seamlessly blend slick techno-spy thriller, beautifully realised eldritch horror, and sharp, dry British bureaucratic satire"
Books featur: Series Retrospective -The Laundry Files by Charles Stross, following the release of the final book in the series
www.in-common.co.uk/2026/02/18/b...

Review: Maskers Theatre does it again with sell-out Educating Rita - In-Common - Southampton By Charlotte Ndupuechi. Southampton amateur theatre company Maskers Theatre has done it again, delivering a sell-out show that left audiences delighted — and last night’s final performance of Educatin...

"Educating Rita was a joy to watch and another standout success for local theatre."
See the full review of the latest show from Southampton amateur theatre company Maskers.
www.in-common.co.uk/2026/02/08/r...

Victorious Festival 2025 donates record £173,484 to charity - In-Common - Southampton Victorious Festival has wrapped up 2025 by donating its highest ever annual charitable donation of £173,484. The donation brings the festival’s total charitable contributions since 2014 to over £926,3...

Victorious Festival 2025 donates record £173,484 to charity

www.in-common.co.uk/2026/02/07/v...

Southampton Seed Swap returns for 20th birthday - In-Common - Southampton Keen gardeners and those who are new to planting are invited to join in the celebrations of 20 years of Southampton Seed Swap next month. Once again, the event  will be held at Bitterne Station Commun...

Southampton Seed Swap returns:
www.in-common.co.uk/2026/02/02/s...

@onlythepoets.bsky.social

Only The Poets record signing at Vinilo, Southampton - In-Common - Southampton Words and photos by: Bella Briscoe. On Sunday 1st February, Only The Poets made a return to Southampton for an album signing event. It may have been a flying visit, but the band certainly left their m...

"The band left their mark on the fans who flocked to Vinilo record store to see them."
Only The Poets greeted crowds of fans at a record signing at Vinilo, Southampton on Sunday.
www.in-common.co.uk/2026/02/01/o...

The Dirty Barrel's opening weekend is a shining success - In-Common - Southampton By Laura McCarthy. Officially launching on Wednesday 4th February, The Dirty Barrel held their opening party across the 30th and 31st of January to the joy of Southampton locals. Those who were devast...

"Those who were devastated by the closure of independent skate pub Beards & Boards need not be sad any longer. Like a buffalo-sauce drenched phoenix, The Dirty Barrel, Southampton, has risen from the ashes with a flashy new look and a kitchen to boot."
www.in-common.co.uk/2026/02/01/t...

Review: Love, Death and the Crucial Three by Will Vigar - In-Common - Southampton By Anita Foxall. Will Vigar’s Love, Death and the Crucial Three is a unique and touching novel that manages to be intimate and expansive at the same time; a story rooted in the life of Jake, which res...

"...ultimately a story about how people shape us, those who stay, those who leave, and those who return when we least expect it."
See the full review of Love, Death and the Crucial Three by Hampshire author Will Vigar, out tomorrow.
www.in-common.co.uk/2026/02/01/r...

Tell Ofcom to stop climate misinformation - Tell Ofcom to stop climate misinformation

Just when we most urgently need an effective broadcasting regulator, Ofcom has drastically watered down its enforcement of the rules it's supposed to uphold.

Ofcom's failure to do its job leaves us dangerously vulnerable. Take action: climatemisinformation.goodlawproject.org/email-to-tar...

The arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort are a test for every MSM member with a platform. If you are not voicing your outrage at this blatant violation of the First Amendment, you are utterly discredited as a journalist.

Review: Miss Saigon, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton - In-Common - Southampton By Joy McKay.  Despite being a lover of musical theatre somehow Miss Saigon has always passed me by. I think the wonder of flying monkeys or cars or people dressed up as cats or trains appeals to me m...

"A real feast, leaving you fulfilled and drained but grateful for the experience".
See the full review of Miss Saigon at Southampton's Mayflower Theatre.

www.in-common.co.uk/2026/01/29/r...

Opinion: journalism should be putting facts ahead of clicks - In-Common - Southampton By In Common reader. Image: an anti-asylum seeker protest in Portswood, Southampton. Journalism is often a race to get the facts out first.  A lucky scoop can allow a publication to punch way over its...

"Someone posting something on the internet doesn’t make it true.
"Sharing their words without scrutiny or investigation isn’t journalism.
"It’s spreading gossip, rumours and possibly inaccurate information."
See our latest opinion piece.

www.in-common.co.uk/2026/01/20/o...

Review: Dear England, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton - In-Common - Southampton By Neil Glasspool.  January is not the usual time of year for feverish anticipation around the England men’s football team. That kind of behaviour tends to be reserved for the summertime. However, the...

"Dear England is an absolute triumph.
"A love letter to English football."
See the full review of Dear England, at Southampton's Mayflower Theatre this week.

www.in-common.co.uk/2026/01/13/r...

View from the Kingsland - Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year? - In-Common - Southampton By Nick Mabey. As we approach the halfway mark, it’s difficult to know what to make of Saints’ season so far.  Hope followed by despair followed by hope has left us fans a little confused about how to...

"Hope followed by despair followed by hope has left us fans a little confused about how to agree a narrative to frame our support around."
See our latest Southampton football column from our resident Saints fan.
www.in-common.co.uk/2025/12/23/v...

Review: Peter Pan, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton - In-Common - Southampton By Sally Churchward.  Anyone who is at least a semi-regular attendee to the Mayflower Theatre’s pantomime will have come to know what to expect and this year’s delivers just that. It is a spectacular ...

"The show did exactly what it was meant to, putting huge smiles on the audience's faces."

See the full review of last night's Mayflower Theatre pantomime, The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan in Southampton.

www.in-common.co.uk/2025/12/17/r...

Review: To Kill a King with support from Keston Cobblers' Club - The Ivy House, Nunhead, London - In-Common - Southampton By Sally Churchward. Photos: Ritta Boll. The  final To Kill a King concert took fans, friends and those who inhabit the blurred space between the two, on an almost cinematic journey from honey and sep...

"It was always going to be an emotional evening - balanced delicately between a moment happening and passing"

See the full gig review of the final To Kill A King gig, with support from Keston Cobblers' Club and a guest appearance from Bastille's Dan Smith.

www.in-common.co.uk/2025/11/28/r...

Unity demonstrators to hold march on Sunday as anti-asylum seeker protesters change day of rally - In-Common - Southampton A Southampton anti-racist organisation is inviting people to take part in a unity march and rally in Portswood on Sunday (30th November).  The move comes after an anti-asylum seeker rally, which has b...

Unity demonstrators to hold march on Sunday in Portswood, Southampton, as anti-asylum seeker protesters change day of rally
www.in-common.co.uk/2025/11/27/u...

Said it many times, but this band deserve a far wider audience.

Solemn solidarity march through Southampton and flag raising to mark Palestine Independence Day - In-Common - Southampton Pictures: Mike Daish. Around 70 people marched through Southampton on Sunday to take part in a solemn show of solidarity with the Palestinian people.  The march also renewed demands for the UK Governm...

“By raising this flag and gathering today, we are celebrating Palestinian culture and history and we are mourning many thousands of innocent dead"
Last Sunday saw a solemn solidarity march through Southampton and flag raising to mark Palestine Independence Day.

www.in-common.co.uk/2025/11/16/s...

Review: Wet Leg with Support from Faux Real, Portsmouth Guildhall - In-Common - Southampton Words by Joy McKay. Pictures: Ritta Boll. After a brief hiatus locals Wet Leg released a new album accompanied by a tour this year. The Isle of Wight two piece having officially added their touring mu...

"A great homecoming."
See the full gig review of Wet Leg, with support from Faux Real, at Portsmouth Guildhall.
www.in-common.co.uk/2025/11/23/r...

Review: A Formal Horse – Railway Inn, Winchester  - In-Common - Southampton By Darren Grayer.  I feel the need to lay my cards on the table before I start this review in full – I absolutely love A Formal Horse, and I’m happy to admit to them topping my list of favourite music...

"once again prove what huge talent they possess"
See the full review of A Formal Horse at Winchester's Railway Inn.

www.in-common.co.uk/2025/11/23/r...