Brilliant things to do in and around Oxford this weekend (19 to 21 June)

Join Creative Writers Group to learn skills in Spoken Word, Performance Poetry and Playwriting and create your own works to be presented as part of OxBright Festival in July.

Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story is a darkly funny, increasingly unsettling and razor-sharp one-act drama about loneliness, class, and the desperate need to be heard.

The exhibition celebrates the work of St Edward’s Upper Sixth pupils. Don’t miss this exhibition by the creative stars of the future.

Only Human is a sharp, witty one-hour play that blends suspense, humour, and the uneasy question: when the future arrives, will we be ready?

This major new exhibition at Oxford University Museum of Natural History examines the 34 raw materials considered essential to the UK’s future, revealing the global supply chains, ethical challenges and scientific innovations behind the minerals that underpin everyday technology — from smartphones and batteries to medical equipment and jet engines.

Venus & Adonis is a unique production that blends comedy, tragedy and Shakespeare’s incredible poetry in a rich theatrical experience. Drawing inspiration from the bewitching artistry of Japanese Bunraku puppets and the Jacobean Court Masque, this spellbinding production tells the story using marionettes, rod, shadow and table-top puppets.

Join BAFTA-winning actor, comedian, director, and writer Richard Ayoade for an evening of reflections as he shares insights from his latest book, Afterthoughts

Come and have a go at handling some of the museum objects at a hands-on history drop-in session at the Museum of Oxford. Volunteers will help you to touch, feel and handle objects ranging from Saxon finds to Fisher-Price phones! You’ll also get to learn about the stories behind the objects and what they say about the city’s amazing past.

Oxford Symphony Orchestra joins Sheldonian Theatre, performing Britten’s Four Sea Interludes, Bridge’s Oration and Elgar’s Falstaff. The four movements, and two interludes, capture scenes from Falstaff’s life, including: Falstaff and Prince Hal in the Boar’s Head, Falstaff jesting with the landlady, and Falstaff hurrying to London for the pomp and circumstance of the coronation.

To celebrate their ongoing 50th anniversary season, The Arcadian Singers look forward to presenting ‘Immortal Fire’ – including three new works by young British composers. The evening concert contains early and contemporary choral music, representing the choirs commitment to a varied and eclectic programme in addition to promoting and supporting young composers.

Join MyVision’s Walk Oxford 2026 at Oxford University Rugby Club on Sunday 21 June and take in the views of the famous spires and River Thames. Team MyVision will be walking 10 miles through Oxford and the surrounding countryside, raising vital funds to support blind and visually impaired people living across Oxfordshire.

Bike Oxford 2021 welcomes riders of all ages and abilities from all parts of the community and aims to attract over 800 cyclists and 200 walkers who will complete rides and walks of varying distances. The event, with real community spirit, is championed by Oxford City and Oxfordshire County councils as a way of encouraging active transport and a healthy lifestyle.

The JdP’s monthly Cushion Concerts bring fun, interactive family music-making to life, led by soprano Becca Marriott. Children can explore instruments and musical styles in relaxed, engaging sessions—just bring a cushion, your singing voice, and plenty of enthusiasm!

Oxford Coffee Concerts presents Glass: Haydn: String Quartet in B flat major, op 76 no 4, Hob III:78 (“Sunrise”) and Beethoven: String Quartet no 9 in C major, op 59 no 3 (“Razumovsky”) by Carducci String Quartet.

Oxford Bach Choir returns to the Sheldonian Theatre to perform Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem including motets by Poulenc, Duruflé and Fauré.

Sounds of Tolerance is a unique chance to reflect on and celebrate the stories of illness we don’t normally hear. Expect an evening full of dynamic, moving music, alongside insights into new research and a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how patients, artists, and scientists collaborated.

Out of the Deep is a family-friendly specimen handling and exploration of the underwater world of marine reptiles.

Pat Suet-Bik Hui & the Three Perfections showcases the Hong Kong-born artist’s mastery of painting, calligraphy, and poetry, presented alongside works by her teacher Lui Shou-Kwan and other historical examples. The exhibition highlights Hui’s contemporary approach, blending abstract ink and colour washes with poetic inscriptions exploring love, loss, and life’s quiet joys.

Modern Art Oxford is delighted to present Little Fennel’s Complaint, a major solo exhibition by Olivia Plender (b. 1977, London), exploring historic and ongoing inequalities in women’s healthcare, from early modern witchcraft to contemporary debates on reproductive rights and medical authority. Plender developed the exhibition through research with leading Oxford institutions, including the Bodleian Library, Oxford Botanic Garden and John Radcliffe Hospital.

The exhibition displays a collection of work created using foraged plants, transformed through ancient techniques such as cordage and weaving, to reflect the raw beauty and cyclical nature of the natural world, that is both ephemeral and enduring.

In Bloom: How Plants Changed Our World at the Ashmolean Museum uncovers the hidden histories behind Britain’s most beloved blooms. Explore over 100 artworks and objects that reveal how plant exploration and trade shaped landscapes, cultures, and economies – from roses and tulips to camellias and peonies.

Anna Ridler’s A Perfect Language of Images is a digital artwork created with Oxford’s Dr William Poole, exploring systems of classification through AI. Inspired by John Wilkins and Jorge Luis Borges, it reflects on how machine learning both organises and destabilises knowledge.

Developed through research into the Bate Collection of Musical Instruments at the University of Oxford, the exhibition brings together sound, video and photography to consider what is revealed and concealed through the collection, preservation and display of musical instruments. At its centre is a new sound work created using recordings of historic instruments from the collection.

The Bodleian Libraries’ Wonder of Birds exhibition explores art, science and culture through the lens of avian life. Featuring rare archives, manuscripts and immersive sound, it invites visitors to reflect on both the beauty of birds and their decline.