Director: John Hillcoat
With: Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone

Runtime: 104 min

The opening sequence of The Proposition is a hypnotically beautiful evocation of a strange time and place: grainy black-and-white photographs show men, women and graves, while a child sings of a happy land and happy times.

Amy Scott enjoys a revolt at the Drama Barn, despite a few technical hitches along the way

Tom Stoppard’s Travesties, directed this term in the Drama Barn, by Francesca Seeley, presents a hypothetical meeting between James Joyce, Lenin and Tristin Tzara in Zurich, 1917. Events are re-told by the aging Henry Carr, who was immortalised in Ulysses by Joyce after a court case revolving around his involvement in a production of The Importance of Being Earnest.

In Before We Began, Unsworth intertwines two threads of narrative, both involving the central character Sophie Barrett. The first, chronicling the friendship between a 14-year-old Sophie and two other girls, Julia and Nancy, is perpetually interweaved with the second, focusing on Sophie as a 30-year-old stuck in existential stasis. Staring into a blank void of a future, she remains haunted by the past, yet at the same time equally unwilling to relinquish it.

Tiffany’s debut novel attempts to reconcile the differences between art and science in a fictional narrative punctuated by the precision of a scientific experiment. This results in an awkward hybrid that satisfies neither category fully.

From the author of Thomas Gage and Temple of Optimism comes a gritty new offering: Fleming takes us on a journey which spans continents and makes and breaks lives. Through the eyes of his naturalist protagonist, Charlie Doig, we encounter a fascinating world of science and intrigue, with enough political and romantic confusion thrown in to keep the pages turning. Fleming’s descriptions are detailed and uncompromising without being tiresome, while his characters are edgy and complex.

As the crowd waits, the apprehension builds. This is, after all, the infamous Babyshambles; no-one can be sure if they’ll actually turn up. In fact, it takes an hour and ten minutes before Doherty eventually saunters on stage with a wry “What time do you call this then?”. But the crowd doesn’t mind; when the band launches into ‘Pipedown’, we are swept forwards, and at the same time the entire venue turns hysterical.

Fifteen years on, Stereolab can still be considered one of the most unique bands in Britain. Fab Four Suture is a mesmerising fusion of effortlessly simple melodies, majestic music, and a hypnotic voice weaving in and out of tinkling pianos, upbeat brass and lively keyboards.

Songs We Sing, Matt Costa’s debut album, is a self-assured work of credible guitar pop, buzzing with infectious melodies. One standout track is ‘Cold December,’ a real folk-pop gem, which races along with jangly acoustic guitars and soaring, catchy melodies. Costa subverts our expectations, pinning some truly dark lyrics on a deliriously poppy song structure.

Think dirty drawls, love-riddled lyrics, itch-inducing melodies and drums tighter than your emo pal’s skinnies. Think a danceable Radiohead. This is the Archie Bronson Outfit, and their second album Derdang Derdang is quite frankly brilliant. Vocally it will rip your little heart out, lyrically it will mash your mind, and instrumentally it will burrow under your skin and bluntly refuse to leave until your muscles pulsate and your head is dizzy-sick from bopping. Let it in.

The Fratellis - Creepin’ Up The Backstairs

It’s got the same infectious quality of the early Libertines songs like ‘What A Waster’, but without the poetry: it’s a bit rough around the edges, but the production matches the feel of the song exactly. It may be just dumb rock ‘n’ roll, but sometimes that’s exactly what you need.

It’s Fairtrade Fortnight, running from 6th-19th March, and with over 1,300 certified product now available it has become even easier to choose fair trade. You can also get involved in the York Fairtrade festival, Saturday Week 10, from 9am till 4 on Parliament Street. In the push to ‘Make Fairtrade Your Habit’, an increasing number of retailers are stocking fair trade products.

If you can find El Piano in the maze of streets surrounding the Minster, it’s well worth a look. This kitsch café/bar/tapas restaurant has a comfy ethnic vibe, with friendly staff and a diverse clientele. As a (lax) vegetarian, it was lovely to have the whole menu at my disposal, as opposed to the usual token pasta dishes found in so many restaurants.

A stone’s throw away from Kings Manor, this restaurant is excellently situated for both history and archeaology students wandering around for a decent meal in town. The Raj’s main offer is a discounted business lunch, an advertised five courses for £4.95. Though I would debate whether this is actually five courses (can you count popadoms and rice as separate courses?)

I was in desperate need of shelter and a warm drink when I stumbled upon enjoy coffee shop on Feasegate, and thankfully it did a good job of providing both. The upstairs and downstairs seating areas were completely empty, but I was told that the apparent lull in trade was due to the miserable weather. After experiencing the food and friendly service at enjoy, I can only imagine that it was the snow that was keeping people away.

Most people would associate the Evil Eye lounge with cocktails - lots and lots of cocktails. I didn’t know that the Evil Eye also did food, in this case, the ‘Monster Sunday Lunch’. The food was excellent - all home cooked, even the deformed and oh-so-tasty Yorkshire puds. There is a lot of range in terms of veg as well: broccoli, roast parsnips, carrots, red cabbage, white cabbage, roast and boiled potatoes as well as home made stuffing.