With library fatigue looming and the distinct possibly of repetitive strain injury from note-taking, Varsity gives in to the temptations of summer and explores alternative procrastination methods.

FOR ALCOHOLIC THESPS
Drown exam woes with a drink and watch a play at the same time. The ADC bar might seem a conventional place to forget about exam stress but it’s never been used quite like this. Early enough and short enough not to take up an evening, Jim Cartwright’s Two whirls through a bustling pub, chronicling the various loves, laughs and losses of its clientele, with two actors performing all fourteen parts between them. Comfortably far away from any examined text and hysterically funny, with the odd tragic moment thrown in, this is an excitingly staged, unmissable, exam term escape.

Two by Jim Cartwright, April 27th – May 1st, ADC Bar, 5.30pm (£4-£6)

 

FOR FILM FANS
Cam*Era is the perfect place for student film buffs to break the ubiquitous bubble. It’s the first ever explicitly international student film festival, and it’s hitting the `bridge at the latter end of May Week – a perfect chance to chill out in front of awesome new work showing across Cambridge from the globe’s best. Sure, exams will be over by then anyway, but there are loads of events to head to in the meantime: either pop along to the Alumni Reception, come hear famous actor Tom Hollander talk, or get involved in the process itself...sure to make you the next Scorsese/Gondry/Mendes in no time.

Cambridge International Student Film Festival, June 18th-20th (various locations, including Corpus Christi College, Arts Picturehouse, McCrum Lecture Theatre. www.cam-era.org 

 

FOR MUSIC FREAKS
Sunday morning. Your whole week has been spent in the library, and now you fully deserve a day of rest. A day of rest preferably spent outside the constraints of your College. So head to Kettle’s Yard, where every Sunday morning they are hosting a morning ‘coffee concert’. With genres ranging from a ‘hip harpsichordist’ to an ‘exploration of musical and poetic approaches to technology’, these concerts will remind you of a world outside of the library. Plus there’s coffee included – perfect for when you eventually decide to venture back to the library.

Sunday Coffee Concerts, all concerts begin at 12 noon with a short introduction. Coffee is served from 11:30am in the gallery. Concerts are about an hour long

 

FOR POLITICAL ACTIVISTS
Take to the streets for an evening of protest. 'Reclaim the Night' is a march through Cambridge, with participants demanding better street lighting in the city. Better street lighting means safer streets for both men and women, so if you want to have an impact on making your University city a safer place to live, then get on board. The actual march is somewhat controversially only open to women, but men can also get involved in a solidarity demonstration from 8.15pm outside Great St Mary's. An important protest against sexual violence, this is a very good reason to put your books down. You don't have to be an ardent feminist to want to feel safe at night. So exercise your right to free speech, and consider getting involved.

Reclaim the Night, 8th May, Parker’s Piece, 8:30pm

 

FOR WOMEN ONLY
David Mitchell doesn’t like it. Feminists positively loathe it. Me? Despite my limbs being seemingly separate entities to my body, come Sunday at 6pm when the Union opens its Blue Room to the ‘Pole Fitness’ instructor, I’ll be limbering up to transform into a supple seductress with skills that would give the Stringfellow’s girls a run for their money. ‘Empowering’ the young Germaine Greers or reversing the results of those burnt bras, these no-boys-allowed classes are a bootylicious break from the clammy grips of the librarians. For Girl Power, buns of steel and the satisfaction of doing something you know your parents would hate: Jude, call me Alice. 

Pole Fitness, Sundays 6-7pm, Blue Room at The Union (Union members £2, Non-members £6, booking advisable)

 

FOR ARTY TYPES
If you can tear yourself away from the UL just once this term, make sure it’s to visit the latest exhibition of one of British art’s household names. The Fitzwilliam’s latest feat, opening April 27th, promises to be the perfect antidote for exam stress by reminding you of the pointlessness of all this revision malarkey in comparison to the awesome power of nature. You’re guaranteed to feel like a right wally for fretting about your oral exams when confronted by Hambling’s arresting depictions of the sea’s epic strength. You’ll leave imbued with fresh perspective on the meaning of life…and get way more revision done with such a clear head.

Maggi Hambling: The Wave at The Fitzwilliam from April 27th

 

FOR HIPPIES
You’ve been staring out of the window for innumberable hours. You’ve read everything else you can think of aside from the books that matter. What to do? Continue your pursuit of alternative reading matter down an even more alternative path? The Libra Aries Bookshop, although unfortunately recently closed, is resurrecting itself for a tea party on the 2nd May and, get this, not only can you have a cup of tea and an oppurtunity to browse books such as ‘The Geomancer’s Guide to the Vastupurusa Mandala’ but you also get to walk and build a Peace Labyrinth...

Libra Aries Tea Party, May 2nd at the Bharat Bhavan (old Mill Road library, by the railway bridge) from 1pm to 5pm

 

FOR ECO-FRIENDLY FASHIONISTAS
With endless days in the library looming, the first thing to fly out the window is often your dress sense. If the tedium of stash and jeans is getting you down, then the King’s College clothes swap is a revision break must. Simply bring your old clothes along, swap them with other's old stuff, and then return to College as a shiny new you. De-clutter your wardrobe at the same time as giving your clutteed mind a well deserved break. Then step back into the library in your new 'stash'. That's got to be good for your work ethic.

Clothes Swap, May 1st, Mumby Room, King’s College, 12:20 - 4:20pm