Laura Tucker

A sprawling hub of contrasts, Seoul is where sleek skyscrapers and 5G WIFI rise high over serene palace compounds flanked by ramshackle hanok villages. Where a riverside bike path can either lead you to a fish market or a K-pop concert, and where cosmetic surgery adverts plaster the sides of lean-tos selling boiled eggs and kimbap. While Korea is ultra-quick to pick up on trends, the country remains behind neighbouring nations when it comes to LGBTQ rights, as conservative Confucian roots die hard and politicians pander to Christian fundamentalists. Despite this, increasing international ...

A colonial city with a history of British White Rajahs befriending Sultans to fight pirates, Kuching has a bunch of epic stories to tell and a number of very friendly locals to tell them. Located as it is on the North West Malaysian state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo, at the bottom reaches of the South China Sea, the region has a long history of homing immigrants from an array of Asian countries. This means that native Malays from diverse tribes mingle with Chinese and Indian immigrants...

A YA novel about Kate, a 17-year-old college drop-out with anger issues and a severe lack of self control.
Forced into a one-month stretch at a mental health clinic for adolescents, surrounded by nothing but teen nutcases and her own thoughts, Kate tries to distract herself from feelings of emptiness with the warm bodies of James and Aiden, two people with problems as complex as her own.

It's 2017, the age of social responsibility, mindfulness and environmental awareness. Supposedly, we treat animals better than we've ever done before. At this point, over half of all households in the USA own a pet and the pet industry now nets over US$60 billion annually.

When we think about the devastating effects of climate change, current and future, it’s easy to feel so helpless as to want to forget. Am I to blame? Was that packet of Chili Heatwave Doritos I ate responsible for the fiery deaths of tens of baby orang-utans? Is my carbon footprint the only lasting impact I’ll have on this planet?

A review of AMC's The Terror. Verdict: great show.

Monkey Republic is a one-man creative web design agency that I helped with some words.

As well as his bio, I was tasked to research each of his clients and write an overview of his design methodology for each of their websites in a clear yet humorous style.

Last year, Google said “the student decision journey has moved online”, with one in ten prospective students solely using online resources to research their university options, and education-related search numbers increasing year on year. In a similar vein, QS’s Students Online: Global Trends report, released last month, showed the increasing dominance of online resources in the field, with over half of surveyed prospective students claiming to research higher education options on two or more digital devices.

Earlier this month, Danish block-building fantasy-creator Lego released its new ideas set. Entitled “Research Institute”, the set is designed by isotope geochemist Ellen Kooijman and features three female scientists. This may not seem like a big moment for anyone over the age of nine, but over on Twitter real-life female scientists are excited.

Stonewall, a UK charity which lobbies for the equal rights of the lesbian, gay and bisexual community across Britain, launched the 2015 edition of Gay By Degree this week. This guide rates UK universities by how gay-friendly they are. Aimed at helping prospective LGBT students search for inclusive places in which to study, it features 158 UK universities, six of which score a perfect 10 out of 10.

Call me shallow, but a daily dose of beauty can really make a difference when settling into in a new city and coping with the stress of student life. The city you choose to study in will provide the backdrop to your daily experience and a visual culture in which you’ll be immersed for the duration of your course.

Celebrating its 3000th show last month, Wicked has been playing at the Apollo Victoria for six years, seven days a week – with two extra matinee shows on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. For this reason the show has an annual change-up of leading actors and as of 18th November a whole new cast has been introduced alongside previously announced Willemijn Verkaik, now playing the star role of Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West.

It’s a mystery as to who would have the guts to put on a production of King Lear while the National Theatre does the same with no less than Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall) as director. Well, it’s not a mystery actually – production company Darker Purpose would have to put their hands up to this gutsy move bringing the aged King Lear to the intimate in-the-round theatre space at the Cockpit in Marylebone.

Celebrating its 3000th show last month, Wicked has been playing at the Apollo Victoria for six years, seven days a week – with two extra matinee shows on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. For this reason the show has an annual change-up of leading actors and as of 18th November a whole new cast has been introduced alongside previously announced Willemijn Verkaik, now playing the star role of Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West.

A two character play, set in book-laden, intellectual hovel 221b Baker Street, The Final Revelation of Sherlock Holmes does very little to surprise Holmes fans.