"Anamnesis" / "Blood On The Snow"

Another couple of Christmas-themed shows to round off the year as a reviewer for the British Theatre Guide; quite contrasting ones.

First up was “Anamemsis 25.12” from Mercury Theatre Wales, at Chapter – an ambitiously staged portmanteau of tales exploring bad family Christmas memories. Very well executed, in a promenade style, but ultimately not as innovative in content as in form.

Then came Caroline Sabin’s “Blood On The Snow”, co-produced by No Fit State Circus, and staged in their rehearsal space off Cardiff’s Newport Road. Another promenade piece, this was inspired by Benjamin Britten’s “A Ceremony Of Carols”, and set in a wintry forest glade inhabited by wood-nymphs. Beautifully strange, verging on the magical.