After a weekend of Christmassy activities, this afternoon we welcomed my my mum and dad for yet more Christmassy joy. We exchanged presents over a cup of tea and a mincepie in a little, mini-Christmas – Emma and I got a joint present of Christmas joy: All About Me by John & Juliet Atkinson, and for me, a biography of woodcut artist Thomas Bewick, which proves, even at this early stage to inspire me into jealous art making.
In the early evening cold and dark of a December night we headed into Oxford to see http://www.creationtheatre.co.uk‘s latest production, a brand new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. We started off with mulled wine and savoury crepes at the Northwall before taking our seats in the theatre that was a former-Victorian swimming pool.
I had been worried about this production for two reasons: firstly, that last time Creation Theatre performed here, although Measure for Measure was brilliant I had been disappointed by the magic of the venue (for a site-specific theatre company like Creation, the venue is important); and secondly, the last time I had seen them do this story it was not their best production.
I shouldn’t have worried, tonight’s production was brilliant on an epic scale, full of carol singers, with words that weaved themselves into the story, a simple yet effective set and a brilliant cast, it was simply amazing! We’ve had so many perfect starts to Christmas, but surely Christmas has truly begun now…
