Drama
category editor Dr Eddie Cass
Room, Room, Brave Gallants, Give us Room to Sport!
.....for in this place we do resort
to bring you information on the spectacle that is the Mummers Play, plus any other form of traditional street drama.
Your first stop in any study of this form of drama must be the Traditional Drama Research Group whose web site is hosted by the EFDSS. The site is full of scripts, pictures and information about plays all over the world.
Plays performed now
The Master Mummers Directory of Folk Play Groups has a comprehensive list of over 250 active groups, arranged by county and searchable by keyword. Photographs of many of these groups can be found in the Folk Play Research website's Photo Gallery.
North
Middleton Mummers Cowling West Yorkshire You Tube
Long Company Ripponden. West Yorkshire web site
Midgley Pace Egg Calder Valley. West Yorkshire
Heptonstall Pace Egg Heptonstall, Calder Valley. West Yorkshire
Bradshaw Mummers Bradford area, West Yorkshire
North East
Byker Mummers Newcastle on Tyne You Tube
Fylingdale Mummers Fylingdale, near Whitby, North Yorkshire
East
Northstow Mummers Cambridge. Cambridgeshire.
South Midlands
Haddenham Mummers Play Haddenham Oxfordshire You Tube
South
Ditchling Lewes Sussex You Tube
Frome Valley Morris Men Mummers Play Weymouth, Dorset You Tube
Hammingdon Mummers Ardingly Sussex You Tube
Wessex Morris Men Mummers Play Cerne Abbas, Dorset You Tube
South West
Marshfield Mummers Marshfield, Gloucestershire
Miscellaneous
Jig Dolls
It's difficult to place Jig Dolls in the structure of Folkopedia but here in 'Drama' is as good a place as any for the moment. They should warrant their own section at some point in the future. In the meantime.......
Jig Dolls are dancing dolls made of wood and typically activated by bouncing a wooden plank underneath them. Have a look at this video of Pat Pickles and all will become clear.
Articles
Hunting the Wren This article is written by Peter Wood, who is originally from Co. Monaghan, with photography of the Dingle Wren by Christy McNamara, who is originally from Co. Clare. Peter and Christy have collaborated on a book entitled "The Living Note: The Heartbeat of Irish Music", published by O'Brien Press and Robert Rinehart.