The
Mummers Play
The Mummers
play is a form of English ritual folk drama. The form dates back at least
to the 17th century, but may be considerably older than that. Many of the
plays are similar in content, and use many of the same characters, plots
and form of delivery, with subtle changes made from one locality to the
next. The biggest number are those of the heroic combat type, where one
of the two heros (often, but not always St. George & Bold Slasher,
the Turkish Knight) is killed, but brought back to life by a Clever Doctor.
There will often be several supporting characters plus musicians, drummers
etc. Other types of mummers play include a wooing play, a sword dance play
and some even based on the exploits of Robin Hood.
The
plays are designed to be performed in the midst of a crowd rather than
on a stage, and the participants traditionally declaim their parts, rather
than going in for modern dramatic methods. For an excellent detailed written
description I can recommend the book 'An introduction to the English mummers'
play' by Eddie Cass & Steve Roud.
It
is published by EFDSS (2002) - ISBN 0-854181-85-7 and contains some excellent
information, photgraphs and sample scripts.