Mumming

As well as the dancing, Babylon perform a mummers play.

This is a traditional play featuring a combat between King George and a series of opponents, all of whom are killed. A quack doctor is then summoned who revives the slain. One or more totally unrelated characters then appear and beg for money. Father Christmas gets involved by apparently being the father of all of King George's victims.

We don't understand it either!

It might help if you had a look at the script (or it might not).

Links

This year we took the play round Sherborne, Dorset, on the Wednesday before Christmas. There's more about that evening here (including some photos).

We always include the mummers' play as part of our New Year's Day celebrations. There's a report of the 2000 tour on Andy Anderson's web page.

If you'd like to find out more about mumming, visit the English Folk Play Research Home Page. This includes items on the history of the plays, various scripts and photos of current and historical performances. There are also loads of links to other sites concerned with mumming.