Plymouth Mummers
 The Plymouth Mummers - The Horse and Groom, Bittaford. 16/12/15
The Plymouth Mummers Play has been revived in recent years by members of Plymouth Morris Men. The current play is centered on Queen Elizabeth 1, Philip, King of Spain, Walter Raleigh and Francis Drake, with the usual supporting characters of the Doctor and Old Father Christmas. The play is based on a text by Andy Folkes and Paul Hawkins of the Titchfield Mummers, acquired from the Wickham Morris by Julian Kohler and modified in rhyming couplets to reflect the actual phrasing used by each of the cast. The Prologue verses were written by John Summerscales (13 December 2005) and, like the script, change from year to year. Changes to the stage directions and modifications to the script are made each year by the cast members to reflect topical items of the news at the time of the individual performances. The Raleigh’s Cigarette section acknowledges the inspiration of Bob Newhart's monologue. The fight scene owes it’s format to the “Monty Python” fish sketch. A performance of one previous version of the play is available on Youtube via the link at the top of this page. Details of Mummers Plays throughout the country and further afield can be found at http://www.mastermummers.org/events/index.php |
The first public performance of the play was for “Peninsula Arts/Plymouth Folk Festival” at the Sherwell Centre on Wednesday 14 December 2005. Our 50th performance took place on 29th November 2014 when the Play went on the road - to Looe! Other performances were as follows: 2. Friday 16 December 2005 “Cos’ Carols” at the Edgcumbe Arms - Cremyll 3. Boxing Day 2005 Cornwood Inn 4. Friday 15 December 2006 “Cos’ Carols” at the Edgcumbe Arms - Cremyll 5. Tuesday 19 December 2006 Hele Arms - Plympton 6. Tuesday 19 December 2006 Forresters - Plympton 7. Tuesday 19 December 2006 London Inn - Plympton 8. Boxing Day 2006 Cornwood Inn 9. Wednesday 12 December 2007 Westward Inn - Lee Mill 10. Wednesday 12 December 2007 Morley Arms - Plymstock 11. Friday 14 December 2007 “Cos’ Carols” at the Edgcumbe Arms - Cremyll 12. Boxing Day 2007 Cornwood Inn 13. Friday 12 December 2008 “Cos’ Carols” at the Edgcumbe Arms - Cremyll 14. Friday 19 December 2008 Sportsmans - Ivybridge 15. Friday 19 December 2008 Horse and Groom - Bittaford 16. Tuesday 23 December 2008 RAOB - North Hill 17. Tuesday 23 December 2008 Westward Inn - Lee Mill, 18. Boxing Day 2008 Morley Arms – Plymstock 19. Friday 11 December 2009 “Cos’ Carols” at the Edgcumbe Arms - Cremyll 20. Tuesday 22 December 2009 Morley Arms - Plymstock 21. Tuesday 22 December 2009 RAOB - North Hill 22. Wednesday 23 December 2009 Horse and Groom - Bittaford 23. Boxing Day 2009 Cornwood Inn 24. Thursday 21 October 2010 Blue Peter in Plymstock 25. Wednesday 01 December 2010 Manadon Masonic Hall 26. Wednesday 15 December 2010 Morley Arms - Plymstock 27. Friday 17 December 2010 “Cos’ Carols” at the Edgcumbe Arms - Cremyll 28. Wednesday 22 December 2010 Horse and Groom - Bittaford 29. Boxing Day 2010 Cornwood Inn 30. Tuesday 28 December 2010 Artillery Arms – Stonehouse 31. Sunday 17 April 2011 Crediton Folk Festival at Cheriton Fitzpaine 32. Wednesday 07 December 2011 Manadon Masonic Hall 33. Friday 16 December 2011 “Cos’ Carols” at the Edgcumbe Arms - Cremyll 34. Wednesday 21 December 2011 Horse and Groom - Bittaford 35. Boxing Day 2011 Morley Arms – Plymstock 36. Friday 06 January 2012 Plymouth Inter-Varsity Club - Milehouse 37. Sunday 15 April 2012 Crediton Folk Festival at Cheriton Fitzpaine 38. Monday 10 December 2012 Plymstock Inn 39. Friday 14 December 2012 “Cos’ Carols” at the Edgcumbe Arms - Cremyll 40. Wednesday 19 December 2012 Horse and Groom - Bittaford 41. Thursday 20 December 2012 Donkey Sanctuary 42. Boxing Day 2012 Morley Arms – Plymstock 43. Friday 29 November 2013 Crooked Spire, Ermington 44. Thursday 12 December 2013 Duke of Cornwall 45. Thursday 12 December 2013 Bread and Roses, Ebrington Street 46. Friday 13 December 2013 “Cos’ Carols” at the Morley Arms 47. Wednesday 18 December 2013 Horse and Groom – Bittaford 48. Saturday 21 December 2013 Sparkwell Village Hall 49. Boxing Day 2013 Morley Arms 50. Saturday 29 November 2014 Looe 51. Saturday 29 November 2014 Looe 52. Saturday 29 November 2014 Looe 53. Thursday 04 December 2014 The Brook Inn, Plympton St Maurice 54. Friday 12 December 2014 “Cos’ Carols” at the Morley Arms 55. Tuesday 16 December 2014 RAOB Club - North Hill 56. Wednesday 17 December 2014 The Horse and Groom, Bittaford 57. Friday 26 December 2014 Morley Arms 58. Friday 30 January 2015 Sportsmans Arms, Ivybridge 59. Friday 30 January 2015 Westward Inn, Lee Mill 60. Tuesday 01 December 2015 The Brook Inn, Plympton St Maurice 61. Tuesday 01 December 2015 The George Inn, Plympton 62. Thursday 10 December 2015 Hillside Court, Plympton 63. Thursday 10 December 2015 The Stoke Inn, Stoke Village 64. Wednesday 16 December 2015 The Horse and Groom, Bittaford 65. Friday 18 December 2015 Cos' Carols" at The Morley Arms 66. Friday 18 December 2015 The Westward Inn, Lee Mill 67. Saturday 26 December 2015 The Morley Arms 68. Saturday 3 December 2016 Stoke Community Centre, Stoke Village 69. Friday 9 December 2016 The Stoke Inn, Stoke Village 70. Tuesday 13 December 2016 Hillside Court, Plympton 71. Tuesday 13 December 2016 The Brook Inn, Plympton St Maurice 72. Friday 16 December 2016 "Cos' Carols" at The Morley Arms 73. Wednesday 21 December 2016 The Horse and Groom, Bittaford 74. Monday 26 December 2016 The Morley Arms 75. Wednesday 6 December 2017 Manadon Masonic Hall 76. Monday 11 December 2017 Union Corner, Union Street, Plymouth 77. Friday 15 December 2017 Artillery Arms, Stonehouse 78. Wednesday 20 December 2017 The Horse and Groom, Bittaford 79. Tuesday 26 December 2017 The Brook Inn, Plympton St Maurice |
