The Crookham Mummers Play 2023
The ancient and mysterious tradition of Mumming will once again take to the streets of a small village in Hampshire on Boxing Day, December 26th. The Crookham Mummers Play is one of England's strangest traditions. The play is performed on Boxing Day every year in Crookham Village, near Fleet. The play has been performed in Crookham since Victorian times although its origins are older.
The play lasts about 20-25 minutes. In it, King George, England’s hero, battles his adversaries, Bold Slasher, Bold Roamer and the fearsome Turkish Knight. The adversaries battle away with using wooden swords which usually break during the fierce fighting. With dramatic action, jokes and some not quite Shakespearian dialogue, the play is great fun for all the family to watch. In addition to the basic script, topical jokes and adlibs ensure no two performances are quite the same.
Most of the performers dress in costumes made of 'tatters' - strips of wall paper glued to old clothes, apart from the Quack Doctor and Father Christmas. I did mention Father Christmas is in this? But he is more like Old Nick than Saint Nick.
Long-time Mummer, Keith Woolley, says:
"Like most old traditions, the Mummers are fiercely protective of what they do and strive to keep their reputation as one of the most outrageous Boxing Day entertainments in the world. Becoming a Mummer is highly coveted in the village. Most performers start by watching the play as a child, as they get older they carry bits of broken sword around, by their teenage years they know all the words and follow the show from stop to stop, and then when they are allowed in the pub, they can take on one of the roles. Usually they start with one of the fighting roles, partly because they are young, fit and with the stamina for the vigorous sword fights, and partly because the people in the fighting roles often end up lying in a puddle or snow."
The performers make their own costumes and props, and any money collected is donated to the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice.
You can watch the play in Crookham Village outside The Exchequer at 12 noon, The Spice Merchant at 12.45pm, The Crescent Green at 1.30pm and in Dogmersfield outside The Queens Head at 2pm.
Keith adds: “Going to see the Mummers is the perfect way to get a bit of exercise, have a drink, have a laugh and share in a community spirit and sense of history. Whilst it is free to watch, we are delighted that all donations will go to Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care."
Phyllis Tuckwell is the only Hospice Care service for adult patients, and their families, across the whole of West Surrey and part of North East Hampshire. For many patients living with a terminal illness, Phyllis Tuckwell is the way to get the most appropriate care in the last phase of life. They provide care at the Hospice in Farnham (presently Camberley), at the Beacon Centre in Guildford, in patients’ own homes and in the community.
For further information contact Keith Woolley
Phone: 07900 227344 Email: samandkeith@icloud.com
Post Scriptum
The Crookham Mummers are one of the longest running Mummers plays in the world. They have appeared in numerous books on folk customs, on ITV, BBC, Radio 4, at the Sidmouth International Folk Festival and are widely recognised by experts as the most authentic Mummers in the raucous “outdoor” tradition. The play has been performed since in the village almost every year since 1870, although its origins are much older.
Phyllis Tuckwell receives just 20% of it funding from the Government/NHS - the rest is from fundraising and donations. For more information about Phyllis Tuckell Hospice visit https://www.pth.org.uk/.