
Home Page Abingdon Morris The Mayor of Ock Street The Ock Street Horns Recent events Coming events Abingdon Mummers The Morris Ring Abingdon Mummers Mummers plays have had a traditional place in Christmas festivities for hundreds of years, indeed their origins may well date back to the dawn of civilization itself. Believed to bring good luck to performers & onlookers alike, they tell in simple ritualistic terms the magical re-enactment of the eternal struggle between the powers of good & evil, or of light & darkness as the shortening days of Autumn submit to Winter, in turn followed by the re-awakening of life as Spring returns. The plays were usually passed on by word of mouth & inevitably they have become altered, only half remembered & sometimes so garbled as to be almost incomprehensible, yet always the simple message can be discerned. As there would appear to be no Abingdon version of the play still remembered, the Abingdon Mummers perform the Sunningwell Play as written down in 1948, & dress accordingly in the traditional disguise of costumes covered with strips of paper. Father Christmas (First Man) introduces a swaggering King George (Persian King) who is challenged & slain by Bold Slasher (The French Officer). The Magical Doctor is summoned to revive him & in the subsequent fight Bold Slasher is defeated, only to be brought back to life by Mrs. Finney the ever reviving Phoenix, or even Mother Earth. After a verse of mystic doggerel the Mummers circle round singing "We wish you a Merry Christmas" before collecting money for a charitable cause & departing to re-enact the performance elsewhere.		Performances in 2009 This year the Traditional Mummers' play was performed at: Abingdon Archaeological and Historical Society at their Christmas Social The Punchbowl The Broad Face The King's Head and Bell The Old Anchor The Conservative Club The Brewery Tap The Cherry Tree, Stevebton The Fox, Steventon Steventon Village Hall The North Star, Steventon The Wheatsheaf, Drayton The Red Lion, Drayton Thanks to the generosity of these establishments and their clientelle, proceeds from 2009's appearances amount to Ł540, and will will go to Abingdon's Friends of The Citizen's Advice Bureau. Citizen's Advice Bureaux are not funded by government and subsist on grants and gifts. In Abingdon, their work in times of recession provides advice and help to troubled families hit by debt, unemployment and repossession. Abingdon Citizen's advice bureau friends, a registered charity (no. 1031575) pays for much of this.One of our players is an employee of Npower, who in past years have generously matched the money raised by performance, and we hope that they will do so again this year. For more details contact Tony Legge on Abingdon (01235) 520768.

Abingdon Mummers

Mummers plays have had a traditional place in Christmas festivities for hundreds of years, indeed their origins may well date back to the dawn of civilization itself. Believed to bring good luck to performers & onlookers alike, they tell in simple ritualistic terms the magical re-enactment of the eternal struggle between the powers of good & evil, or of light & darkness as the shortening days of Autumn submit to Winter, in turn followed by the re-awakening of life as Spring returns. The plays were usually passed on by word of mouth & inevitably they have become altered, only half remembered & sometimes so garbled as to be almost incomprehensible, yet always the simple message can be discerned. As there would appear to be no Abingdon version of the play still remembered, the Abingdon Mummers perform the Sunningwell Play as written down in 1948, & dress accordingly in the traditional disguise of costumes covered with strips of paper. Father Christmas (First Man) introduces a swaggering King George (Persian King) who is challenged & slain by Bold Slasher (The French Officer). The Magical Doctor is summoned to revive him & in the subsequent fight Bold Slasher is defeated, only to be brought back to life by Mrs. Finney the ever reviving Phoenix, or even Mother Earth. After a verse of mystic doggerel the Mummers circle round singing "We wish you a Merry Christmas" before collecting money for a charitable cause & departing to re-enact the performance elsewhere.

Performances in 2009

This year the Traditional Mummers' play was performed at:
Abingdon Archaeological and Historical Society at their Christmas Social
The Punchbowl
The Broad Face
The King's Head and Bell
The Old Anchor
The Conservative Club
The Brewery Tap
The Cherry Tree, Stevebton
The Fox, Steventon
Steventon Village Hall
The North Star, Steventon
The Wheatsheaf, Drayton
The Red Lion, Drayton

Thanks to the generosity of these establishments and their clientelle, proceeds from 2009's appearances amount to Ł540, and will will go to Abingdon's Friends of The Citizen's Advice Bureau.
Citizen's Advice Bureaux are not funded by government and subsist on grants and gifts. In Abingdon, their work in times of recession provides advice and help to troubled families hit by debt, unemployment and repossession. Abingdon Citizen's advice bureau friends, a registered charity (no. 1031575) pays for much of this.One of our players is an employee of Npower, who in past years have generously matched the money raised by performance, and we hope that they will do so again this year.

For more details contact Tony Legge on Abingdon (01235) 520768.