Folk Plays - Winter 2004/2005 - Thameside Mummers

Jill Pring

The Thameside Mummers performing at Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge in Epping Forest, 9th Jan.2005

Thameside Mummers, Posing for photographs after performing the Templar play from Tendering in Essex

Posing for photographs after performing the Templar play from Tendering in Essex
Left to right: First Servant/General (Dick Peacock), Fool's Lady (John Wright), Doctor (Dave Pring), Devil (Jack Vaughan), Wicked Old King (Simon Hill), Templar's Lady (Dave Symonds), banner holder (Derek 'Otto' Oliver), St.George (Peter Redman), and Templar (Bob Setchfield)

Thameside Mummers, "Red Side Down!". The 'New Christmas' play (origin unknown)

"Red Side Down!". The 'New Christmas' play (origin unknown)
On the ground: Turkish Knight (Bob Setchfield). Doctor (Jack Vaughan), and Moll Finney (Peter Redman) look on and the Fool (Dave Symonds) capers.

The event was an Elizabethan Christmas organised by the Corporation of London. We performed the Tendering, Essex (Templar) Play: unusual in that the 'bad guy' is a 'wicked' Knight Templar; the Templars were very active in the Tendering area of Essex. We collected the play as fragments found in Colchester Castle library and museum from which we put the whole play together some 30 years ago. We also performed a play we know as the 'New Christmas' play, in that we have lost its origin. It is also known as the 'Double Death Dragon Play', in that once St.George has disposed of the Turkish Knight, he gets killed by the Dragon! (Needless to say he comes back to finish the job).

The recommended URL for this web page is www.folkplay.info/Gallery/Thameside2005.htm