Mid-Winter Festival 2024

Date: Dec 2004

Featuring:
Prize Old Mummers – offering a traditional mummers play, with a modern twist; Butser Mamas, a new all female mummers side with a lot fabulous of bawdy humour; plus Morris Dancers and live music from Friday Street.

The Mary Rose and Royal George Dancers from Portsmouth will be bringing their unique and very entertaining Morris dance style to the event.
Be entertained by the selection of folk, pop and rock cover songs – perfect for tapping feet and communal sing-alongs. Friday Street band cover a range of music from artists such as David Bowie, The Doors, REM, The Buzzcocks, Roxy Music, The Who, The Beatles and Talking Heads (to name but a few!). Join us for an eclectic electric set.
Wonderful, delicious, warming food – steak, sausage and veggie options – will be available from our friends at Wild Cow and of course you’re more than welcome to purchase award-winning beers (and softs) from our fully-stocked bar.

Master of Ceremonies: Martyn Constable.

This event is free to enjoy, but please give generously to Naomi House Children’s Hospice.

More About Mummers:
Mummers’ plays are folk plays performed by troupes of amateur actors, traditionally all male, known as mummers or guisers (also by local names such as rhymers, pace-eggers, soulers, tipteerers, wrenboys, and galoshins). Historically, mummers’ plays consisted of informal groups of costumed community members that visited from house to house on various holidays. Today the term refers especially to a play in which a number of characters are called on stage, two of whom engage in a combat, the loser being revived by a doctor character.

Taken from Wikipedia
More about Prize Old Mummers:
Over centuries, people have performed Mummers Plays to entertain folk in the depths of winter. There are various traditions of Mumming, plays are known as a “Robin Hood” play or a “George and Dragon” play.
Another style is a “Wooing” play where a young man courts a Lady but is rejected and he is persuaded to join the army The Lady then accepts the hand of a Clown or Fool. However, Prize Old Mummers have reversed the role and in our play the Woman tries it on with King George, failing that, the Foreign Knight, The Devil or even The Doctor. This plot in then interwoven with the George and Dragon tale.
Prize Old Mummers are so called because the magic elixir used by the Doctor to raise the dead combatants is a bottle of Prize Old Ale, formerly brewed by George Gale and Co of Horndean. The brewery ceased trading in 2006 but the name of their very fine barley wine lives on in the name of our mumming side.
The play, while having a very traditional appearance, is littered with references to current affairs and issues of the day. References to popular culture, environmental issues and political satire are used. Dressed in tatter costumes with faces obscured in many shades and colours, they endeavour to keep alive a tradition while raising funds for charity.

• Visit Website
• View Map

Tel:01798860861

Email:office@langhambrewery.co.uk