Folk play

A mummers play in Poland

Folk plays such as Hoodening, Guising, Mummers Play and Soul Caking are generally verse sketches performed in countryside pubs in European countries, private houses or the open air, at set times of the year such as the Winter or Summer solstices or Christmas and New Year. Many have long traditions, although they are frequently updated to retain their relevance for modern audiences.

With the rise in folklore studies as an academic discipline, research into folk plays has increased. Notable organizations in this area (in the UK in particular, often centred on Yorkshire) have included:

(CECTAL), founded in 1975 based on prior research programmes, inside the University of Sheffield's Department of English^[1]
(IDAFS, part of Leeds University, closed in 1984)
(NATCECT, new name for CECTAL since 1997; run by Joan C. Beal and Professor John D.A. Widdowson; had a Traditional Heritage Museum; no longer active: the archives were passed to Sheffield University's Archives of Cultural Tradition)
(off-shoot of NATCECT in both Britain and Canada, founded in 1986)
at the Memorial University of Newfoundland (FDMUN)
(CETH, run by John Widdowson - see under NATCECT above)
(TDRG, run by Duncan Broomhead)
Master Mummers (offshoot of the TDRG, run by Peter Millington)
(CCL, part of Sheffield Hallam University)
(SCFFTF, part of the University of Chichester)
Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (VWML, part of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, EFDSS).

In addition, although the Morris dance has no direct link with folk plays, members of the Morris Federation, Open Morris and Morris Ring often perform mumming plays on the side.

References[]

^ Jacqueline Simpson; Steve Roud (January 2003). "National Centre for English Cultural Tradition". A dictionary of English folklore. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198607663. Retrieved 23 January 2019.

External links[]

This theatre-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[1] Jacqueline Simpson; Steve Roud (January 2003). "National Centre for English Cultural Tradition". A dictionary of English folklore. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198607663. Retrieved 23 January 2019.

[1]

hide v t Folklore genres and types
Narrative	Animal tale Fable Fairytale Legend Myth Parable Personal narrative Urban legend
Oral tradition	Folk etymology Joke Nursery rhyme Proverb Riddle Saying Word game
Folk belief	Folk religion Ghostlore Legend tripping Mythology Old wives' tale Ritual Weather lore
Folk arts	Folk art Folk dance Folk instrument Folk music Folk play Folk wrestling Foodways
See also	Folklore studies Morphology (folkloristics) Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index Motif-Index of Folk-Literature Storytelling Tradition