~ Performers of Olden-Day Plays and Traditional Tales ~

The Leigh Times

A short while after the Leigh Mummers was officially set up, we applied for - and received - a grant from the Lottery Fund to pay for public drama workshops, details of which can be found in the "Workshops" section of this website. The Leigh Times covered this event with an article and photo. To view a larger version of the article, please click on the image to the left.

Southend Evening Echo - Friday 14th July 2006 Reporting by Charlotte Potter; Photos by Maxine Clarke

We were approached by the Evening Echo, who were interested in doing an article on us for their "Weekend" supplement. We ended up with a leader photo on the front page of the supplement, as well as a double-page spread on the centre pages! Together with information about our forthcoming workshops, there were a series of photos (please click the small images on the left to view larger versions) and a fantastic article that is reproduced below. To access the Echo's online version of the article, please click HERE.    The changing of the seasons plays an important role in the productions staged by Leigh Mummers.    As do the gods of Celtic mythology and stories steeped in the history of Paganism.    The Leigh Mummers are a group of amateur actors who take the essence of mumming and give it their own magical twist.    The art form started back in the 16th century and was still going strong in Victorian times.    Mummers was the word used to describe people who performed any type of folklore-based street entertainment, such as jesting and juggling, but most mummers would perform plays which focused on two central themes of duality and resurrection.    The Leigh Mummers have recently been awarded a national lottery grant for £4,300 to teach others the art of mumming through workshops.    Mark Barwell, 29, a member of the Leigh Mummers, has been part of the group since its first performance last September.    He says: "It was set up for the autumn equinox in September last year. A group of us came together and did a play on the Celtic mythology concerning the equinox and then we thought why don't we set up a group and do it regularly"    The Leigh Mummers sometimes perform traditional mummer plays, but always try to add their own twist.    More often than not, however, they enjoy creating stories surrounding Celtic mythology, medieval tales and those based on Pagan traditions, such as the seasons of the year.    Among their tales is "Maybe Not Nottingham Fair". In this story the Leigh Mummers have taken a traditional summer mummer and given it a pagan twist.    The story is originally about Robin Hood who, as he walks through the forest, meets a tanner and has a fight.    The tanner dies and is then brought back to life.    Another version sees Robin Hood at a fair where he spots Maid Marion and battles the evil Sheriff of Nottingham to win over Maid Marion's heart.    The Leigh Mummer's production begins with Robin Hood falling in love, but then the jester gatecrashes the party.    The story is then stripped back to the ancient pagan tale of the Summer Lord and Winter King, in which the two ruling bodies fight and the king dies.    Three witches work their magic to bring him back to life and finally the wheel of the year is restored.    Mr Barwell, who has been a Pagan for 11 years and whose mother Sheila is also a member of the group, says: "We veered away from the traditional style of mummer plays because we weren't really interested in them.    "We were interested in the stories behind the stories.    "We go back to Celtic legends and Pagan stories and start with the wheel of the year and the solstice.    "It all goes back to the mouth to mouth way of passing your stories on. Stories we've grown up with or read ourselves and we write our own material based on these.”    There are other mummers groups in the area which focus on traditional mumming. Among them are the Thameside Mummers who operate out of Leigh and have been going since the seventies.    In the Leigh Mummers there is a small, but dedicated, team of around 12 members who are working hard to keep this traditional way of storytelling alive.    Mark adds: It's good old-fashioned storytelling and some of these stories are thousands of years old.”    When working on an up-coming performance the group meet weekly to rehearse. At present they are working on an Evening of Dark and Magical Poetry and Plays which will be showcased at the Cricketers in London Road, Southend on October 24.    For those interested in the history of mumming and how to get involved in it, the group are planning a series of workshops funded with the money awarded to them by the National Lottery.