English Folk Drama - Finding Out More
Finding out more
Books
Only a handful of book-length studies have been published over the years, but much more material was made available in journal articles and ephemeral booklets. Many of the latter can be consulted at the Vaughan Williams Library or the Library of the Folklore Society. Full listings of publications can be found on the two Mumming websites listed below.
[NB: anything published before about 1985 may contain useful material, but will certainly include theories of origin and history which are now discredited]
- R.J.E. Tiddy, The Mummers’ Play (Oxford Univ. Press, 1923)
- E.K. Chambers, The English Folk Play (Oxford Univ. Press, 1933)
- Alex Helm, The English Mummers’ Play (D.S. Brewer, 1981)
- Cawte Helm & Peacock, English Ritual Drama (Folklore Society, 1967)
- Eddie Cass & Steve Roud, Room Room Ladies and Gentlemen: an Introduction to the English Mummers’ Play (EFDSS, 2002).
- Eddie Cass, The Lancashire Pace-Egg Play: A Social History (Folklore Society, 2001)
Mumming in Scotland and Ireland
- Alan Gailey, Irish Folk Drama (Mercier Press, 1969)
- Henry Glassie, All Silver and No Brass (Indiana Univ. Press, 1975)
- Brian Hayward, Galoshins: The Scottish Folk Play (Edinburgh Univ. Press, 1992)
- Emily Lyle, Galoshins Remembered (NMS Enterprises, 2011)
Online resources
- The Ordish Collection, formed around the turn of the twentieth century and housed in the Folklore Society’s archives, is available online on the Full English project website: http://www.vwml.org
- The Master Mummers website, compiled by Peter Millington: http://www.mastermummers.org/
- Traditional Drama Research Group website: http://www.folkplay.info/
These two websites include a wealth of material on the subject, and are nowadays the most effective ways of finding a play from a particular area.
