Newfoundland Mummers Tradition

[Alan D Filewod]

On Wed, 21 Jun 1995, Brian Morton wrote:
 
> Can anyone give me some pointers as to a (trans)script for a Newfoundland
> traditional Mummers play?  Are there any contemporary Canadian
> playwrights who have used this form of theatre?
>
> Also what examples of music can list members give me that might have been
> used?  Specifically what songs, jigs and reels...
>
> I've been told that there was one special song that would be used as People
> entered a house...
>
> Any and all help would be appreciated.
>
> Cheers
>
>
> Brian Morton
> Theatre Erebus.
>
Where to start ... probably with Halpert and Story, >Christmas Mumming in
Newfoundland< (University of Toronto Press, 1968, still in print), which
includes three found mummer's texts from Nfld.  The Mummers Troupe
(1972-1982) developed a popular mumming tradition, from these  and a few
other texts, much revised in performance. The "base" text used by the
Mummers Troupe was published in a 1974 anthology of Newfoundland writing
called Doryloads.
        There are literally hundreds of recorded mummers plays
from the UK, Canada and the US, with a vast gallery of characters, so it is impossible
to locate any one common song. Chris Brookes usually used one particular
souling song in his shows:
God bless the master of this house
and the mistress also.
And all the little children
that round the table grow.
The cattle in the barnyard
The dog by your front door,
And all that dwells within your gate,
we wish you ten time more.
 
soul, a soul a soul cake
please good mistress a soul cake
an apple, a pear a plum, a cherry
any good thing to make us all merry,
one for Peter, two for Paul
Three for Him who made us all.
 
Go down into your cellar
and see what you can find
If your cellars be not empty
we hope you will prove kind.
we hope you will prove kind
with your brandy and your wine
or we'll come no more a souling
until next Christmas time
 
In fact, there's a version of this on an old Peter Paul and Mary
album.... it's not really a mumming song, but then the various related
traditions of Christmas mumming, souling, wren-hunting and
may-poling have all become conflated.
 
There are some examples of contemporary playwrights who have incorporated
parts of the mummers' play into their work. The most interesting example
is the least noted: the beginning sequence of Caryl Churchill's Cloud Nine
is pure mummers play, as characters step forward and announce themselves
in short quatrains.
 
Hope this helps .... I could go on at great length; feel free to contact
me if you would like more information.
 
Alan Filewod
Dept of Drama
University of Guelph