Folk plays such as Hoodening,

Guising Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in Halloween costume, costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase " ...

Mummers Play 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''). ...

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 Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

or Summer

solstice A solstice is the time when the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly sun path, excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around 20–22 June and 20–22 December. In many countries ...

s or Christmas and New Year. Many have long traditions, although they are frequently updated to retain their relevance for contemporary audiences. With the rise in

folklore studies Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

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: * Centre for English Cultural Tradition and Language (CECTAL), founded in 1975 based on prior research programmes, inside the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

's Department of English * Institute of Dialect and Folklife Studies (IDAFS, part of

Leeds University The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...

, closed in 1984) * National Centre for English Cultural Tradition (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'
Archives of Cultural Tradition
* Institute of Folklore Studies (off-shoot of NATCECT in both Britain and Canada, founded in 1986) * Folklore Department at the

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...

(FDMUN) * Centre for English Traditional Heritage
CETH
run by John Widdowson - see under NATCECT above) * Traditional Drama Research Group
TDRG
run by Duncan Broomhead)
Master Mummers
(offshoot of the TDRG, run by Peter Millington) * Centre for Contemporary Legend
CCL
part of

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield station, Sheffield railway station, whil ...

) * Sussex Centre for Folklore Fairy Tales and Fantasy
SCFFTF
part of the University of Chichester) *

Vaughan Williams Memorial Library The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (VWML) is the library and archive of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS), located in the society's London headquarters, Cecil Sharp House. It is a multi-media library comprising books, periodi ...

(VWML, part of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, EFDSS). In addition, although the

Morris dance Morris dancing is a form of English folklore, English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers in costume, usually wearing bell pads on their shins, their shoes or both. A ban ...

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

External links

Folkopedia
(wiki)
Traditional Drama Research GroupMaster MummersTewkesbury's Millennia of Mummers' Heritage kept alive
Drama Theatrical genres Musical theatre {{theat-stub