ST GEORGE'S DAY
7.30pm at the Community Centre on Wednesday 23rd April 2008

Morris Dancing

Before the English Civil War working peasantry took part in Morris dances, especially at Whitsun. The Puritan government of Oliver Cromwell suppressed Whitsun Ales and other such festivities.  When the crown was restored by Charles II the springtime festivals were also restored. Morris dancing remained popular until the Industrial revolution and the social changes of the time. 

Many villages have revived their traditions and now many teams around the world have adopted and adapted these traditions from the basic morris dancing steps and figures.


The Dorset Knobs
Mummers

Mumming is an old English folk custom. The Dorset Knobs' Mummers Play is the Ancient Drama of Death and Rebirth, a battle between our Champion Saint George and his implacable foe the
Turkish Knight. One will fall, but be brought back to life by 3 drops of medicine from the Doctor's magical bottle.

Other amusement is provided by Knobbin the Hobby Horse, Beelzebub and a host of other traditional characters.

Mumming's origins lie hidden in the mists of time. The Mummers Play has been performed in more or less its present form for at least 250 years."


Hosts for the evening:
Rigantona -

Kate Fletcher (vocals, double reeds, strings) and Corwen ap Broch (pipes, whistles, bowed instruments, percussion)   
vocals,
The versatile duo Rigantona play the best of English Folk. Armed with an arsenal of unusual traditional English instruments including Bagpipes, Pipe and Tabor, Crowd, Hornpipe and Shawm, Rigantona bring you a feast of ancient sounds with contemporary style.


The Travelling Talesman
The Travelling Talesman has been weaving his web of words from Penzance to York, for feasts, festivals and fun since the early nineties. Old, young and all those in between have faced The Mester Stoorworm with Assipattle, ventured into the Wild Wood with The Little Bull Calf, reclaimed the Mead of Poetry with the Norse God Odin and raced against the Devil with the humble hedgehog.
   
Good stories well told
Each telling is a unique performance crafted from the traditional tales told to our fathers grandfathers and our great-grandmothers mothers. Without the aid of a book, a script or anything more than the human voice, a whole evenings entertainment can be provided on any of the following themes or tale types:
Vikings, Celtic, medieval, Dragons, heroes, Norse Gods, fairies, devils, fools, King Arthur, blacksmiths, giants, knights, princesses, mabinogion, Jack, the clever girl, Saxons, ghosts