The Penny Plain Theatre - from street theatre to mumming

Hardcastle’s Mighty Excelsior Theatre Company is a fictitious company of itinerant Victorian travelling actors. In our personas as members of this troupe, we seek to present Yorkshire legends and traditions to a street audience in an amusing way. Our Christmas entertainment is a medley of old carols, dances, and comedy centred round the mummer’s play from Bellerby. It is in the hero-combat tradition and includes a rapper dance. Though we use comedy as our tool, we are serious about keeping the traditions alive, and do so by making the performances memorable and by distributing leaflets to our audience to enlighten them about what they are watching. We have achieved a strong following in our county.