Perform or Else: The Marshfield Mummers in performance

Whilst much scholarship of English mumming has focused upon the search for origins and upon the analysis of textual composition, this paper draws upon performance studies in outlining potential descriptive and critical approaches to traditional drama in its contemporary manifestation: in performance. Focusing upon the performances of the Marshfield Mummers: the Old Time Paper Boys - reconstituted under the influence of Violet Alford in the early 1930s - the proposed model considers the significance of space, time, pattern and detail; the application of rules, strategies and dynamics; the use of objects; the various integrations and separations of text and action; and the presence of different modes of performing. All within a particular architectural setting...