Six actors I've brought

This paper compares the English mumming tradition with legitimate drama through the various aspects involved in preparation, performance and style, including: stage, storyline, temporal and geographic location, actors, audience, rehearsal, leadership, management and administration. It concludes that the vernacular tradition was of a style distinct from professional drama, from amateur dramatics and from pantomime, being a form of drama in its own right with its own mores and with its own strengths and weaknesses. It argues that some more recent revival styles of performance do not simply ignore the older style, but by doing so can precipitate the loss of a distinctive vernacular style.