CHRISTMAS CHAMPIONS

Box Office (Lyme Regis Tourist Information Centre): 01297 442138

Saturday 15 December

8pm

£10 Adults / £6 U16

“We are incredibly lucky to have this performance in Lyme Regis,” said Margie Barbour the Artistic Director of the Marine Theatre. “The English Mummers’ Play is our most enduring piece of seasonal drama. Deeply earthy, proudly vernacular, this is English voodoo at its most robust. The company is only able to tour a few theatres, and the Marine Theatre is one of the few venues in the South they are coming to.” The performance is at 8.00 pm on Saturday 15th December and tickets from the Lyme TIC 01297 442138 cost £10 for adults and £6.00 for under 16s.

This incredible show, featuring new songs, beautifully sculpted prose and re-workings of established carols, was created by BBC Folk Award Winners Chris Wood & Hugh Lupton from a Radio 3 Late Junction/The Sage Gateshead commission.. Now a live multimedia show, where BBC Folk Award winning duo Chris Wood and Hugh Lupton are joined by The English Acoustic Collective and Olivia Ross in a performance that mixes the recorded voices of past generations with ritual theatre, seasonal song, storytelling and music in a celebration of England’s most enduring midwinter custom: The Mummers Play.

The show combines the music of midwinter, both choral and instrumental, with new songs and re-workings of established carols, worked into field recordings of Herbie Smith's reminiscences of mumming in the Medway valley at the turn of the last century. Hugh Lupton's narrative constantly contextualises the music and the singers reciprocate, weaving and compounding imagery, parable and drama. It is the true, native, vernacular mystery play and this performance, directed by Tim Dalling, brings it vividly to life. This is an extra special treat for the Christmas season, from some of the finest artists of this age.