Boxing Day mummers' play in which the St Albans Mummers tell the tale of St George and the Dragon in five free 15-minute family performances around the city centre.
The St Albans Mummers are back on the streets of the city centre on Boxing Day, Saturday 26 December, for their annual run of folk plays. They're performing St George and the Dragon, the same story they tell every Boxing Day, but this time spread across five separate performances throughout the morning and afternoon. Each one lasts about 15 minutes, so you can catch a single show or follow the troupe as they move from one spot to the next.
It's a family-friendly affair, and the cast is a proper mummers' ensemble: St George is joined by Father Christmas, The Lord of Misrule, Beelzebub, Bold Tom, A Dodgy Doctor, A Turkish Knight, a Giant with a very big stick, and Alby the Wonder Horse. The play itself comes from a much older tradition—the kind of folk-play that used to be common across Britain, staged by local groups to mark a particular date or a local occasion. The Mummers keep that tradition going here in St Albans, taking the story out of the theatre and onto the pavement.
Because the performances are staggered, you've got a choice of where to stand. The first is at the Museum / Old Town Hall at 11:30, followed by the White Hart Hotel at 12:20, the West Door of the Abbey at 13:10, Ye Olde Fighting Cocks at 14:00, and finally The Clock Tower at 14:50. They're all in the city centre, so it's easy enough to hop between them if you're out for the day.
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Entry is free, though at the end of each performance the group asks passers-by to throw money into a hat for charity. If you're around on Boxing Day, it's a good excuse to get out and see a bit of local tradition in the open air.
