The Cornish Christmas Play

St Gertrudes Convent School, Penzance performance of the Cornish Play,  1957

Left to Right : The Doctor, Wendy Boase , The Turkish Knight, Yvonne Eva, Father Christmas, Gillian Assiter, King of Egypt, Sandra Vingoe, St George, Monica Sheehan, (Kneeling.) The Dragon, Ruth Samson, The Jester (Giant), Jennifer Johnston.. Produced by Mrs Waller.

A pleasing account of the rendering of this old drama in a West Cornwall farm, a hundred years ago, is given by ‘Uncle Jan Trenoodle’ (i.e. William Sandys) in his Specimens of Cornish Provincial Dialect.

It was a New Year’s Eve, the writer tells us, and a goodly party of friends and neighbours was gathered to spend the day at ‘Cousin Nic Carnoweth’s’. After a dinner consisting of ‘broth, a couple of nice pluffy young mabyers (pullets), a starry-gazy (pilchard) pie, a thumping figgy-pudding, and plenty of strong drink to keep out the cold’, the company seated themselves round the Christmas stock blazing cheerfully on the open hearth. Towards ‘teening time’, or the fall of dusk, ‘there came a grinning gaukum who told us as how the guise dancers were to the door, with the ancient play of St George. Gladly did we give them leave to enter, so in they came. There was old Feyther Chrestmas with a make-wise face possed (stuck) up on top of his own, and his long white wig, trapesing about and getting in his tantrums; and there was the Doctor, as they called ‘un, with a three-cornered piked hat and his face all rudded and whited, with spurticles (spectacles) on top of his nause. And there was one in a maiden’s bed-gownd and coat with ribbons, and a nackan (handkerchief) in his hand and a gook (sun bonnet) on his head. Other youngsters were in white, with ribbons tied all over their shirt sleeves, and with nackans and words, and such caps as I never see’d before. They was half a fathom high, made of pastyboard (card­board), weth powers (heaps) of beads and looking-glass, and shreds of old cloth strung upon slivers (strips) of pith—and they strutted about so brave as lubber cocks (turkey cocks)’ And then they gave the word to begin, and old ‘Feyther Chrestmas’ stepped out and said:

‘Here comes I, ould Feyther Chrestmas, Welcome or welcome not, I do hope ould Feyther Chrestmas Will never be forgot.’

Father Christmas, having introduced the play, steps back into the half-circle of the performers, leaving the stage open for the Turkish knight. The latter struts forth in an arrogant fashion, proclaiming his superiority to any Christian knight, until, of a sudden, St George himself appears. He also is confident of his prowess, and in consequence a fight takes place in which the Turkish knight is knocked down for dead. Here the play seems like to have ended but for the timely intervention of the Doctor who, after a good deal of humorous ‘gag’, cures him of his ‘deep and deadly wound’. Once more the Turkish knight arises to do battle, but he is speedily laid low by St George, and this time slain for good. Then in comes the Dragon, a fearsome-looking beast ‘ with long teeth and scurvy jaw’. His part was not played without danger, since he was required to breathe forth sulphurous flames, an effect which was achieved by putting a lighted squib in his ‘snout’. An incautious elevation of the latter by throwing the explosive compound inward might, and not infrequently did, cause severe injury to the player. After a fitting display of his fearsome qualities, the Dragon also is slain by St George who, as a somewhat unexpected reward for his valour, is given the hand of ‘ Sabra, the King of Egypt’s daughter’, in marriage.

Versions of this ancient mummer’s play are very numerous, and include such ill-assorted characters as ‘Old Beelzebub’, ‘Oliver Cromwell’, ‘Little Man Jack’, besides other comic ‘supers’ who were introduced by the players at will. The chief characters in the play, however, are the same in all versions, whilst the essential action hinges upon the fight between the Turkish knight and St George, the slaying of the former, his resurrection by the (now) ‘comic’ Doctor, and the final overthrow of both the Turkish knight and the Dragon, which concludes the play. The real interest of these homely dramas, therefore, lies not so much in their treatment of the subject, which was crude enough, but in the tracing of their long descent. By symbolizing, as in its origin it is thought to have done, the defeat of Winter through the reviving miracle of Spring, Such battles, with the more or less conscious intention of assisting the sun to regain its ascendancy after the turning point of the year, were once staged in many parts of Europe.

Sir I. G. Frazer, Golden Bough.

Although many years have elapsed since the ‘St George’ play ceased to be a regular feature of tIiis midwinter carnival, it was not wholly forgotten. In 1866 the Rev. W. S. Lach­Szyrma witnessed its performance by the miners of Pensilva, near Liskeard. In 1890 the villagers of Manaccan and St Martin-in-Meneage toured the play through their neighbour­hood with great success. Another excellent rendering of the play was given by the boys of the Roskear School, at Camborne, during the Christmas of 1914. The intention, however, of making it an annual event was frustrated by the staff alterations caused by the war.

‘Mr Tom Miners. The writer himself when living as a child in Redruth regularly took part in’ private ‘ performances of the’ St George’ play. The version used came from Stithians, and may be found in Old Cornwall, I, 29—30. This, I think, must have differed from the ‘Jack-o’­the-Green’ play which Mr Miners informs me was acted at Stithians as recently as the early years of the war, and which was only discontinued there by reason of the younger men being called away to active service.

A.K. Hamilton Jenkins "Cornwall and its People"

This year the American Cornish cousins gathered together in Grass Valley, California and the short film below shows some of the younger cousins entertaining the gathering with their rendition of  the Cornish Mummers play St George and the Turkish Knight. the script is from William Sandys . You can also  read "The Old Cornish Drama" by Thurston Peters of Redruth in this E-book from our library 

Now if you would like to put on your own mummers play then you will find a copy of the script as published by William Sandys in 1833 by clicking HERE. Use your back button to return to this page.