Marshfield Paper Boys

The Marshfield Paper Boys perform a traditional mummers play every Boxing Day in their village. It’s a typical hero/combat play involving a sword-fight and the revival of the defeated protagonist by the Doctor; other characters include Saucy Jack and Father Beelzebub. The players wear costumes covered in strips of paper (hence their name) and perform in a serious manner handed down over the generations. Though this play is a revival of a lapsed custom, one of the revivalists had been in the original group as a child before its demise, so there is a direct connection with the old ways and this makes the event unique. The revival took place in the 1930s. The Town Crier leads the procession of players to the set performance points around the village, beginning in the Market Place at 11am. Carols are sung before the first performance and the last play takes place around noon.

Helpful Hints

When 26th December falls on a Sunday, the play moves to the 27th instead (26th was a Sunday in 2021- it won’t happen again for a few years but you have been warned!).Expect a large crowd – if you want to photograph the performance, much of the crowd will disperse over the hour and you’ll get better shots towards noon. Also, the people who talk all the way through it seem to vanish after the first time, too!

Click here for the event website: http://www.marshfieldmummers.co.uk

and Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/marshfield.mummers.52

Click here for the Master Mummers link : http://www.mastermummers.org/groupslist.php?oID=136