Crwmpyn John

Crwmpyn John Mummers Play Tour

We visited pubs in the Swansea Valley on Thursday night 11th December, performing the Crwmpyn John play which was traditionally performed in Ynysmeudwy and Ystalyfera from the start of the C20th. Local children used to venture into the pubs frequented by local coal miners working at Tarreni Colliery and others, performed the play and received pennies for their acting. They would do this from Halloween to Bonfire Night. The play was performed traditionally, by local children until the early 1960s, and then the good people of the Valley Folk Club in Pontardawe carried on the performance from the 70s until the 1980s but they shifted performance to the run in to Christmas. We have been performing the play since the early 1990s, therefore keeping this old tradition very much alive.

We visited The Millers, Ynystawe, The Butchers, Alltwen, The Chameleon, Ystradgynlais, and the Wern Fawr in Ystalyfera. We were warmly welcomed in all the pubs and audiences enjoyed the antics of Crwmpyn John, King John, Robin Hood, Dr Brown and Jingle In! We collected a total of £86 for Maggies Cancer Charity.
Sian Musgrave and Keith played Christmassy tunes at the end of each performance. Zepur Agop, Erin & Sian took photos and Geoff Wildman provided moral support throughout the evening! Di Clark joined us for our last performance at the Wern Fawr to play music.

The Cast: Crwmpyn John Nigel Haworth, King John Paul Tarrant, Robin Hood Alex Heney, Doctor Brown Keith Lascelles, Jingle In Erin Rickard.
Big Thanks to the Landlords & Ladies, and all who watched and contributed to our buckets!