Custom and creativity: the chicken and egg of folk performance histories

The talk draws on Peter’s editorial and introductory contributions to The Routledge Companion to English Folk Performance published last year (2021).

He will use examples of morris dancing, mumming and sword dancing to consider four broad points:

Firstly, an acceptance that these forms were creatively devised by people who thought they were a good idea at the time of their making.

Secondly, to consider how such apparently transient, migratory and inconstant forms so quickly achieved customary status.

Thirdly – both for better and worse – to acknowledge the role of Victorian scholarship and Edwardian popular thought in conferring longevity and romance on certain plays and dances but not others.

Fourthly, to seek out any special features of performance – associated with the customary and not often found elsewhere – that enhance our appreciation while gently prodding our designation folk.

Presentation for approx 1 hour, then 30 mins for Q&A.
Your host

During the 1970s Peter Harrop danced and acted with Monkseaton Morrismen and Folk Dance Club which sparked a lifelong interest in customary performance.

He went on to study drama and folklore, gaining a PhD from the Institute of Dialect and Folklife Studies at Leeds University. He is now Professor Emeritus in Drama at the University of Chester.