The Elizabethan Winters Tale
Venue: York House Centre, London Road, Stony Stratford
Date: 04 Feb 2018
Time: 15:30 to - 17:00
Part of StonyWords! 2018
The Elizabethan’s celebrated Christmastide, forty whole days of Christmas, with only passing reference to religion. The Elizabethans certainly knew how to party in style. Preparations for festivities would begin on Halloween with the election of the Lord of Misrule. Tudor turkeys would begin their long walk from Norfolk to the London Christmas dinner table in August. A swan or peacock, carefully cooked then sewn back in to its feathered finery (yes, complete with head and tail), usually took centre table, although these were reserved strictly for the nobility. The cost was extortionate, and contemporary cooks tell us to remove the mouldy bits and carry on eating!
This is a candlelit performance with mulled cider and Elizabethan sweetmeats. Readings about the Elizabethan winter and Christmastide celebrations are framed with the sublime music of William Byrd, William Cobbold and Anthony Holborne. Our audience are invited to bring a rug for warmth and a be-ribboned cup to share the Wassail for the crowning of the King or Queen of the Bean!
We liken our performances to Lucy Worsley’s TV programmes, exploring the fascinating aspects of social history...or do I mean Horrible Histories?
Mr Simpson’s Little Consort are based in Buckingham and are a Buxton Festival award winning historic performance group, they are “Musicians in Residence” at Wesbury Arts Centre from November 2017, and have just been short listed to become “Selected Artists” for 2018.
More information from Website: https://mrsimpsonslittleconsort.wordpress.com.
TICKETS £10 on the door (includes mulled cider and sweetmeats).