P.T.Millington Collection (1971a)
Main Variant |
Transcription
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NEW HOUGHITON - GUYSERS PLAY
Re-collected 197l by Peter T. Millington from an informant of unknown name, this time under the absence of alcahol.
SAINT GEORGE In comes I Saint George, Saint George is my name, With sword and buttler by mY side, I'm bound to win this game. My shoes are black, my sword is white, And I'm quite willing for a fight, Step in Turkish Night.
TURKISH NIGHT In comes Turkish Night, In Turkey Land I learnt to fight. I'll fight King George's courage bold. If his blood be hot l'll make it cold.
SAINT GEORGE What did thou say?
TURKISH NIGHT I mean what I say. Pull out thy purse and pay.
SAINT GEORGE I'd rather be a coward than pey.
(They fight. Saint George wins and calls a doctor. )
SAINT GEORGE A Doctor, A Doctor, Ten pounds for a doctor. Fifteen pounds to come, Ten pounds to stop away. 0h Doctor-Doctor do come.
DOCTOR In comes I the Doctor.
SAINT GEORGE Hows thou become a doctor?
DOCTOR By my travells.
SAINT GEORGE What travelles?
DOCTOR Over England, lreland, Scotland, Spain, Over the hills and back again.
SAINT GEORGE What pains can thou cure?
DOCTOR Any paln.
SAINT GEORGE What's any pain.
DOCTOR The Ikta, pkta, cout and cough, Set a leg and tooth pull out, Bring the dead to life again, In the sunshine or the rain.
(Turns to Turkish Night.)
Here Jack, take a drop from this Tick-Tack, And let it roll down thy Nick-Nack, And thou will rise and fight Saint George again.
(Enter Belsi Bub)
BELSI BUB In comes I Belsi Bub, Over my shoulder I carry a club. In my hand a dripping pan. Don't you think l'm a jolly old man? Iff you don't I do, Plum puddings hot, plum puddings cold. Plum puddings in a pot nine days old. My father a cobbler, my mothers a weaver. If you've anythink to give away, I;m the receiver.
(The End. Enter Spare Man who goe's rourd with Belsi Bub collecting Cash.)
ACCURACY:- This play is an improvement on the first text from this informant. however one or two inaccuracies are apparent. It must be noted that the script was written down prose-fashion by the informant. In transcribing, the lines have been laid out rhyme-fashion and punctuation added accordingly. Spelling is retained as written.
In eonversation with the inforrnant, he gave the cure as:-
The Eeta, Peeta, goota, gout.........
The reason for the change is a mystery.
The informant knew of the Spare Man in other versions of the New Houghton play, but this character was probably not really in the version he performed. The appearance of the Spare Man as an "afterthought" was probably a consequence of discussion with the collector. In all other versions collected from New Houghton, the Spare Man always enters first with the "I open the door" speech.
NOTES:- The informant states that they were taught the play at school by a female teacher in the late thirties. He says they were the first team to do it, however Bulldog Beale appears to have been doing it nearly ten years before, whose play also has some other lines.
It is possible that the teacher in guestion could have been a member of the Mansfield intellectual clique, in which case she is likely to have come into contact with the works of A.S. Buxton. If this was the case, then it is feasible that she may have introduced "foreign" material into the version she taught. Nevertheless, the custom must have existed before any interference there might have been. |
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