The Devil holds a flaming torch as the Holly Man arrives by boat on the River Thames. The Lions Part Twelfth Night festival.
The Lions Part, actors connected with London's Globe Theatre perform two annual traditional free theatre based seasonal festivals on Bankside. Twelfth Night in early January includes a 'green man' who arrives by boat on the River Thames, to be met by mummers in costume, including the Devil. There are various 'wassails', drinking of health to the boat, the theatre and a tree, and a play by the mummers based loosely on the Crusades, including St George and a Turkish knight, on Bankside, at the end of which cakes are handed round, one of which contains a bean and another a pea. Those who get these cakes are crowned as King Bean and Queen Pea, handed their vegetable regalia and lead a procession of all those present - including the Mayor of Southwark - to the George Inn, a historic local pub for storytelling, the Kissing Wishing Tree and dancing.
Size: 5010px × 3354px
Location: Bankside, Southwark, London, England, UK
Photo credit: © Peter Marshall / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: actors, bankside, boat, christmas, customs, devil, english, festival, flaming, folk, globe, green, holly, lions, london, man, mummers, night, oars, part, players, river, southwark, steps, thames, theatre, torch, traditional, twelfth
