The Untold - Darkie Day: Michael and the Mummers
Download Darkie Day: Michael and the Mummers
Grace Dent presents untold stories of 21st century Britain. Young black film director Michael Jenkins is making a film about Padstow's Darkie Day. It's a long standing tradition where local residents black up their faces and process through the streets singing and dancing. The locals are defensive about their celebration which is part of their Cornish identity. Despite what outsiders think they say it has no racial overtones, but they did change the name to Mummers Day after complaints prompted MP Diane Abbott to call for the festival to be stopped. As a young Black British man Michael wants to experience it for himself and capture it on film. Will any of the town's residents accept his invitation to sit down and have an honest conversation with him about Darkie Day's origins and meaning? Is political correctness making it worse? This is a story where modern Britain meets medieval history in a clash of cultures.
Producer: Maggie Ayre.
Published on Monday, 22nd February 2016.
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