The mic-covered table perched on the stage made it look a little like The Copper Family were preparing for a press conference on Friday night.
But, as eight members of Rottingdean’s folk-singing family took their seats, it became clear it was mainly there as a place to rest pints of beer, and to be thwacked with a – historically significant, as it turns out – tuning fork.
Patriarch John Copper took the audience through some of the family’s repertoire, as they sang unaccompanied songs that have been passed down for centuries.
It’s hard to imagine a purer form of traditional English music, replete with rough-hewn harmonies and a healthy sense of self-deprecating humour – “buy our CD for someone you don’t like for Christmas”.
After an interval, the family acted out a mummers’ play – a silly, fun folk proto pantomime with roles for Father Christmas, Prince Charles and a Turkish knight.
They followed it up with some 19th-century handbell-ringing, with the crowd cheering every Christmas tune to completion. “We hope that wasn’t too slick,” chimed in John, wryly.
The night ended with a round of carols, with the audience joining in lustily for Thousands Or More and Shepherds Arise.
A very special Sussex Christmas event.
Four stars
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