Put Pace Egg play back on map

Pace Egg plays have been a firm fixture on the Easter calendar around the upper Calder Valley, as crowds turn out to get their fix of St George, Bold Slasher and the infamous Toss Pot on Good Friday.

Students from Calder High School, Mytholmroyd, have performed in the Midgley version of the play around Midgley, Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge and Heptonstall, for many years, but there were fears it had dropped off the radar in recent years.

Last year, a number of the cast were former students who volunteered to help at the last minute and many of the costumes were in a poor state of repair and the traditional hats were missing.

It’s now thought that a group of boys from the school are planning on staging the play this year, but support is needed to make it a success and to safeguard its future for years to come.

Nina Akeds, a former Calder High student, used to help with the play while she was at school.

She said: “It’s a quirky little tradition. Given how much Mytholmroyd has lost to the floods, it would be very easy for us to lose our traditions. It’s cross-generational as you’ve got the teenagers, but then you have got their dads and grandads who remember it.”

She added that it had been a ‘right of passage’ for many young people in the area. It’s now hoped people will come forward to support the group of boys in any way they can. Props including a doctor’s case, a school bell, a bugle and new hats are needed and some costumes may need remaking.