Punch and Judy


Punch and Judy is a traditional English puppet show featuring Mr Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Mr Punch and one other character who usually falls victim to the intentional violence of Punch's slapstick. First appearing in England in 1662, Punch and Judy was called by The Daily Telegraph "a staple of the British seaside scene". The various episodes of Punch comedy—often provoking shocked laughter—are dominated by the clowning of Mr Punch.
The show is performed by a single puppeteer inside the booth, known since Victorian times as a "professor" or "punchman", and assisted sometimes by a "bottler" who corrals the audience outside the booth, introduces the performance, and collects the money. The bottler might also play accompanying music or sound effects on a drum or guitar, and engage in back chat with the puppets, sometimes repeating lines that may have been difficult for the audience to understand. In the Victorian era, the drum and pan pipes were the instruments of choice. Today, most professors work solo, since the need for a bottler became less important when street performing with the show gave way to paid engagements at private parties or public events. In modern shows the audience is encouraged to participate, calling out to the characters on the stage—typically shouting "He's behind you!"—to warn them of danger or clue them in to what is going on behind their backs.

History

The Punch and Judy show, labelled an "English entertainment icon" by the London Museum, has roots in the 17th century Italian commedia dell'arte. The figure of Punch is derived from the Neapolitan stock character of Pulcinella, which was anglicised to Punchinello. He is a variation on the same themes as the Lord of Misrule and the many Trickster figures found in mythologies across the world. Punch's wife was originally called "Joan".
The figure who became the anarchic Mr Punch made his first recorded appearance in England on 9 May 1662, which is traditionally reckoned as Punch's UK birthday. Punch and Judy began to emerge during the Restoration Period, a period during which art and theatre thrived. King Charles II took the throne in 1660 and replaced Puritan leaders Oliver Cromwell and Richard Cromwell, and theatre culture was revived. Cromwell strictly adhered to the Puritan belief that theatre was immoral and should be banned, resulting in their closure in 1642. The repressive regime also saw street entertainers jailed. Charles II's ascension to the throne ended the interregnum, Puritan legislation was declared null and void, and a more tolerant period of art and culture was ushered in. William Langley of The Telegraph writes Punch and Judy "owes much of its original success to the bleak killjoyism of Cromwell's England. Charles II's resumption of the throne in 1660 unleashed a huge public demand for popular entertainment". The diarist Samuel Pepys observed a marionette show featuring an early version of the Punch character in Covent Garden in London. It was performed by Italian puppet showman Pietro Gimonde, a.k.a. "Signor Bologna", one of many entertainers from continental Europe who came to England following the restoration. Pepys described the event in his diary as "an Italian puppet play, that is within the rails there, which is very pretty".
In the Punch and Judy show, Punch speaks in a distinctive squawking voice, produced by a contrivance known as a swazzle or swatchel which the professor holds in his mouth, transmitting his gleeful cackle. This gives Punch a vocal quality as though he were speaking through a kazoo. Joan's name was changed to Judy because "Judy" was easier to enunciate with the swazzle than "Joan". So important is Punch's signature sound that it is a matter of some controversy within Punch and Judy circles as to whether a "non-" show can be considered a true Punch and Judy Show. Other characters do not use the swazzle, so the Punchman has to switch back and forth while still holding the device in his mouth.
Punch and Judy shows were traditionally marionette shows when they were brought over from Italy, but were later reinvented in the glove puppet style to accommodate the characters' violent movements without the obstruction of marionette strings. Glove puppets were often operated by placing the thumb in one arm, the middle, ring, and little fingers in the other arm, and the index finger in the head.
File:Benjamin Robert Haydon - Punch or May Day - N00682 - National Gallery.jpg|thumb|Punch or May Day, 1829 painting by Benjamin Robert Haydon depicting a street scene in London including a Punch and Judy show
In the early 18th century, the puppet theatre starring Punch was at its height, with showman Martin Powell attracting sizable crowds at both his Punch's Theatre at Covent Garden and earlier in provincial Bath, Somerset. Powell has been credited with being "largely responsible for the form taken by the drama of Punch and Judy". In 1721, a puppet theatre opened in Dublin that ran for decades. The cross-dressing actress Charlotte Charke ran the successful but short-lived Punch's Theatre in the Old Tennis Court at St. James's, Westminster, presenting adaptations of Shakespeare as well as plays by herself, her father Colley Cibber, and her friend Henry Fielding. Fielding eventually ran his own puppet theatre under the pseudonym Madame de la Nash to avoid the censorship concomitant with the theatre Licensing Act 1737.
Punch was extremely popular in Paris and, by the end of the 18th century, he was also playing in Britain's former American colonies, where George Washington, a fan of the show, bought tickets. However, marionette productions were expensive and cumbersome to mount and transport, presented in empty halls, the back rooms of taverns, or within large tents at England's yearly agricultural events at Bartholomew Fair and Mayfair. In the latter half of the 18th century, marionette companies began to give way to glove-puppet shows, performed from within a narrow, lightweight booth by one puppeteer, usually with an assistant, or "bottler", to gather a crowd and collect money. These shows might travel through country towns or move from corner to corner along busy London streets, giving many performances in a single day. The character of Punch adapted to the new format, going from a stringed comedian who might say outrageous things to a more aggressive glove-puppet who could do outrageous—and often violent—things to the other characters.
File:'Punch and Judy' Show, Weymouth Beach. - geograph.org.uk - 1146108.jpg|thumb|A Punch and Judy show — with the red-and-white-striped puppet booth — at Weymouth Beach, Dorset on the south coast of England
The mobile puppet booth of the late 18th- and early 19th-century Punch and Judy glove-puppet show could be easily fitted-up and was originally covered in checked bed ticking or whatever inexpensive cloth might come to hand. Later Victorian booths were gaudier affairs, particularly those used for Christmas parties and other indoor performances. In the 20th century, however, red-and-white-striped puppet booths became iconic features on the beaches of many English seaside and summer holiday resorts.
A more substantial change came over time to the show's target audience. The show was originally intended for adults, but it changed into primarily a children's entertainment in the late Victorian era. Ancient members of the show's cast ceased to be included, such as the Devil and Punch's mistress "Pretty Polly", when they came to be seen as inappropriate for young audiences.
The story changes, but some phrases remain the same for decades or even centuries. For example, Punch dispatches his foes each in turn and still squeaks his famous catchphrase: "That's the way to do it!" The term "pleased as Punch" is derived from Punch and Judy; specifically, Mr Punch's characteristic sense of gleeful self-satisfaction.
Modern British performances of Punch and Judy are no longer exclusively the traditional seaside children's entertainments which they had become. They can now be seen at carnivals, festivals, birthday parties, and other celebratory occasions. The association of Punch with the seaside, however, is still very strong, as demonstrated by Wisbech Town council's annual Wis-BEACH day each summer: "all the seaside favourites are on show, including a donkey, deck chairs, Punch and Judy and fish and chips".

Characters

The characters in a Punch and Judy show are not fixed. They are similar to the cast of a soap opera or a folk tale such as Robin Hood: the principal characters must appear, but the lesser characters are included at the discretion of the performer. New cast may be added and older cast dropped as the tradition changes.
Along with Punch and Judy, the cast of characters usually includes their baby, a hungry crocodile, a clown, an officious policeman, and a prop string of sausages. The devil and the generic hangman Jack Ketch may still make their appearances but, if so, Punch will always get the better of them. The cast of a typical Punch and Judy show today will include:
  • Mr Punch
  • Judy
  • The Babe
  • The Constable
  • Joey the Clown
  • The Crocodile
  • The Skeleton
  • The Doctor
Characters once regular but now occasional include:
  • Toby the Dog
  • The Ghost
  • The Lawyer
  • Hector the Horse
  • Pretty Polly
  • The Hangman
  • The Devil
  • The Beadle
  • Jim Crow
  • Mr Scaramouche
  • The Servant
  • The Blind Man
Other characters included Boxers, Chinese Plate Spinners, topical figures, a trick puppet with an extending neck, and a monkey. A live Toby the Dog was once a regular featured novelty routine, sitting on the playboard and performing "with" the puppets.
Punch wears a brightly coloured jester's motley and sugarloaf hat with a tassel. He is a hunchback whose hooked nose almost meets his curved, jutting chin. He carries a stick as large as himself, which he freely uses upon most of the other characters in the show. Judy wears an apron, a blue dress, and a bonnet and frequently tries to tell Punch off when he uses the slapstick.