Punch and Judy

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For other uses, see Punch and Judy (disambiguation).

A stained glass illustration of Punch by Professor Ignorant

Punch and Judy is a popular puppet show featuring 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 Punch and one other character. The show is traditionally performed by a single puppeteer, known as a Professor.

1 Characters
2 History
3 Story
4 Published scripts
5 Derived usage
6 External links

[edit] Characters

Punch wears a jester's motley, is hunchbacked and his hooked nose almost meets his curved jutting chin. He carries a stick, as large as himself, which he freely uses upon all the other characters in the show. He 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— "That's the way to do it". So important is Mr. Punch's signature sound that it is a matter of some controversy within Punch and Judy circles as to whether a 'non swazzled' show can be considered a true Punch and Judy Show.

[edit] History

The Punch and Judy show can trace its roots to the 16th century to the Italian commedia dell'arte. The figure of Punch derives from the stock character of Pulcinella, which was Anglicized to Punchinello. He is a manifestation of the Lord of Misrule and Trickster figures of deep-rooted mythologies. Punch's wife was originally "Joan".

May 9, 1662 is traditionally reckoned by 'Professors' as Punch's UK birthday, for that was the first recorded date on which the figure who later became Mr. Punch was seen in Britain. The diarist Samuel Pepys observed a puppet show featuring an early version of the Punch character near St. Paul's Church in London's Covent Garden. It was performed by an Italian puppeteer, Pietro Gimonde operating as "Signor Bologna". Pepys described the event in his diary: "...an Italian puppet play, that is within the rails there, which is very pretty, the best that I ever saw, and great resort of gallants." Pepys went back several more times and continued to be amused. The puppet he saw was a marionette, not a glove-puppet, and Gimonde did his show within a tent.

The British "Punch and Judy" show is derived from the puppet character who spread across Europe. Many regional variants were developed. In Germany, Punch is called "Kasper" and Judy is "Grete". The characters date back to the 18th century in German-speaking countries. In the Netherlands, Punch is called Jan Klaassen (and Judy is Katrijn); in Denmark Mester Jackel; in Italy Pulcinella (with Teresina as the female part); in Russia Petruschka; in Romania Vasilache; and in France Polichinelle.

In the late 18th and early 19th Century the familiar Punch and Judy hand puppet show that existed in Britain was performed in an easily-transportable booth (known as a fit-up).

Modern British performances of Punch and Judy are no longer the traditional seaside entertainments, found in holiday resorts during the summer months, but a public attraction that can be seen at carnivals, festivals, birthday parties, and all manner of similar celebratory occasions. Apart from Punch and Judy, there is usually also their baby, a crocodile, and a string of sausages. The devil and Jack Ketch may also make appearances. The story changes, but some punchlines remain the same: Punch, for example, always says "That's the way to do it!"

[edit] Story

Punch and Judy at Swanage in 2006.

The tale of Punch and Judy varies from puppeteer to puppeteer and has changed over time. It typically involves Punch behaving outrageously, struggling with his wife Judy and the Baby, and then triumphing in a series of encounters with the forces of law and order (and often the supernatural). The classic ending of the show has him dispatching the Devil himself, exclaiming "Huzzah huzzah, I've killed the Devil!". All is performed in the spirit of outrageous comedy and is intended to provoke shocked laughter. Whilst the Victorian version of the show drew on the morality of its day, the 20th and 21st Century versions of the tale have evolved into something more akin to a primitive version of The Simpsons - in which a bizarre family is used as vehicle for grotesque visual comedy and a sideways look at contemporary society. The stereotypical view of Punch casts him as a deformed, child-murdering, wife-beating psychopath who commits appalling acts of violence and cruelty upon all those around him and escapes scot-free, - and is thus greatly enjoyed by small children. Terry Pratchett draws attention to this apparent paradox in his short story Theatre of Cruelty, the last line of which is "That's not the way to do it." In actual fact, Punch has long since reverted to his origins as a clown figure whose acts of violence are in the same tradition as those to be seen in all classic cartoons. The very stick he uses is a slapstick: the knockabout device which gave its name to a whole genre of broad physical comedy.

[edit] Published scripts

In 1828, the critic John Payne Collier published a Punch and Judy script under the title The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Punch and Judy. The script was illustrated by the well-known caricaturist George Cruickshank. Collier said his script was based on the version performed by the "professor" Giovanni Piccini in the early 19th century. The Collier/Cruickshank Punch has been republished in facsimile several times and is now available on the web in PDF form (see External Links). As Collier later went on to have a career as a literary forger, it throws some doubt on the authenticity of the script which is rather literary in style and may well have been tidied up from the rough and tumble street theatre original. Punch is primarily an oral tradition, handed down (or copied) from live performances more than from scripts. It is constantly in development and may even be considered a Traditional show in this respect. A transcript of a typical Punch and Judy show in London of the 1840s can be found in Henry Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor.

[edit] Derived usage

Punch, a long running British humour magazine, derived its name from Mr. Punch.
Riddley Walker, a 1980 novel by Russell Hoban, features as its main character a wanderer in a post-apocalyptic world where puppet shows put across the government's official message. Finding an old Punch puppet in the debris inspires Riddley to put together a puppet show opposing the government's tale and telling the true story of how civilization was destroyed.
The Punch and Judy Man was a 1961 movie, starring Tony Hancock as the title character.
Punch and Judy was the title of the 1967 opera by Harrison Birtwistle. Punch performers regard it as a humourless misreading of the traditional characters.
The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch: A Romance, a 1995 graphic novel by writer Neil Gaiman and artist Dave McKean, features a boy whose memories are triggered by a Punch and Judy show. Later, the band Future Bible Heroes wrote and performed "Mr. Punch" based on the graphic novel. The track appears on the Neil Gaiman-inspired compilation album, Where's Neil When You Need Him.
The British rock band Marillion released a song called "Punch & Judy" on their album Fugazi (1984), the lyrics having a divorce theme.
British pop band XTC recorded a song called "Punch and Judy" which deals with domestic violence.
American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith also released a song named "Punch and Judy" about a dysfunctional relationship.
Jasper Fforde's The Fourth Bear has two characters called Punch and Judy who fight constantly and have threatened several times to throw their baby down the stairs. They are the puppets, but are also alive.
Punch and Judy are the names of the hosts of the show-within-a-show, Big Shot, that regularly appears in the anime series Cowboy Bebop.
"Punch and Judy" is also the title of a short film by Czech filmmaker Jan Svankmajer. The film features two male puppets who ultimately end up beating each other to death. Punch 'Professors' consider it a humorless variant on the essentially comic Punch/Pulcinella tradition.
Punch and Judy are the names of two constructs in the webcomic Girl Genius. However the construct Punch does not talk and is supposedly very intelligent.
In the cartoon series The Batman, Punch and Judy are the names of The Joker's two jester-themed henchmen.
An episode of the TV series Are You Being Served? is titled, "The Punch and Judy Affair," where the staff of the store perform a life-size Punch and Judy show for the other employees' children.