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 glove-puppet show for children (although the earliest shows used marionettes), 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, who of course can only perform two characters at a time (one puppet on each hand.)

Contents

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

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 bizarre rasping voice, produced by a contrivance known as a swazzle or swatchel which the Professor holds in his mouth, transmitting his gleeful cackle— "as pleased as Punch". 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.

History

The Punch and Judy show has deep roots; it is ultimately based on the Italian commedia dell'arte, and the figure of Punch derives ultimately from the stock character of Pulcinella, which was sometimes 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!"

Story

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 , - 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 slap-stick: the knockabout device which gave its name to a whole genre of broad physical comedy.

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 an 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 WikiTraditional 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.

Derived usage

Punch, a long running British humour magazine, derives its name from Mr. Punch.
Riddley Walker, a 1982 novel by Russell Hoban, features as its main character a wandering Punch and Judy man in a post-apocalyptic world where Punch and Judy shows serve as the civic religion. The Punch and Judy shows have changed, however, and now tell the 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.
Charles Dickens, in the novel The Old Curiosity Shop writes of two Punch and Judy men, Codlin and Short. The villainous Quilp has many features that are reminiscent of Punch.
Marillion's 1984 album Fugazi features the hit-single "Punch & Judy", a song about marital disillusion and subsequent wife murder.
The Comical Tragedy of Punch and Judy, a 2002 graphic novel by writer Christopher P. Reilly and artist Darron Laessig, a comic book graphic novel adaptation of a Punch and Judy show.
The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch: A Romance, a 1994 graphic novel by writer Neil Gaiman and artist Dave McKean, features a boy whose memories are triggered by a Punch and Judy show.
A song entitled "Punch and Judy" appeared on Elliott Smith's 1997 album Either/Or.
Bitch Magnet's 1988 album Umber included a song entitled "Punch and Judy".
XTC have a song called "Punch and Judy" which appears on their b-sides collection "Rag and Bone Buffet".
Baseball players who provide very little power are sometimes called "Punch-and-Judy hitters".
The Pulcinella Awards are annual awards for excellence in animation, presented at the Cartoons on the Bay Festival in Positano, Italy.
There is a brand of cigar by the name of "Punch." The logo of the company is a punch puppet.
The "Punch and Judy Show" makes an appearance in the 1963 film Charade starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant.
The album Jollification by The Lightning Seeds included a track named "Punch and Judy". The lyrics allude to spousal abuse, child cruelty and the breakup of a marrige.
In the novel, I'm The King of The Castle, Charles Kingshaw is haunted by his childhood nightmares, one of which is the "Punch & Judy" show.

Many pairs of fictional characters in other works are named "Punch" and "Judy" in homage; for example:

Punch & Judy (stage names) are hosts of a fictional cowboy-themed crime show (akin to America's Most Wanted) called Big Shot, in the anime Cowboy Bebop, informing the "300,000 bounty hunters of the star system" of big bounties of the week.
Punch & Judy are a pair of characters in the Girl Genius comic books by Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio.
Punch & Judy are among the few surviving artifacts of the old world in Russell Hoban's post-apocalyptic novel Riddley Walker
Punch and Judy are the names of the main characters in the Rudyard Kipling story "Baa Baa Black Sheep"
In the animated TV series The Batman, Punch and Judy are accomplices of the supervillain known as Joker. Punch and Judy are mute, and appear as rotund brawlers dressed in clown garb.

External links

[Punch and Judy on the Web]
[The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Punch and Judy] -- PDF facsimile of an 1832 edition of Collier's script, with Cruickshank's illustrations.
[How to make a Punch and Judy show]
[Origin of the term 'Pleased as Punch', with some history of Punch and Judy shows]
[The Punch and Judy College of Professors: detailed site of leading UK professional Punch Profs organisation.]

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