Slapstick Issue 4 by Punch and Judy

ISSUE 4

December 20

6 15 Glorious Years

12 Joe Green

16 Painting Punch

14 Grave Concerns

24 How The Punch Show Was Made

28 Punch Gets Tricky

To submit contributions for the next issue, or to contact the editors, email slapstickjournal@gmail.com Many thanks to the Punch and Judy Club for their support. punchandjudyclub.com

Copyright 2020, all rights reserved. Reproduction in part or whole is forbidden without express permission of the publishers. All expressions and opinions demonstrated within the publication, are those of the Editors and contributors.

Christmas came early ÂŠ Stephen Milverton

Welcome to this fourth issue of Slapstick. Regular readers will know that we would normally have published an issue in May or June, but there seemed little to celebrate then, both in the Punch and Judy sphere, and the world at large. And whilst 2020 has been the strangest of years, there now seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. Lockdown and social distancing saw theatres closed and all manner of performances curtailed, but a few industrious professors persevered and Mr Punch made appearances in person at the Heights of Abraham and by the sea at Worthing and Teignmouth. Three cheers for Professors Coombs, Burns and Gayton. Some performers shifted to work online, which whilst not always ideal has helped keep Mr Punch’s anarchic humour alive. Many puppeteers have said how much they have missed performing this year – the sound of children’s laughter is a real tonic. The late, great Rod Burnett’s sign written proscenium comes to mind: “Rod Burnett’s Original Punch and Judy Theatre. A Cure For All Ills. Three Doses Daily.”. Hopefully, with vaccines being made available at the time of writing, 2021 will offer us all a more normal year, or as normal as Mr Punch is used to, and he can continue entertaining audiences of all ages. Many thanks to those who have taken time to contribute to this issue. We always welcome your correspondence, and articles. Do please drop us a line with your thoughts or feedback. Wishing you and your families a peaceful Christmas, and all the best for the year ahead.

Richard Coombs

A song title from the Marat-Sade a musical play I performed at sixth form college in Stratford upon Avon. It was ironically describing the long and bloody French Revolution. So although ‘Fifteen Years of Fun’ would be a more apt title here, in the past whenever I’ve wondered if my seasons up at The Heights of Abraham would notch up the magical fifteen, that’s the phrase and music I’ve heard in my head.

through the new regulations…did this change things?

To be fair, Heights hadn’t actually cancelled, and their website still had Punch and Judy listed on the events page. But they were waiting, like everyone else, for the government to relax or clarify the rules. Week after week it showed no signs of happening. And with a heavy heart Heights phoned me to say the Corona virus restrictions meant it was impossible to have our shows. I was officially cancelled and the pics of Punch were removed from the website.

But for me the most impactful Covid measure was that Heights had to space out the tables inside the Vista Restaurant. So in order to stay financially viable they had moved half the tables outside onto the Piazza Terrace. This is where my show had been located for fourteen years.

Finally, on Saturday, early evening, I got the phone call: “Load the van tomorrow, be here Monday morning, set up the booth, we are having shows!”

Fantastic news, but the start of a long slog for me. It always takes me two days to get all the parts of my gargantuan theatre out of the storage shed, sorted and loaded into both my vans. And I usually like to do that and have I very nearly didn’t make it to fifteen consecutive Sum- at least a day’s rest before driving it all to Derbyshire mers in Matlock Bath though. Who could have foreseen to start setting up. Now with only a few hours notice I a year like 2020? Like all my fellow Punch performers, had to do it all in just one day. And it turned out to be the moment Corona virus hit my bookings started can- a roasting hot Sunday too, which made the work even celling. Like dominoes they fell, schools shows, village harder and more exhausting. fetes, council fun days, festivals and theme parks…gone, Not that I was complaining: I felt like the luckiest man evaporated, vanished. alive. Heights of Abraham were determined to have Long before such gatherings were legislated against, their fifteenth season of Punch despite the fact it wasn’t event organisers got cold feet and cancelled. It’s an- going to be an easy task. I might have had to load my noying to look back and see how many of those early vans in record time on the hottest day of the year so far, springtime outdoor bookings could have quite safely and but they had a much bigger problem to solve, where to legally taken place. I wonder if Punch and Judy shows put me? survived better at private houses through the early Covid months? Not doing children’s parties myself, I can’t Heights had actually been forced to completely close answer that. Eventually, as we know, all performances down for some months, and like every other hospitality were outlawed and right across our country the fun just business they had been required to comply with a deluge of rules and regulations to be allowed to reopen at stopped. all. Perspex screens were everywhere as were new signs. The saddest blow was cancellation of the Covent Gar- Lots and lots of signs. Also social distancing markers were den May Fare. Not simply that it didn’t happen, but that being painted and stuck onto floors and pathways. There it robbed Maggie Pinhorn and Alternative Arts of the were not only hand sanitiser dispensers everywhere, but record of 45 unbroken years of that wonderful festival. also full on hand washing stations installed and plumbed Compared to that, the prospect of me missing 15 un- in right where you got onto the cable cars and where you arrived top-side. broken Summers at Heights is small fry.

That was on Wednesday. On Thursday the government made an announcement they were going to allow outdoor performances. I heard the news before Heights did, not surprising as it was all that us performers were talking about. Our social media was buzzing with optimistic messages. I emailed Heights and told them to look

If you are saying to yourself: “Easy, just put the show somewhere else!” then you have never visited the Heights of Abraham. It’s a wonderful and unique place. In fact, it is Derbyshire’s oldest visitor attraction. There is the scenic cable car ride to transport you to the summit, there are guided tours through two wonderful show caverns (actually Victorian lead mines), there are two children’s playgrounds, there are acres of nature walks,

The Piazza is the only large, flat, level space, which is why it was the obvious, and only choice of where to position my show when I started performing there in 2006. So not only did we need to find a non-existent new space to put the show, but it had to be an even bigger space than before, as our audience was going to have to be really spread out. No theatre like rows of seats this time, but instead, many small clusters of chairs arranged for family bubble groups a minimum of a meter apart from any other neighbouring group. The only bit of open land big enough to take the audience was ground at the top of the amphitheatre. And sadly no, the amphitheatre although it sounds the perfect spot for a show was no good. You never want your audience looking steeply down into a puppet proscenium, totally the wrong sight lines! As with everywhere else this ground was not level, but in the centre it only sloped gently, so our green plastic seats would be ok placed all over it. There was also a scenic telescope right in the middle, but Heights said they could remove that and cover the trip hazard concrete base with a picnic table. My theatre would have to go at one end or other of this big curve of ground. However, both these sides had much steeper gradients. No good to build a large wooden booth on. I instantly discounted one side as putting the show there would mean the sun was always shining directly into the audience’s eyes, a big no-no. Which left us with only one place in the whole of the venue to put the

Photo - Richard Coombs

here are two restaurants, there are exhibitions and a film show, there is a tower to climb. However, what there is definitely not is an abundance of flat ground anywhere. Sloped and slanted best describes the topography of the whole vast site.

show, and it was very steep ground. Thankfully the Pugh family who own and run Heights are not quitters. They employ a landscaping company to do all the major work there. Luckily Derwents were already on site trying to get the place reopened by the weekend, creating new paths and fencing to make areas of the venue one way for social distancing. Derwents more than rose to the challenge. I marked out the area the puppet booth and front fencing would need. My booth is not small, so the area was very large. They said they could build a level area in a single day.

bends. Half the time we are driving forwards the other half we are going up steep slopes in reverse gear! It absolutely terrified me the first year I did it with him. And even now it still feels like I’m on a funfair ride. But this is how the majority of the food deliveries and cleaning supplies get to the summit every day, so Ian does this journey dozens of times day in day out.

It takes us around six Land Rover loads to get all my gear topside, two from my small van and four from my big Sprinter van. Neither of my vans has the power of the Land Rover’s Anywhere else this might have four-wheel drive, even if I did have sounded impossible, but I had seen the bottle to attempt that mad jourthem at work before, truly they are ney …which I don’t! miracle workers. Meanwhile, Derwents worked hard, While they set about ordering in knocking in posts and securing huge gravel and timber I set about getting planks of timber the size of railway the first van load of theatre panels to sleepers, adding log fencing and wire the summit. Ian the Heights resident panels. Finally depositing two tipper groundsman does this with me every trucks worth of gravel chips into the Summer. Without Ian’s enthusiastic huge surround they had constructed. help the show wouldn’t happen at To get it done they were going to all. We load the bulky, heavy theatre have to work late, so I did give them parts into the back of one of Heights’ a hand shoveling the gravel round many Land Rovers. Then Ian drives and raking it level. For the curious up a service road, not accessible to minds; the tipper lorries got to the the public. This road has massive summit via a different service road gradients, is very narrow with hairpin that doesn’t require them to do any

“...audience shouting is a relatively new chapter in Mr Punch’s long history.” opened the Pugh’s further surprised me with a wonderful cake to celebrate our fifteen years of working together. Compared to how some venues, and Councils treat their Punch I am very, very lucky that Heights are so supportSo just as promised, there was a brand ive. new pitch for my booth in a spot where only a day earlier it would have To complete the new set up I did have been quite impossible to build the to buy wood and build a new wooden show. fence around the booth, and rework how my troughs of silk flowers were Goodness knows how much this cost to fit. But compared to building the the Pughs . And in a year where they huge gravel hard standing this was an had lost many months of income and easy job, and I was happy to do it. had to spend out huge sums on so many other costly Covid measures When asked to write this article Slapto reopen at all. I am truly grateful stick wanted to know how we manfor their dedication and commitment aged to make the show Covid friendly to having Punch and Judy as a central and cope with things like the audience part of their Summertime. Once we not being allowed to shout. But you

see for me I always knew these things would be easy to achieve. I am lucky that my show is not totally dependent on constant audience replies to function. Geoff Felix will tell you that constant audience shouting is a relatively new chapter in Mr Punch’s long history. Not so many decades ago a lot of shows were ‘watched’ by audiences who were never expected to participate in any way except by laughing - and paying!. So the audience were never the problematic part of the equation for me or Heights… the difficult part was physically finding a new flat place to position the show. But this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The spot where the show had been for fourteen summers was nice, but this new pitch was so much better.

Photo - Richard Coombs

driving in reverse. But this is a much longer route, accessed from the other side of the next town, Matlock. Again it’s a private road, most of which is barely more than a dirt track.

Heights of Abraham owners Mr and Mrs Pugh presenting Richard with a 15 year celebration cake.

Photo - Richard Coombs

â&#x20AC;&#x153;But how did we cope with the audience participation not being allowed?â&#x20AC;?

A booth with a view. No way would Heights have gone to the trouble and expense of all that landscaping in my first year of being up there. But Covid forced their hand. So for its landmark fifteenth season my show was sited right by one of the most breathtaking views in the whole of Derbyshire. And with my new fence and flowers in place plus the view, the whole ensemble was stunning . Such a perfect view, demands a perfect booth so the new position has inspired me to build myself a brand new theatre for the 2021 season. While the old booth has served me well, fourteen years of sunshine and rain have taken its toll on some of the woodwork. It was due a renovation. Had Covid not happened and

had we remained in the old spot, then just a renovation is what the booth would have got. But the new improved pitch truly deserves a new and improved booth. So right now that is what I am in the process of building. But how did we cope with the audience participation not being allowed? Simple. I was honest with my audience. In the warm up I just levelled with them. I told them how close we had come to not having a show at all. I asked them not to move the chairs closer to other people but stay seated in their bubble groups. And said that despite being able to have a performance, the government rules still stipulated no audience participation. Instead, just for this year, we

would add some hand gestures and clap signals which they needed to do at certain moment, or in response to certain characters. For instance, there was a snap clap sequence to do whenever they saw the crocodile. The audiences were absolutely marvelous. After so many months of lockdown I think they were just glad to be out of the house and having some live entertainment. They were as good as gold and didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make a sound for the entire Summer. True, every now and then a family would arrive and sit down half way through a show and start to shout. It was a huge hilarity to the rest of the audience - and me - to witness them instantly realise they were the only ones shouting in an otherwise silent

audience. So they stopped right away, often I could see another Mum signaling in mime to them that shouting wasn’t happening at this show. It was a perfect opportunity for whichever puppet was onstage at that moment to speak directly to that family and make a joke of the situation.

show. The Health and Safety man, or woman, now seems here to stay. I didn’t join in with this before as I felt uncertain how I wanted to use him in my show. But Covid solved that for me, and my version of the puppet not only has the clipboard many of them sport , but also a two meter measuring stick to check and enforce social distancing.

the applause was heartfelt and I felt tinged with real gratitude. Gratitude for being able to see a show not watched on a TV screen, phone or tablet. A show that despite all the odds they had been allowed to watch live. A show lucky enough to have notched up fifteen consecutive years at the same venue. Fifteen glorious years in fact. A show now confirmed for its sixteenth season in The puppet of Captain, now Sir, 2021 - and with a brand new theaTom Moore that I’d build during tre! I have plans for a very lavish prolockdown turned up to have a cuppa scenium and pelmet and it’s going to with Mr Punch; and also get an en- be breathtakingly gorgeous. thusiastic burst of applause for being an all-round decent chap. Check the Heights website next spring for dates and show times, and New characters aside, it was pretty also to find out whether you will be much business as usual apart from a allowed to shout and join in. silent audience. But as I told them in the warm up “The government says www.heightsofabraham.com outdoor audiences are not allowed to shout or sing, but they have not Did I say check their website in the banned laughing…yet!” Spring? “Oh no I didn’t…”

Before the summer I had finally built myself a Health and Safety Officer and he came in handy for reiterating the rules and regulations. I had avoided having one of these characters before, I think it was Glyn Edwards who started the trend about ten years ago. Since then they have become something of a show staple, largely due to Miraiker churning them out in their ginger haired dozens for many performers. This can be a good thing, that is how new characters get added to the stock cast. Many performers have their own topical novelty characters, but it takes a large uptake for a new character to become an ac- And laugh they did! It was a wondercepted established member of the ful season. At the end of the show

Health and Safety Officer.

Photo - Richard Coombs

Richard Coombs

Captain Sir Tom Moore.

Photos - David Wilde Archive

In 1880 Jack Green, a second generation Punch showman, walked from his home in Manchester to the golden mile of sand at Blackpool, pushing his booth and puppets on a handcart in hope of a lucrative summer season. So began the Green family’s residence as Blackpool’s first family of Punch and Judy, entertaining the holiday makers at the north’s premiere resort for over one hundred years. At one time there were nine different Green Punch pitches in the town, and the family spread even further when Jack Green Jr moved to Rhyl, in North Wales, taking Mr Punch him. Joe Green, Jack Jr’s son returned to Blackpool, leaving his brother Ted to manage the pitch at Rhyl. Joe famously combined the numerous Green pitches at Blackpool, performing his show from a converted Landover, letting him take Mr Punch to as many crowds as possible during the day, making the best of what can be a precarious livelihood. Ted died in the 1980s, and his puppets can now be seen in the Cae Dai 50s Museum, Denbigh. Joe survived his brother, and kept the tradition alive in Blackpool, even as the resort’s popularity dwindled. Archive footage of Joe’s show can be seen at amber-online.com. His use of rhythm, along with excellent comic timing and puppet manipulation make this a masterly performance, and one we can all admire and learn from. Sadly, Joe passed away on the 21st of June this year, aged 95. In recent years he had been working with David Wilde and Emma Heslewood of Showtown, Blackpool’s new “side-tickling, eye-popping, toe-tapping, mindboggling museum of fun and entertainment.” Whilst the last of Blackpool’s Punch dynasty may have gone, his memories and magic remain. Showtown have said they “will be celebrating the amazing legacy of Joe and his family of performers within the Museum, ensuring that their story will not be forgotten”, a celebration which is richly deserved. James Arnott November 2020

Photo - Mellors and Kirk Auctions

Mr Punch is a highly collectable chap. This beautiful fin de siècle automated picture, Le Surprise de Pierrot, came up for auction at Mellors and Kirk, Nottingham, in October this year. It shows Pierrot recoiling in surprise as a smiling pig’s head appears from the pie before him, as Pulcinella and Harlequin appear at the windows. The original art work for this is available as a download through Getty Images. Varnished lithographed paper on board, contained within a marbled paper covered softwood box. 40cm x 52cm x 10cm. Hammer price £320.

GOTCHA!

Photos - Stephen Milverton

V DAY

14 Photo - David Wilde

“We found a metal gate, leading to a bridge, and when we crossed we found a tiny graveyard, with about fifty plots, hidden amongst some trees.”

Christopher, his father Tony (another Punch man) and I, embarked one Saturday in September to find it. We turned up outside an old school in Ockley where we had information the graveyard was but we couldn’t find the graveyard.

We went back to the school for a second look, and found a narrow alleyway between some farm buildings. I worried we were on someone’s private land. We found a metal gate, leading to a bridge, and when we crossed we found a tiny graveyard, with about fifty plots, hidden amongst some trees. It was easy to find Joe’s final resting place in such a small graveyard. The stone was leaning to the left, and was rather dirty. My grandfather had cleaned it twenty-five years previously, but I doubt anyone had tended to it since. We gave it a mild clean, and took a photo showing Joe and his iconic Punch puppet. We were glad to have found it, but we did not have the tools or time to give the plot the attention it needed.

Photo - David Wilde

I asked my grandfather Peter Croker about it, as he had visited to pay his respects twenty-five years previously when he was researching the film and searching for the puppets that starred in it. All he could remember was that Hastings had been buried in Ockley, Surrey, and that there were two graveyards there, one very old, and one not so. He thought that the gravestone was in the more modern of the two.

away in October 1962, the month after making the film. Sadly, he was only 61.

Christopher Drewitt and Joe’s gravestone.

Christopher took it on himself to look after the grave. He made two further visits that month to clean the stone properly, and to reset the stone vertically. The results speak for themselves. I am sure Joe would be pleased.

We then relooked up the David Wilde graveyards and realised there October 2020 were two addresses. This one was more promising as it was attached to a church. Looking at the gravestones we realised this was far too old to have Joe in it, as he passed

Photo - Christopher Drewitt

As many readers will know Tony Hancock’s 1963 film The Punch and Judy Man has become something of an obsession. And in true 2020 style it has become contagious, and I’ve caught fellow Punch prof and friend Christopher Drewitt up in it too. He and I decided that we wanted to locate Joe Hasting’s grave as it was one of the few links with the film that we hadn’t explored.

After the restoration.

Photo - John Applegate

Frank Welsh’s show, Gorleston beach, 1990. The sun was obscured by cloud but that didn’t affect the immense heat one perfect summer’s day last year. I had just finished setting up the booth on Gorleston beach and had noticed a smartly dressed gentleman, sporting a Panama hat looking on with interest in the show and its construction. “Hello! I’m John, the artist.” This would be the first time I would meet John Applegate in person. We had spoken at length once before on the phone, talking about Punch and painting and my future appearances with the show at the beach. He had come down to support me and to gather ideas for some forthcoming paintings. John, now at octogenarian, has been painting since a child but one subject he has painted over and over again is the Punch and Judy show.

haystacks and cornfields. During wartime one of his drawings helped in a small way. A German plane had been shot down close to where the family lived and on the way to school, walking through the countryside with his brother, they had spotted the wreckage of the plane. After playing amongst it they arrived at school. During art John began drawing the wreckage he had seen and was asked by the art teacher why he had not drawn the policeman guarding it? “There wasn’t one” replied John, after which the police were swiftly called and the plane wreckage, that had alluded the authorities, was quickly found thanks to John’s picture.

In the late 1950s, after his National Service, while working at his father’s garage and taxi company, he met renowned maritime Born in 1935 John Applegate began drawing and painting as a artist Rowland Fisher. Although elderly at the time they struck child for enjoyment. Living on a country estate in Riversdown, up a friendship, and John would regularly assist setting up his West Meon, he would draw and paint whatever he could see canvas and easels at various locations. He would then help by in the surrounding countryside, from tractors and machinery to loading up paint on the canvas for skies and seascapes.

“John, now at octogenarian, has been painting since a child but one subject he has painted over and over again is the Punch and Judy show.”

Eventually Rowland suggested John might have a go for himself and presented John with his own oil paints and easel. His advice for painting outside was to paint quickly to capture the mood. John continued to paint and in the late 1960s his work was regularly seen at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in London. A successful driving instructor, John always found time for his love of painting. During family holidays with his wife Daphne and children, John would sit painting various coastal scenes. It was on a visit to Weymouth he began to paint Guy Higgins’s Punch and Judy Show on the beach. The booth fascinated John with its colour and the way it could attract more crowds than anything else on the beach. He decided to paint the show before the audience arrived, from two different angles, and then paint in the audience later. This would become a regular favourite subject from his visits to Weymouth and his paintings were exhibited in the town on a regular basis.

After retiring in 1994 John spent even more time painting and fulfilling his ambitions, staging two successful solo exhibitions in Norfolk. His paintings have featured on Christmas cards for the past seventeen years raising funds for worthy causes, including his local hospital, Norfolk Accident Rescue and Acle Emergency Response. When John first contacted me, he mentioned his daughter Rae has seen a photo of my show, taken at the picturesque village of Potter Heigham on the Norfolk Broads. I sent him a couple of photographs and a few months later he presented me with a painting of my show. I was overwhelmed by his kindness and generosity and it now takes pride of place on my study wall.

Photo - John Applegate

As with his friend and mentor Fisher, the coast would feature in much of John’s work. He struck up a friendship with the,

then Gorleston beach, Punch and Judy man Frank Welsh. This provided further inspiration for John, right on his doorstep, gaining him the affectionate nickname of ‘The Punch and Judy Man’. He painted Welsh’s small booth many times and one of these paintings is now in the Royal Collection alongside another of his works.

Guy Higgins’ show, Weymouth beach.

Photo - John Applegate

One of the joys of performing Punch and Judy is that you meet so many interesting and talented people along the way: photographers or artists who want to share their passions...

Bryan Clarke entertains at a birthday party.

Socially distanced meet up, November 2020.

This year is surely one we would like to forget, day after day waiting for some positive news and hope. John certainly did brighten mine with a phone call saying he had once again painted my show on Gorleston beach. Eventually, when it was safe to do so, at a socially distanced meet up he showed me not one but two studies of the beach show, which my family and I shall treasure for years to come. One of the joys of performing Punch and Judy is that you meet so many interesting and talented people along the way: photographers or artists who want to share their passions, and people who want to share their memories of watching shows when they were children. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m so thankful for that original phone call from John sharing his encouragement, his talent and, most importantly, his friendship. Daniel Hanton December 2020

Photo - Les Clarke Estate

I was very sorry to hear of the death of Punch performer Les Clarke of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, aged 70 after a brave battle with cancer. Les was a true Punch enthusiast, magnificently restoring old puppets and adding clever tricks and routines to his show. He had worked as a graphic designer at the Huddersfield Examiner, where he was also head of the union, but took early retirement to devote his time to Mr Punch, working under the apt name Proper Punch, at shows across the North of England. Les took great care with everything he did, and his approach to the Punch show was fastidious. His performance and his puppet characters were constantly evolving. His magnificent Sun and Moon Booth, was often dressed with period luggage, bunting and flags to help set the scene, and his puppets looked like prime examples from days gone by. And whilst some of them were genuine vintage pieces, by the likes of Quisto and Kent, as a talented carver, sculptor and painter he was able to recreate these makers’ techniques, creating brand new puppets in a vintage style.

He was always keen to share his ideas, and was an avid poster on Chris Somerville’s PunchandJudy.com message board. Whilst his fascinating collection of puppets, toys, Ally Sloper and Victoriana has now been dispersed, it can still be seen on flickr, along with detailed photos of his creative process. I fondly remember talking to him at the Buxton Puppet Festival some years ago. Les approached holding a large cardboard box, and we were having a conversation about puppet making, slowly two ferret puppets raised their heads over the edge of the box to sniff the air, then dropped back down. This continued for some time, much to some nearby children’s amusement, whilst Les kept a totally straight face. Les was an eccentric, like most who find Mr Punch a part of their lives. We should be grateful that Mr Punch brought his talent and passion into our sphere. James Arnott May 2020

Harperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Weekly, 1870.

Ray died at home surrounded by family after a short illness. His white trilby and beaming smile will be sorely missed on Weymouth beach, rest well, friend. Joe Burns December 2020

Photo - Joe Burns

Ray has spent the last seven years working as the bottler with Professor Mark Poulton on Weymouth beach. Mark remembers how it was like a living Carry On film working with Ray on the beach, he could often be heard saying ‘Oh hello’ or ‘Ding dong’ to the ladies. Ray was never a stranger to a microphone and in his role as Mayor of Weymouth compèred the 350th Punch and Judy celebrations on Weymouth beach. Ray was a keen cabaret performer, and spoke fondly of his Freddie Mercury act, he also spoke often of his days as a football referee.

Professor Smith at Margate, c1910 ÂŠ David Wilde Archive

Photo - Chris Somerville

How an Italian puppet lost his strings and conceived a whole new style of puppetry A plethora of books have been written about the origins of the Punch & Judy Show but none do more than hint at how the very distinctive theme and form of the Victorian and present day Punch & Judy Show evolved. This is because this is not the territory of the historian but is something that can really only be deduced by the Punch & Judy performer himself. Nobody wrote nor invented Punch and Judy, it was a show that invented itself as the practical solution to fit a particular set of performing conditions facing puppeteers of the 18th century.

began to decline. Their costly staging and large operating and staffing costs were no longer economically viable and many troupes closed.

Mr Punch survived, but now as a Hand puppet and no longer part of a troupe but as part of a one-man travelling show. He appeared in a booth which was pushed around the streets to find an audience. It was these new performing conditions from which the nature of the Punch & Judy show evolved. We don’t know the name of the first performer to have the idea of taking to the streets Originally Punch came from Italy, devel- with a hand puppet Punch show, but we oped from a Neapolitan zany called Pul- can imagine how the various consideracinella, a character from the Commedia tions must have dictated how the perdell’arte. This character arrived in Britain formance was to develop. in 1662 as a marionette or puppet on strings. The character’s name was Angli- Let us consider these performing condicised to Punchinello and later shortened tions: The booth needed to be portable, to Punch. He became a minor charac- quickly erected and worked by solo perter who added comic interludes to the former in the street or the market place, standard repertoire of dramatizations and to a standing audience. It had to be of historical and biblical stories as well high enough to be above the eye level as developing into a major character in of, say, a small child sitting on a father’s an astonishing variety of farces, satirical shoulders. Thus a booth as wide as a plays, burlesques of opera and topical man’s arm span, and with a stage opencomedies. ing slightly above a standing person’s eye level evolved. The width was deterThe Marionette troupes of the period mined by the fact that to work puppets were elaborate in staging and employed high enough to be visible it was necesmany puppet operators as well as musi- sary to use Hand or Glove puppets and cians and stage staff. They played at all a maximum of two characters to appear the Great Fairs and at the religious Feasts at a time. This meant that Punch, would and Festivals which were the only holi- be on stage the majority of the time. It days of the common man. The Puppet was logical therefore that he would be Shows were extremely popular, and manipulated on the dominant hand. This many showmen became very prosper- is where the tradition of Punch always ous. being on the right hand, on the left side of the stage, as seen from the audience’s Punch’s character struck a chord with the point of view, evolved. British sense of humour and quickly became a favourite with audiences. Punch The stage fit-up had to be light enough remained popular, although the taste for to push around the streets and was kept the marionette shows diminished. A cen- as compact as possible. This resulted in a tury later when the marionette shows rather narrow proscenium, lacking wing

space and little opportunity for scenery. These limitations influence the form of drama. The lack of wing space and wide viewing angle meant conventional entrances from each side were impractical. The puppeteer soon found that just popping each puppet up into view, and exiting in an equally unrealistic manner was happily accepted by the audience and made for a quicker, slicker show. With changing scenery the hero would be able to go on a quest, changing location and meeting various protagonists. But in the case of the Punch show the actual limitations of the booth persuades us to reverse this. The hero stays in situ and the various characters visit him in a series of confrontations. This simple but fundamental reversal of proceedings goes a long way to explaining the unique format of the Punch show. Mainly performed outdoors, whether on the street or village green, to a shifting, casual audience in a noisy environment dictates that subtlety of incident is wasted. The show cannot depend on dialogue but must rely on lively action to hold attention, and to this end what better than to use the natural movements of the glove puppet which are, after all, the movements of the human hand (fighting, grasping, lifting, carrying, cuddling, kissing, handling objects - unlike marionettes who kick, and leap, and posture) You can clearly see here how sitting on the playboard, the business with the baby, the slapstick, the kissykissy antics, Punch & Judy dancing, the counting the corpses, the boxing match and the crocodile snapping; all develop from movements that are natural to one performer working two puppets. The action-script almost writes itself. Obviously outdoor shows developed before the days of amplification had to

be visual, no depending over much on dialogue and verbal humour. The strident tone of the Swazzle advertised the presence of Punch but did nothing to contribute to clarity. Obviously loud, clear and short pithy dialogue coupled with broad action had to be the aim. What dialogue there is, is almost a ritual chant which accentuates the rhythm of the show. For example “One poor fellow, two poor fellows, three poor fellows” as Punch lifts each of the puppets hanging over the playboard. It was an ever-changing audience with no real opportunity to tell a complete story which resulted in a series of encounters each funny on its own. So each character, a stereotype, is in some form of conflict with Punch (conflict provides drama) and once the humour has been extracted Punch dispatches that character to make way for the next. His use of the slapstick is ritual rather than murder. A speedy way of ending a scene and getting on with the next encounter. It is a convention with no relation to reality. This is where bad Punchmen fail.

Prof. Percy Press Senior was the perfect exponent of this. As each scena (pronounced Shay-nah) came to an end Percy deftly hit his antagonist and all in one movement twirled the puppet round the stick and tossed the limp figure over his shoulder. There was no malice in Percy’s Punch – he didn’t kill his opponents, he dispatched them. I have seen some shows where I have cringed at Punch’s enthusiasm for battery.

In essence the Punch & Judy Show uses crude puppets in a stylised performance to produce a simple story, told with broad strokes, and in story-board sequences. On reflection, this made it very easy for Cruikshank to record the show graphically, in a way which reminds me of the Rupert Bear Annuals of my childhood. I feel sure that this reduction to essentials is what has made the Punch Show so enduring, so resistant to major change. True, each performer brings his individuality to the show and creates it anew, but those who deviate too far from the pattern lose the unique quality that differentiates a Punch & Judy Show from any other kind of puppet show. Elaborate Punch at your peril!

In many ways the figures used in the Punch show are crude. Frequently carved on the road by the showman, often lacking good tools, materials, or much artistic skill. The style was naive and usually garishly painted. This matched the flavour of the show and gradually the lack of technique and finesse developed into a Chris Somerville style which still dictates the appearance October 2020 of the wooden actors which even skilful carvers now emulate. Occasionally someone makes a set of more realistic figures, smoother, more appealing, but they never seem right. Punch remains happier in the Cruikshank landscape than that of Disney.

‘Please, sir, I want some more.’ The master was a fat, healthy man; but he turned very pale. He gazed in stupified astonishment on the small rebel for some seconds, and then clung for support to the copper. The assistants were paralysed with wonder; the boys with fear.

‘What!’ said the master at length, in a faint voice. ‘Please, sir,’ replied Oliver, ‘I want some more.’

The following ideas below were complied for Geoff Felix in 2016, but have been revisited and updated. Here’s hoping there are plenty of birthday party shows to add them to in the year ahead. Many enterprising magic dealers have put out Punch and Judy themed magic tricks over the years, just as many of them encouraged magicians to take up Punch as the ideal add on to a birthday party package. Any one of these would fit in well at a birthday party as a lead in

to the Punch show, especially if you are regularly appear for sale on eBay and at just doing a one hour show, without a magic conventions, though can sell for in break for tea and games. excess of £100. It is likely that this was based on a similar, much smaller trick, The most famous, and most collectable, put out by Silray in the early 1960 with Punch themed trick is The Magic Punch postcard sized images and a wooden and Judy Show by Supreme Magic. picture frame. Using colourful card images Punch escapes from a prison and swaps place Magitrix adapted the classic Skeleton with Judy, a Policeman appears and the in the Cupboard/ABC Blocks trick, Baby disappears, reappearing later on and produced a great version starring your back. The art work is very strong Punch. Mr Punch is painted onto three and colourful. Whilst not produced at (or rather four - but don’t tell the audithe moment, second hand versions ence) wooden building blocks stacked

vertically, and they assemble in a comical and confusing way when slid into a tube, or in this case, miniature booth. This is certainly a prop that could be made at home, or a second hand Skeleton in the Cupboard (much easier to find than Punch) could be repainted. Other tricks featuring Mr Punch include Punch’s Dilemma made by Davenports in the 1950s (getting hard to find, but worth hunting out) and Protean Punch by Brian Baggs. Huge mileage can be had by remaking John Breed’s amazingly simple Visible Magic Painting, or adapting Gary Marks’ New Style Magic Painting (beautifully made by Practical Magic - and still available) with an image of Punch and Judy, which you could customise to your own booth and puppets. The coloured image could then be given to the birthday child, with your ever important contact details at the bottom. Perhaps the image to be coloured could be a black and white clock, or next show sign resting on the playboard? The performer could say it looks far too boring for such a colourful show and needs to be coloured before the show could start. Practical Magic have a set of 18inch Monkey Silks with a charming cartoon character straight out of the Punch show. The set lends itself perfectly to a Magic Colouring routine: in short, a white silk, with a black line drawing of the monkey is dropped into a Change Bag along with several small coloured silks and

out comes a colourful picture of the monkey. Perhaps this could then lead into the Multiplying Sponge Bananas (available from both Propdog and Practical Magic). The magician puts a banana into the booth over the playboard to tempt the monkey out to start the show, but one isn’t enough and an endless stream of bananas is produced. David Ginn created a similar routine using Goshman sponge sausages, that transform into a string of sausages, and then a giant sized hotdog. This could easily tie into the Punch and Judy Show, as could multiplying red sponge balls, as clown noses, utilising the same moves.

tively easy to create a seaside themed show, to work alongside Punch. Fun at the Seaside by Eric Hawksworth (Supreme Magic) comes to mind, as does creating a Chop Cup routine from a small ball, bucket and spade, perhaps using a sandcastle shell as the final load. John Kimmon’s The Great Fish Race, available made to order by John, has become very popular, as it really gets the children and adults shouting, and makes a star out of the birthday child. With a stretch of the imagination Charles A. Scott’s Tale of a Donkey (originally Supreme Magic and more recently by Mr E Enterprises), an effect based on the party game Pin the Tail on the Donkey, could Jack Hughes marketed an ef- be given a vintage seaside fect called Forgetful Joey the twist. Clown, where a wooden cut of Joey, in a bright yellow cos- Given so many of us have tume, loses his head which bunting and Union Flags vanishes, is replaced with a decorating our shows Misballoon, which then bursts to made Flag seems at home in reveal Joey’s head back in its front of a Punch booth. I have rightful place. Bill Lainsbury’s found it is also a great trick to I Scream, Ice Cream (Su- work with Punch at fetes and preme Magic) sees picture of events as a warm up to get a vanilla ice cream turn into a the audience shouting. Practistrawberry ice cream when cal Magic have a really nice set put behind your back, after of these, Ultimate Mis-Made much repetition and the chil- Flag, again made in 18 inch dren insisting you just turned silks, that comes with a great it around you show them the idea by Ted Lumby of a letback of the cone is in fact a ter from the Queen, which white faced clown. Whilst can tie in with the heraldry the art work on these is a lit- and crests beloved by many tle garish and dated both of Punch performers. them are readily available via eBay or second hand magic James Arnott dealers, and the link with Joey with thanks to Max Fulham in the Punch show is clear. March 2016 and November 2020 I wouldn’t recommend only using Punch themed tricks, however it would be rela-

30 Photo - David Wilde Archive

A SKETCH ON THE SANDS The following interesting article appeared in a recent issue of the Liverpool Courier under the signature of “Vevey Webster” a lady who is not unknown in Hastings, having been a visitor here:– He stood on the sands; blue sky above him and the gay tumult of a popular holiday haunt all around him. The matinee was just over, and he was lounging against his show. Not with any air of pride of ownership, but rather as one wont to take comfort from contact with it, as if from long use he had become part of it. A lean, sun-browned fellow, with a bright eye and an alert expression; clearly intelligent and worth talking with, if one could only draw him into conversation, which is not a difficult task to effect by the summer’s sea, where etiquette is delightfully free and easy. You don’t need a master of ceremonies to introduce you to that pretty little woman you meet on the beach so frequently, whose looks are of the kindest; you probably venture to raise your hat in passing; next time you meet, you make an original remark on the sea or the weather, and at the third encounter you ask permission to share her stroll, and there you are – introduced without a name being mentioned, and fixed for a day’s or a week’s flirtation, as the case may be. And so with the Punch and Judy showman1. In Rome one must be a Roman, and so – “Very hot to-day,” said I, sauntering up to him, a piece of gratuitous information which he acknowledged by touching his cap, and responding – “Rather hotter than yesterday, mum.” Our introduction was complete. “I have been watching Punch and Judy from the promenade,” I began, by way of improving the occasion, seating myself on one of the highly painted boats moored on the beach in front of the show. Troops of children tumbled all about that corner of the beach, in and

out of the boats; racing down to meet the waves with bare feet flashing in the sun, and petticoat and trousers well tucked up over long brown legs; women sat among the pebbles in the shadow of the promenade wall, reading, knitting, doing nothing. On the right, the pier, a delicately wrought bridge of white and gold, ending in an ornate dome, stretched away into the sea of glittering sapphire. Above was the Vanity Fair of the promenade, like a kaleidoscope, with the patter changing every moment, and loud with passing feet, the cries of hawkers, and the blare of instruments. Not a single completed line, not a moment of repose; ravishing bonnets, gorgeous sunshades, looking like huge butterflies, floated past in the crowd – the sheen of silk and the glow of fine raiment intensifying the brilliance of the sunshine. In a word, it was the time of laughter - it was the height of the season at Hastings. THE SHOWMAN TALKS “It was only a poor performance this mornin’, miss. I can’t play up when there ain’t no folk around,” he said, apologetically. “Ye see, its rather early yet; we’re more popular of an afternoon or evenin’, as a rule. I bring on my special pieces then. Ye should paternise us of an afternoon, miss, ef ye want to see a real good entertainment.” I promised faithfully to “paternise” his afternoon performance, held about three o’clock, “to ketch the public comin’ from dinner,” and again between four and five, “jest afore they go in fer tea.” That duly agreed on, I settled to my original purpose of improving the shining hour. There was no element of the nomad apparent in either speech or manner of the man, much to my disappointment. One expects to find a bit of aboriginal soil in a travelling showman; some little savour of the old Adam; but there he was, with an eye to the pence, and provokingly after the conventional pattern of humanity. But who would judge rashly? Not I.

“The public never tires of Punch and Judy, as a healthy entertainment, in spite of all the new ideas and new inventions in marionettes,” was my next remark, chiefly by way of saying something. He turned and laughed a laugh of scorn. “No miss; the public don’t tire; but the public don’t pay neither. W’y,” thrusting his hands deep in his pockets and coming a step or two nearer me, “I’ve played to ‘em a standin’ five deep on that ‘ere parade, and the beach all crowded up, and haven’t took two bob off ‘em. They’d a watch the performance hout, too.” He was deeply agitated, as the sudden aspirate showed. Clothed in his right mind he was fairly certain of the true position of the letter ‘h’. “I see folks come dye after dye to our show,” he continued with less heat but more bitterness, “as never give a copper, and are offended ef ye ask them to patronise it. There was one lidy came so regular, and never paid, that I was fair ashamed to see her, and so wen my wife was goin’ round one afternoon she says, quite respectful: ‘won’t you paternise the entertainment this time, lidy? Ye’ve come so often, and never give anything; you might give a copper to-night.’ Well, wot does the lidy do but goes an’ tells the policeman on the beach. Of course he comes down next dye an’ warns us. That’s how we’re treated by the public.” “Tain’t always like that, though.” he went on again, without heeding my interpolated condolences, so full was he of that congenial topic – himself and his grievances. “we’ve got good friends as comes agin and agin to see the performance, an pays every time; but, lor! wot a lot o’folk do want somethin’ for nothin’.” His voice fell away to a sigh, and a long pause followed. I was sympathetically silent, feeling quite one with him on that score. “They’d all pay threepence willin’ enuff ef I tuk a hall, an’ why they won’t pay a

copper on the beach, thet’s wot puzzles me,” he said, again reflectively, as one trying to solve a knotty problem. “I’ll tell ye a case in pint. My father3, who had a good connection in Essex, Suffolk, and Sussex with his Punch and Judy performances, used to attend them ‘ere markets an’ fairs, an’ give performances outside, afore the public, mebbe, or on the green. It ain’t in our line to give indoor performances; we always ‘ave bin in the open air line. There was a big horse show down in Suffolk. My father went an’ give his entertainment as usual, but all the money was goin’ off to Aunt Sallys4 and the merry-go-rounds; nothin’ for Punch and Judy, though both on ‘em had noo costumes for the occasion. It was nigh night, an’ he hadn’t drawn as much as ‘ud pay his exes, so wot does he do but goes an’ takes a field at the back o’ the public on spec, charges threepence a head, an’ the place was packed three times runnin’ that night for the same performance as could ‘ave bin seen for a penny on the green.” “People most respect what most they pay for,” said I, in a philosophical strain, “but why is it that the public are less generous to Punch and Judy than they used to be? I suppose it is the old story of competition - too many other attractions in the field.” THEM BLOOMIN’ PENNY PAPERS “No; it ain’t thet,” said my friend with sudden change of voice and manner, even getting himself straight to emphasise his words. “You’re a sensible lidy, you are,” (I inwardly marvelled at his rapid discernment of character), “an’ I’ll tell ye jest wot. It’s them bloomin’ penny papers as have done the mischief. They send young swells - intervooers they call em - a ferretin’ out all about travellin’ shows.” – (at this point pray imagine his auditor covered with confusion and blushes) – “Some of ‘em go on the road fur a day or so, an’ then start an’ write

in the papers sayin’ as how they knew all about ‘em an’ could make thirty shillin’s a day easy, which is all rot. I don’t say as I haven’t made thirty shillin’s in a day, or even now an’ agin, a matter o’ two pun’. But thet hes to be alongside o’ the days when I don’t draw a penny. Wot’s the consequence o’ all them lies bein’ printed? W’y the public thinks we live like dooks an’ lords, an’ won’t give as liberal as they used. By-and-bye there’ll be nothin’ left fur the travellin’ entertainer but emigration if the papers keep on so with their lies. An’ then the public all know their loss,” in a tone of sad conviction, with a touch of bitter triumph in it. Truly, a new aspect of the interviewer, whose campaigns of curiosity have shed light on many comparatively unknown occupations. Can it be when there is nothing left to know about anything that we shall find ourselves with our occupations gone? Some such musings highly perplexed my thoughts while the showman went on talking, volubly enough now to satisfy the most exacting interviewer, but that he had doubts as to my absolute disinterestedness of purpose was testified by his clever evasion of technical topics concerning the working of his show. THE SHOWMAN WAXES WROTH In an indiscreet moment, born of unstinted sunshine and a growing desire for lunch, I remarked, apropos of nothing, that Punch and Judy was a vagabond play - a wanderer of entertainments in general. My friend lifted a disdainful nose high in the air. “Far from thet, miss. It’s the oldest play on the road.” (Ah! the odour of antiquity was sweet to his nostrils then!) “There ain’t none can come up to punch and Judy in pint o’age an’ respectability. This ‘ere,” indicating the mise-en-scene of his show, with a deft backward motion of the thumb. “has bin in our family for generations. I was brought up to the

show business, like my father an’ grandfather an’ great grandfather afore me. My mother was born and bred in Sanger’s Circus, were her father an’ grandfather agin wor the fust hossmen in the Company wen Sanger started.” And lo! I parted with that shred of my illusions. Here was an aristocrat; a man of ancestors, born and bred in the purple. It was easy now to account for the absence of the debonair in his composition, easy now to understand why the fetter of professionalism lay so heavily on him. He had traditions, a history, a lineage and these kept him serious of outlook on existence. “There’s folks as think travellin’ entertainers have nothin’ to do, especially the Punch and Judy showmen,” he continued, with speculative eye fixed on the promenade above, where a few idlers had collected and were looking down on the beach in anticipation of a performance. “As I sed afore, the public idear is that we lives like lords – plenty o’ money an’ nothin’ to do” – (Scarcely an up-to-date definition of a lord, is it?) “but I’d like anybody jest to run thet entertainment for a dye an’ see ef they don’t alter their toon. W’y, the change of voice are enough to wear a man out, an’ all in the open too. Ye’ve got to make yourself heard, wotever rows agoin’ on, an’ them minstrels there are regular howlers, too wen they like. Wen I come out o’the box after a performance I’m a shaking all over an’ a-tremblin’ about the hands as if I’d had a glass too much in me, an’ wen it comes to four an’ sometimes six, turns in a dye, there ain’t much left o’me at night, I tell ye.” I cordially agreed that the showman was no idler in the struggle for life, which opinion practically closed our talk. For he had only time to convince me beyond any hope of refutation of his perfect respectability by telling me he possessed a house of his own and also a vote, which he tabled for his country in the Conserv-

ative interest, when the crowd assembled on the triangle of the promenade sacred to audiences for Punch and Judy warned him that business must be attended to. In a moment he was at his post in front of the show. “There ain’t a blessed bob among ‘em,” he grumbled sotto voce, as he drew from his pocket a curious arrangement of reeds. While he played an overture of popular airs as a preliminary notice of the performance I wended my homeward way along the Sea Front, musing on my adventures in search of a Bohemian. And of how I had sought him even unto the uttermost parts of his own popular haunt, and had found him not.

Published in the Hastings and St Leon- Notes:– ards Observer 19 September 1896. 1: This was most likely Samuel Bateman Blazier (1859 - 1930) there is some conOur thanks to Christopher van der fusion in the records as for when he was Craats for his research on Punch at born.This date is according to his baptism Hastings and preparing this wonderfully record. romantic piece. 2. His wife’s name was Rhoda. they have two children; Samuel (1891-1957) and a daughter Rhoda (b.1894) 3. His father’s name was also Samuel (1831- 1890) and a marionette performer. His mother’s name was Isabella (18411892).

‘Punch and Judy is an ancient drama spanning the centuries. It has survived, in part, due to the wit and skill of its showmen.Geoff Felix has worked in puppetry and Punch and Judy for thirty-four years. Here he shares his knowledge so that you may learn its mysteries and perform the show.Anyone seeking to take up this unusual and demanding Art will find this book invaluable.’

For a copy email Geoff. at geoffreyfelix@hotmail.com priced at £20, you won’t be disappointed!

The Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppet Festival is a red letter day in the diary of puppeteers and Punch performers the world over. It is often the only chance we have to perform alongside our colleagues, and the only time of the year we get to see friends from across the country, or even further afield. Performers create new routines and debut them in the garden at St Paul’s in front of their peers (a brave idea), they introduce new puppet creations they have been working on all winter, or parade new booths they have built, or bought, over the last year. May 10th 2020 would have been no different, however the virus had other plans. I wanted to celebrate the May Fayre, and in particular the tireless work of Maggie Pinhorn and Alternative Arts, who have been at the helm of this joyous event since its inception in 1975. However, an online May Fayre, or another dreaded zoom meeting, just did not seem right. So much of the magic of the event takes place before it has even officially started, with puppeteers sharing a very early breakfast, swapping jokes as they build their booths, or remembering friends only present in memories. Before the public arrive to watch the shows the garden seems to belong to the puppeteers, and that is really special. None of this would be possible without Maggie’s dedication, so I asked friends and colleagues to record their memories

of this unique event, and to pay thanks to Alternative Arts. People responded with great enthusiasm, their passion for the day is as strong as Maggie’s. I heard from Punch and Judy professors, clowns, magicians, television and film puppeteers, magicians and even some puppets. It is testament to their love for the May Fayre and their admiration of Maggie that this little video became an hour long feature, May Fayre Memories, which clocked up nearly 3000 views. Daniel Hanton did a magnificent collating photos and videos from May Fayre’s past hosting them on the Punch and Judy Club’s website, they are all still there to see: www.punchandjudyclub.com/may-fayre-memories Some memorable quotes from May Fayre Memories: “I’ve met loads of wonderful friends because of the May Fayre, I’ve seen some incredible puppetry and it got me on the road to becoming a puppeteer” Carl Durbin “The greatest memory for me of the May Fayre are my friends and colleagues. I’ve made friends that have basically become family over the years. This event has cemented those friendships…and I can’t wait for next year” David Wilde

“It’s run by Alternative Arts a very large part of which is Maggie Pinhorn. It’s down to Maggie’s joy and tenacity that we have a festival after all these years… there’s nowhere else like it in the entire world” Richard Coombs

does. If you wonder what ever happened to hippies, they grew up and organised the May Fayre. If you ever wonder why “Had I not been to the May Fayre I buskers perform in Covent Garden it was would not be doing this now. Thank Maggie who started it, so you can blame you so much to everyone involved” Joe her. She used theatre to stop what was Burns going to happen to the market. They “For me the May Fayre is the longest were going to bulldoze it and turn it into running festival of puppetry in the UK. “Long may the May Fayre continue” offices. Now it’s a destination. She was Other one’s pop up in London or elseh- Mark Poulton using theatre as a political weapon. where, go for a few years, then the funding runs out and they stop.Throughout it “I remember the strange bits of theatre: The May Fayre is important because all the May Fayre has kept going. It’s one Richard Robinson and his Ogle Ogle Box, laughter makes people happy. That of the really important events in the cal- Lady Christabel, completely pissed, with churchyard is a crucible where theatrical endar for puppeteers. Thanks so much her faithful retainer, Scrotum, and Andy magic is made. People will look back and to Maggie for keeping the festival going” Cunningham with Magritte the Mind ask were you there. It’s a rite of passage, Lestyn Evans Reading Rat. you don’t get paid, not at the May Fayre. I remember the stalls where you can buy It’s free. Not exclusive. And that’s really “It’s such an inspiring place to be” Dave puppets. Bryan and Dorothy who made important. Because at the May Fayre Hellyers them, and before them, Bob and Jean your memory is nudged by the ghosts of Wade. And before them the great Fred the past” Geoff Felix “The May Fayre is sheer magic and hav- Tickner ing the joy of going into the church for James Arnott the mass is amazing. Sitting in church I remember Maggie Pinhorn, who is much October 2020 and watching the parade of puppets is cleverer than anyone thinks, I don’t really such a gorgeous tradition. It is so good think people realise how much work she

and I’m so proud to belong to this fraternity” Roman Stefanski

In so many ways the world changed in 2020. Some for the good. Some for the bad. Some people’s views have been reinforced, others have changed dramatically. This article has been in and on my mind since the events of May and June this year. But it has taken the words and thoughts of a diverse group of puppeteers and performers to help me make a little more sense of the situation, and where possible I have tried to incorporate these into the article, rather than as stand-alone quotes. My thanks to them for their invaluable contributions. On May 25th 2020 George Floyd was murdered by a US police officer who knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes as Floyd lay on the pavement in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A video shot by a bystander, showing Floyd saying “I can’t breathe” before lying still was viewed an estimated 1.4 billion times in the three weeks after it was posted on Facebook. Floyd’s death sparked global protests about racial inequality and police brutality, and renewed pledges from some to fight racism.

In the seven months since Floyd’s murder organisations and individuals across the world have examined their behaviour and practice and tried to end discrimination. So why am I re-treading old ground here? Because, like it or not, just as there are some uncomfortable chapters in Britain’s past, so there are in its national puppet’s. And some of those chapters are all too recent. As a young performer attending The Punch and Judy Fellowship’s festival in Covent Garden in 2002 I was presented with two Punch and Judy books at the AGM, Hello Mr Punch and the 2001 edition of Peter Fraser’s Punch and Judy. The latter, when discussing the characters in the show states “The servant is the earliest of a long tradition of negroes, becoming a firm favourite in the middle of the 1800s as Jim Crow”. Many of the ‘classic’ Punch and Judy books use similar outdated, racist language.

both stand-up comedians. Whilst many of us would want to recommend a different Punch and Judy Professor for a show in a night club and a show at a nursery, most journalists, indeed most bookers and audience members lump us all in together, after all it’s just a Punch and Judy Show. My 2018 article was written in response to an appearance on Good Morning Britain, ITV’s breakfast programme, by a Punch and Judy performer. The presenter and the performer discussed how Punch has changed over the years, and when he introduced his “black singer” character he struggled to explain why the puppet was painted with white lips, which to the presenters, and I would imagine many people at home, was a clear reference to black face.

As one puppeteer I discussed this with said “I was utterly appalled by his response. He had no interest in what anyone else had to say. When it comes to issues that don’t immediately affect you, In December 2018, in the first issue be it race, gender, sexuality, if you are not of Slapstick in an article Punch with part of that community you should not On the 7th June demonstrators in The Press, I suggested that negative get to decide what is or isn’t offensive. Bristol tore down a statue of slave publicity from the actions of one I felt that he had decided it was not oftrader Edward Colston, prompting Punch performer can have a negative fensive to the black community and he debate over the fate of monuments effect on us all. was not interested in listening to a black of historical figures associated with presenter’s opinion. If he has never had slavery. Whilst many were upset by “A good Punch show is full of slapstick to face being compared to a golliwog, the actions of the protestors in Bris- fun. Sadly though, there are a number then he shouldn’t be using a puppet that tol the fall of Colston’s statue allowed of performers who simply don’t get it, effectively is one, and certainly shouldn’t Britain time to reflect on some of the and include heavy handed material that be saying it isn’t offensive.” uncomfortable chapters from its own perhaps isn’t suitable for today. Punch is past and their effects on us today. only as good as the performer lending It would seem the Punch Professor him a hand, something that a lot of jour- interviewed learned little from his exDavid Olusoga, history professor at nalists and bookers don’t realise, they perience, apart from to paint the singthe University of Manchester, wrote: don’t differentiate in a way they would er’s lips red. This year he performed “Removing statues is not erasing histo- with comedians.” in a video, and when the singer apry...statues aren’t about history.We learn peared, introduced as a friend from history through books, television pro- The audience for Frankie Boyle ex- overseas, Mr Punch’s response was grammes. Statues are about admiration.” pect a different show than that at “He’s been on the sun beds”. This huMichael McIntyre, though they are mour is no longer appropriate.

This summer Morris Federation, the country’s largest association of Morris and traditional dance teams, called time on full face black make up. This is a really positive step, and gives a good challenge to the right wing extremists who have tried to appropriate Morris dancing as a recruitment tool. In an FAQ article for their members Morris Federation addressed the following pertinent questions, which we can also apply to Punch: This hasn’t been an issue before, why now? Because we are your friends, and you need to hear this from us rather than anyone else. It has been an issue for many years. But it’s traditional! We do not define ourselves solely by what our predecessors may or may not have done. Teams breach “tradition” every time they devise a new dance, use a new tune or change the nature and material of their costume.Tradition is not sacred. The Morris Federation owes its existence to a societal shift and a breach with the previously promulgated “tradition” that only men could perform the Morris. Tradition does not excuse offence. What was acceptable in the past has shifted, and is no longer acceptable in our world of today.

puppeteer would play multiple roles regardless of gender or race, and I am pleased that so many puppeteers have agreed on this point when I have raised this issue with them. However, they all agree that the characters need to be more than just their races. It is time to stop referring to puppets simply as The Black Man, or The Chinaman, and to stop giving them offensively stereotypical accents. So how can we diversify our casts of puppets? How can we ensure our audience is represented fairly in our shows?

want to exclude or alienate such a large portion of our population? We should be developing it and enriching it for the future, ensuring Punch’s status as an icon of Britain for years to come.We should be offering a performance with something for everyone.

We argue that Punch is a folk hero, a man of the people, standing up to crooked authority figures. So which side would Punch take in 2020, for the police, or for Floyd? If you think the latter, then perhaps we should look at how Punch and Punch Professors handle racial stereotypes.

James Arnott With thanks to Aya Nakamura, Mohsen Nouri, Shaan Latif, Iestyn Evans, Rosie Mott, Ian Manborde and Equity.

In 2009, sixty years after the stories were first published, Enid Blyton’s granddaughter Sophie Smallwood decided the Noddy books were no longer to include the characters of the golliwogs. Even in Blyton’s lifetime changing taste saw the characters’ names change from Golly, Woggie and Nigger to Wiggie, Waggie and Wollie. Is it time for Mr Punch to do the same?

Many Punch and Judy performers take their shows to schools, offering performances and workshops on Victorians, the seaside, or traditional tales. Attitudes to race amongst secondary and even primary age children are changing rapidly. Some schools have Cultural Diversity Societies, many celebrate Pride Week and many more celebrate Black History Month. These are often student lead, and in my experience always well supported. The attitudes of children and teenagers today, especially with regard to race, gender, sexuality and equality, are often profoundly different to their parents’ and grandparents’ generations. The world seems to be at a moment of inflection between generations with very different views of the world. And these are the children we hope to entertain and educate with our work. And in a few years’ time will be the people booking us to entertain their children.

I am certainly not suggesting getting rid of all non-white puppet characters, far from it. Punch and Judy is traditionally a solo performance, and as such it is understood that a

Tradition does not excuse offense. The world has changed. Punch has always changed throughout his 350 year history. We love Punch and Judy, it is our passion, so why would we

What can we as Punch and Judy Professors and enthusiasts do to help end discrimination? I would welcome your thoughts.

December 2020

ISSUE 4