Introducing Punch and Judy
Posted on November 13, 2007 by glyn
Sometime last year I was asked to write an article about Punch and Judy for a Brazilian puppetry magazine. That was quite an interesting challenge because I know next to nothing about Brazilian culture and so interpreting a pretty unusual bit of English culture without many obvious shared concepts to help the explanation meant thinking a bit harder than usual about how to introduce Old Red Nose to a new audience. I thought that it might be worth a place online here as well.
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Gone to the Dogs! A Fur-ther Look At Toby Tradition
Posted on January 22, 2008 by profreshwater
It has been said that a savvy performer should "never follow kids or live animals.” Mr. Punch, being quite sure of his audience appeal, has no qualms about sharing his show with a live Toby Dog. Just how prevalent has this partnership been through Punch’s long and colorful history, and how did it begin?

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The greatest of clowns
Posted on January 03, 2008 by glyn


At pantomime season in Britain it's timely to pay a small tribute to the great Joseph Grimaldi - clown superstar of Harlequinades and Pantomime and commemorated to this day on stage with Mr. Punch. He it was who brought the string of sausages into the show (one of his bits of stage biz involved stealing a long string of sausages) and he played a great part in establishing audience participation in pantomimes. With his catchphrase of ‘Here we are again!” and his teasing the audience with a questioning ‘”Shall I???” to which they would roar back YES!!! we can feel his legacy at work everytime we do similar. Joey’s gone - but never to be forgotten.
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The purpose of Punch and Judy
Posted on December 10, 2007 by glyn
Hello! I am a puppetry student very interested to learn about Punch, and what it is about him that means he has popped up throughout history all over the world. I was wondering if you have any answers to a few questions. And anything else you can tell me about Mr. Punch would be really great!

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How Old Is Mr.Punch?
Posted on November 25, 2007 by glyn
Looking ahead (way, way ahead). Well, it may be five years into the future for us mere mortals but for a 345 year old wooden star it's as near as tomorrow. Yes Mr. Punch is heading for his 350th 'Official' Birthday in 2012.

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Yours curiously.....crocs and sausages
Posted on November 23, 2007 by glyn
Just before this blog was launched the Worldwide Friends of P&J website had a query from a journalist who signed off 'Yours curiously'. If that's not a great title for an embryonic FAQ archive I don't know what is. The query was about the crocodile and the sausages. Read More »
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