around the world with mr. punch

This is the title of Mr. Punch's 350th Birthday project being organised by The 350 Committee. It's a network of projects across the UK in 2012 with a very special Big Birthday Bash in Covent Garden in May of that year, including overseas performers, a giant birthday cake, a world record attempt and some Punch & Judy Olympics. It's not an exclusive affair - all Punch enthusiasts anywhere are welcome to run with the ball and get something going during the year on their patch. The 350 Committee hope to get funding for a fun kit of activities and information which can be widely distributed and help bring all events under the one big banner of The Big Grin. A dedicated website will be up and running in due course, but information will be spread through existing networks in the meantime. Check back with this site for any developments. The 350 Committee is an updated version of the 325 Committee which organised the celebrations nearly a quarter of a century ago in Covent Garden. This time round it will have a wider spread. Already nearly a dozen museums across the UK are signed up to join the fun, along with half a dozen local authorities, several puppet festivals and a couple of university departments. 2012 is, of course, London Olympics year and Mr. Punch will have to work hard not to be overwhelmed by festivities other than his own. But lets face it, he's been around longer than the modern Olympics and - if the roots of his family tree roots are as deep as some historians suggest - his spiritual ancestry even predates the original Olympics. Let the fun and the games commence!


The 350 Committee are: Glyn Edwards Councillor of The Punch & Judy College of Professors. Festival Director of the Punch & Judy 325 celebrations. (Project co-ordinator)
Maggie Pinhorn Dir: Alternative Arts. Director Covent Garden Punch & Judy May Fayre.
TBA, Chair: The Punch & Judy Fellowship (Representing PJF performers.)
Clive Chandler (Chair: Puppeteers UK. Artistic Director of Dynamics International Puppetry Festival) (Puppet sector co-ordinator)
Alisa Smith (Museum Services Officer: The Museum of Cannock Chase. (Museums co-ordinator)
Dr. Matthew Isaac Cohen, Senior Lecturer in Theatre and Drama, Royal Holloway, University of London. (Academic advisor)
Cariad Astles, Lecturer in Performance Arts (Movement and Object Theatre), Central School of Speech & Drama. (Academic advisor)
Martin Reeve Post graduate doctoral student in the field of contemporary Punch & Judy and related traditions. (Academic consultant).

THE BIG GRIN
The national celebrations of Mr. Punch’s 350th birthday in 2012

In 2012 Mr. Punch plans to celebrate from Lands End to John O’ Groats to mark his 350th Birthday. He’ll be joined by top ‘Professors’ skilled in the traditions of this world famous show and will link in to local celebrations en route.

Originally an immigrant to English shores Mr. Punch has since made a unique contribution to British culture and is getting ready to celebrate nationwide in his Big Birthday year.

He’ll be stopping off in his Covent Garden ‘birthplace’ for some Punch & Judy Olympic fun, and he’ll be visiting schools, museums, theatres, galleries, piazzas, beaches, shopping centres, parks, carnivals, fetes, galas, picnics and pubs as he travels the land. Punch has been part of our history of merrymaking since his first arrival in 1662 in time for the wedding of Charles II – the “Merry Monarch’ himself – and he’s ‘as pleased as Punch’ still to be full of the spirit of fun.

Helping organize his tour will be The 350 Committee - a legacy of The 325 Committee that organized his record-breaking celebrations in Covent Garden in 1987. Comprising delegates from The Punch & Judy College of Professors, The Punch & Judy Fellowship, Puppeteers UK and Alternative Arts, the committee will work with its nationwide network of supporters, funding partners, and associates in local authority museums, arts and leisure services and academic institutions to deliver a rich mixture of fun, insight and colourful cultural heritage accessible to all.

Building on the successful Heritage Lottery Fund backed Carry On Punch & Judy project currently touring museums in the Midlands (in partnership with the Museum of Cannock Chase) the 2012 tour will deliver opportunities for young people to investigate 350 years of enjoyment - most of it in the dark ages before mobile phones, TV and computer games. It will follow Mr. Punch’s footsteps back in time to see how people lived and what they were doing in the years since he first came to England. It will connect with Mr. Punch’s puppet colleagues whether they are performing today on stage or screen or just ‘resting’ in museums. It will especially look to celebrate links with the popular puppet traditions of nations coming to London for the Olympic Games – from the Pulcinella players of Italy to the shadow puppeteers of Indonesia.

It’s not just about Punch and Judy – for Mr. Punch is a generous host and is throwing open his party to all manner of like-minded merrymakers. He’s spent centuries alongside other puppets and popular outdoor entertainers and enjoys their company. He’s been the entertainer at millions of other people’s birthday parties and celebrations: now he’s having his own year-long one. He hopes you’d like to be a part of it.