around the world with mr. punch

You can see that comes from the latest catalogue of Dramatis Personae who deal in antiquarian books and ephemera. They are offering a chalk lithograph circa 1835 of Evariste Gherardi as Arelequin. They describe it as "A full-length portrait of the dramatic author and actor in his most famous role. He stands, in mask and costume, flapstick in his right hand and left hand raised to his hat." A flapstick????

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This is the BIG question and I've sat on the fence about it for years. My balancing act came down to preferring a tip-top ‘swazzle by squeaky voice’ show to a dire swazzled one - and I have seen enough examples of both to find it a hard judgement call. My gut instinct was that Punch HAS to swazzle because it is such an evocative sound expressing the essence of Punch, but he also HAS to be anarchically funny. Put the two together and you’ve got the unbeatable recipe for success as a Prof. But what if one is missing?

Well I’ve finlly sorted it out in my own mind as a result of posting various items on this blog and emailing with some of the other participants.

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I'm acting as Punch & Judy mentor to artist Nenagh Watson who purchased the puppets of the late Joe Beeby (a Prof's Prof) and is undertaking a project to explore her reactions to them and become a Prof herself. Read More »
 

A recent email enquiry posed the following question: I've been doing some research on the "Punch" character, looking for an answer, if there is any, to the question as to what is the significance of the upward hump in the back and the downward hump in the front of Punch or "Polichinelle". Some have said one is for luck, the other for money, making no referece as to which is which, nor citing any sources to back up the claim. Yet others believe that the hump in the back is to mock the wealthy aristocracy because of their pride and arrogance, and the hump in the front for their gluttony and greed. Do you have any definitive sources that may lead me to the definitive answer? Read More »
 

The image above (of an early 19th C Punch head) accompanies an article called 'Timberheads and Talking Stools' which begins thus: "When readers of the Gentleman's Magazine opened the May 1738 issue of the London-based publication, they should have been greatly amused. Inside was a "humble petition" directed "to the Worshipful Licensers of the Stage." It came from the eighteenth-century actor "Punch, master of the Artificial Company of Comedians in the Hay-market." Identifying himself as a fervent Christian and obedient citizen who never acted on Sundays, he begged the licensers not to limit his performances on other days of the week. His petition, he said, was necessitated by a letter threatening to turn his body "into Tobacco-Stoppers" if he acted on Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent. Punch, as the readers knew, was a puppet. That a "timberhead"—a term he would apply to himself in another article—could contribute to a major magazine is a clue to how popular puppetry was in the eighteenth century." Read More »
 

A recent email enquiry said " I am currently writing a new short film that is based on the Year of Abolition of Slavery in the UK , where I am working with local musuems in the North West of England. As part of the research tour, a number of artefacts have been presented to me including a collection of punch and judy puppets. What was interesting is that there were here were two black puppets that formed part of punch's 'entourage' and which are based upon Black African / Carribbean (?) people. Read More »
 

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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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.
 

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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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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