Horndean & District

December 2016 - Punch and Judy

Members of the Horndean & District U3A met for their regular monthly meeting on Friday 2nd December 2016 at Merchistoun Hall where Peter Rann gave a talk about the History of Punch and Judy and the men, women and characters who have been part of it. Peter also brought several puppets used in Punch and Judy Shows that he passed round the Hall during his Talk.

Peter started his talk by introducing Mr Punch who said hello! He then told us that he came from the Isle of Wight where “Professor” Glyn Edwards was first the person he saw present Punch and Judy on the beach and where his brother still puts on Punch and Judy Shows, or rather Plays as Punch and Judy are now deemed to be under the 2004 Licensing Act.

Punch and Judy first came to the UK through France from Italy 350 years ago for the theatrical form Commedia dell'arte whose performers wore leather masks and made films including the film Scaramouche with Stewart Granger in 1952. Cut backs lead to actors being replaced by puppets including Punchinello who evolved into Mr. Punch. Samuel Pepys witnessed and wrote favourably about the first Punch and Judy show on record in Covent Garden on 9th May 1662 and Punch & Judy people have an annual event in the first week of May because of this.

Someone decreed that the people putting on Punch and Judy Plays should be termed “professors” at the time of Charles II. Mr Punch is always a mocking character. A bandsman played a drum to draw people to the Show, hence the term ‘drumming up business’. The railway and Bank Holidays attracted people to the seaside and Mr Punch duly followed, although the subsequent decline in holidays taken at home made it harder to make a living from Punch and Judy Shows.

The Codman family have been entertaining families with their Punch and Judy shows on the Promenade at Llandudno for over 150 years, making it the World's longest-running Punch and Judy show and the only one to retain the hanging scene. Passed down three generations, the show is now run by Jacqueline Millband-Codman who inherited it from her great-grandfather Richard Codman who started the tradition in 1860 after his ancestors, a Romany family of travelling actors, arrived in the UK from Hungry. Richard married a lady from the circus and they ended up in Llandudno after the horse taking them on their honeymoon died there.

Professor John Styles is probably Britain's leading authority and exponent of Punch & Judy with over fifty years’ experience. Michael Aspel once asked him on the Antiques Road Show how he got the sound of Mr Punch’s voice. John told him that it was by using a swazzle, which is a device made of two strips of metal bound together with Irish linen and held in the mouth. Different swazzles are used for different voices. Michael asked whether he had ever swallowed a swazzle and he told him that he had in fact swallowed the one he had just given to Michael to try and which had turned up a couple of days later!

The uncrowned king of Punch and Judy was Percy Press (1902-1980) who once put on a Show with two wellington boots when the puppets did not turn up. Weymouth's Seaside Punch & Judy show is performed by Professor Mark Poulton who succeeded Professor Guy Higgins (1932-2007) who appeared in the Royal Variety Show in 1968 and inspired Mr Partridge, the miserable Punch and Judy man in Hi-de-Hi! His granddaughter Adrienne Press is one of a handful of lady performers of Punch & Judy, as is Mavis Kingston in Portsmouth.

The cast of a typical Punch and Judy show include the following characters.

• Mr. Punch, who was known as chicken nose.
• Judy, who was originally known as Jane and succeeded Mr Punch’s first girlfriend Pretty Polly.
• The Baby, often called Marmaduke or Isiah.
• The Constable.
• The Devil.
• Joey the Clown, so named because Joseph Grimaldi who played him used clown make up. His memoirs were edited for publication after his death by Charles Dickens.
• The Crocodile was only introduced after it appeared in Walt Disney’s film of Peter Pan in 1953.
• The Hangman who was based on the real hangmen Jack Ketch and John Price who was himself hanged for murder in 1718.
• The Ghost that haunts Mr Punch has been in the Show from the beginning.

Other characters that may be included in the Show are

Presidents, Prime Ministers, actors and TV characters have also appeared, as has a Health and Safety Man who has been introduced recently to inspect the sausage machine and ends up in it.

Speaking puppets are made of wood while others are plastic. Mr Punch cost £300 and the others cost £200. Puppet maker Jack Whitehead made Muffin the Mule as well as Punch and Judy characters. Puppets are bashed on the back of the head by a slapstick which makes a loud noise but does not damage the puppet. Puppets can be hung on a row of hooks inside the booth, which is collapsible for easy transportation – the Codmans use a trolley. The Punch and Judy professor can see the audience (even though they cannot see him) which enables him to interact with specific individuals. Most people work alone and some cheat by using recordings which causes problems if they drop a puppet.

Punch and Judy has maintained its popularity and appeal to children down the centuries by keeping topical and because it is basically a story of good triumphing over evil.

Peter concluded his talk and Mr Punch said goodbye. Both received a warm round of applause for a very entertaining and informative Talk, for which Geoff Smith gave the vote of thanks.