Punch & Judy is a seaside glove puppet show. It came from Italy to the UK about 350 years ago, and it has been popular since then, first with adults, and then later with children. The basic story is that Mr. Punch is a bad man who fights lots of people and wins. Each time he wins, he says: “That’s the way to do it!”
red face, big nose
Different puppeteers all make the show their own9, by changing the plot or adding new characters. But there are some key parts that usually remain the same. First of all, Mr. Punch has a red face and a big nose. He also sounds very funny when he talks, because puppeteers use something called a ‘swazzle’ in their mouth to create a special high voice.
fight!
At the start of the story, Mr. Punch’s wife asks him to look after their baby. But he is lazy and careless, and he doesn’t do as his wife asks. So, Punch and Judy start fighting, and Punch wins because he has a big stick. A policeman and a doctor arrive to help, but Punch fights them and wins too. Sometimes there’s a clown, who asks Mr. Punch to look after his sausages, and often there’s a crocodile who wants to eat the sausages. Finally, Mr. Punch fights the crocodile, and guess what? He kills the crocodile, too!
children songs
Although there is a lot of fighting in the story, no one worries too much about it. There are lots of jokes and songs, and the children all join in by shouting “He’s behind you!” and “Oh no, he isn’t!” Everyone gets excited and hopes that the bad Mr. Punch will lose a fight one day. But of course, he never does, because he knows that that’s the way to do it!
