Today the sun finally came out for more than a couple of hours so LibraryGirl and I made our way down the town to enjoy the sunshine and do some research at the central Library. We went into the library and found ourselves directed to Worthing Museum to view a specific display. Whilst at the museum we decided to have look at the current Punch and Judy exhibition celebrating 350 years of Mr Punch and his adventures.
Punch and Judy shows have gone through a lot of changes and evolved due to different circumstances and this was very well displayed at the Worthing Museum. It offered timelines, contexts and all manner of items to interact with. You could even put on your own Punch and Judy show. At the time we went to the exhibit it was very quiet with only one family visiting it but the children were enjoying themselves learning about Mr Punch's history and how it fits in with Worthing's own history. That was the one overall message I got from the exhibit, despite the age and tradition of Punch and Judy, that the history of Worthing, because it is a seaside town, and the history of Punch is intertwined.
As I have already mentioned Mr Punch has evolved and as you can see in the video posted up above his original tale has changed over the years and most of the performers, or Professors, have taken out the child killing, the women beating, police officer attacking, executioner hangings and Devil chasing and inserted more up to date references and more child friendly material. Despite these changes to the plot Punch and Judy remains popular and I reckon this is because Mr Punch has always been, and will always be, a naughty man who manages to escape in the cheekiest ways possible. The exhibition is really good and if you are in the West Sussex area and you want to while away an hour and have a coffee or lunch Worthing has some great cafes, Wrights in Warwick street being one of them, excellent beaches and gardens, a true theatrical pedigree and of course the Museum. It is free entry to the Museum although they are asking for people to donate both to the upkeep of the Museum and to help house their currently homeless collection of Teddy Bears. I cannot recommend Worthing Museum enough, it was a great visit and I look forward to the next exhibition they put on.
Tomorrow is the May Fayre in Covent Garden, there they will celebrate the 350 years of Punch and Judy with performances, stalls, workshops, folk music and dancing. It all starts with a Grand Procession at 11am so if you are in the London area and like puppetry or you remember seeing a Punch and Judy stall when you were younger and want to be nostalgic it is well worth a look at. I have watched several performances on youtube of acts from years past at the May Fayre and the standard is very high. However my favourite video I have watched is by the Storybox Theatre company and it is their performer Rod Burnett performing the traditional, and I mean traditional, English Punch and Judy show in Spanish. You may be worried that if you don't speak Spanish it will be hard to understand and you won't be able to enjoy it but Punch and Judy is an extension of Pantomime and therefore language is the least important part of it, the most important is of course the action.
It is well worth sitting through the whole 40 minutes and before you ask my fave bit is with the sausage maker... its slapstick comedy at its most pure.
Let me know, what is your favourite part of a Punch and Judy show?
Have a great weekend.
Xtofer
