The Punch and Judy May Fayre

Over 30 Punch & Judy shows from all over the country helped to celebrate the birthday of Mr. Punch in the gardens of St. Paul’s church in Covent Garden, London.

The day started with a colourful street procession with a brass band marching around the local streets. The Fayre provides a rare opportunity to see other performers since the nature of the profession is usually a solitary one.

The history of Punch and Judy -

he Punch and Judy show has roots in the 16th-century Italian commedia dell'arte. The figure of Punch is derived from the Neapolitan stock character of Pulcinella, which was anglicized to Punchinello. He is a manifestation of the Lord of Misrule and Trickster figures of deep-rooted myths.

The figure who later became Mr. Punch made his first recorded appearance in England on 9 May 1662, which is traditionally reckoned as Punch's UK birthday. Punch and Judy began to emerge during the Restoration Period (beginning in 1660) circular reference], a period during which art and theatre thrived. King Charles II took the throne in 1660 and replaced Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell, and theatre culture began to change. Cromwell strictly adhered to the Puritan belief that theatre was immoral and should be banned. King Charles II's ascension to the throne ended the Interregnum (means "between kings", a time with no monarchs on the throne) and ushered in a more tolerant period of art and culture. The diarist Samuel Pepys observed a marionette show featuring an early version of the Punch character in Covent Garden in London. It was performed by Italian puppet showman Pietro Gimonde, a.k.a. "Signor Bologna." Pepys described the event in his diary as "an Italian puppet play, that is within the rails there, which is very pretty."

In the British Punch and Judy show, Punch speaks in a distinctive squawking voice, produced by a contrivance known as a swazzle or swatchel which the professor holds in his mouth, transmitting his gleeful cackle. This gives Punch a vocal quality as though he were speaking through a kazoo. Joan's name was changed to Judy because "Judy" was easier to enunciate with the swazzle than "Joan". So important is Punch's signature sound that it is a matter of some controversy within Punch and Judy circles as to whether a "non-swazzled" show can be considered a true Punch and Judy Show. Other characters do not use the swazzle, so the Punchman has to switch back and forth while still holding the device in his mouth.

Punch and Judy shows were traditionally marionette shows when they were brought over from Italy, but were later reinvented in the glove puppet style to accommodate the characters' violent movements without the obstruction of marionette strings. Glove puppets were often operated by placing the thumb in one arm, the middle, ring, and pinky fingers in the other arm, and the index finger in the head.

In the early 18th century, the puppet theatre starring Punch was at its height, with showman Martin Powell attracting sizable crowds at both his Punch's Theatre at Covent Garden and earlier in provincial Bath, Somerset. Powell has been credited with being "largely responsible for the form taken by the drama of Punch and Judy" In 1721, a puppet theatre opened in Dublin that ran for decades. The cross-dressing actress Charlotte Charke ran the successful but short-lived Punch's Theatre in the Old Tennis Court at St. James's, Westminster, presenting adaptations of Shakespeare as well as plays by herself, her father Colley Cibber, and her friend Henry Fielding. Fielding eventually ran his own puppet theatre under the pseudonym Madame de la Nash to avoid the censorship concomitant with the Theatre Licensing Act of 1737.