Contemporary Punch and Judy in Performance: an Ethnography of Traditional British Glove Puppet Theatre
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Contemporary Punch and Judy in performance: an ethnography of traditional British glove puppet theatre. Martin John Reeve Royal Holloway College University of London Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 1 I declare that the work presented in this thesis is all my own. Martin John Reeve 2 Abstract No sustained research has been done into the traditional British glove puppet form Punch and Judy since the 1980s; no ethnographic research has ever been done on it. The research addresses the gaps in this knowledge and seeks to discover how production and reception of the form has changed in the last 25 years and how it is currently constituted. The research is particularly concerned to discover who is now performing the show, how it is performed and where it is performed. It is also concerned with how its reception is mediated by current preoccupations with nostalgia and the commodification of the historical. The research relies on close comparison with previous studies; it also investigates the approaches of earlier commentators. More centrally, it is an ethnographic study of current practice undertaken in close association with many of the performers themselves, especially members of the Punch and Judy College of Professors who are collaborative partners in the project. Through participant-observation, the research seeks to get closer to understanding the dramaturgy, the material culture and the motivations of the performers themselves than previous studies have attempted to. The research has discovered that significant changes have occurred in Punch and Judy in the past 25 years, in two principal areas. Firstly, in the control of the tradition by performers themselves. They have set up organizations, instituted dedicated festivals and produced discourses about their traditions, practices and aspirations. Secondly, there have been changes in the contexts, geographical and cultural, within which the form sits. It is no longer to be found mainly at the seaside, but more typically at festivals which deliberately invoke a sense of the past. Whilst these two changes mark a significant break with the continuities of context and styles of performance, the form itself remains remarkably resilient. 3 Acknowledgements My thanks go to my academic supervisor, Dr Matthew Isaac Cohen, the academic advisor, Dr Chris Megson, and my non-academic supervisors, Clive Chandler and Glyn Edwards, for their help and support. I would also like to thank all of the Punch performers who have given their time, enthusiasm and encouragement. Especial thanks go to my family, Charlotte, Molly, Florence and Martha for their patience and support. 4 Table of Contents List of figures…………………………………………………………. 7 Preface………………………………………………………………… 11 A Punch and Judy show……………………………………………….. 11 Introduction…………………………………………………………... 17 Overview of contemporary Punch and Judy…………………………... 17 The ethnography……………………………………………………….. 23 The study amongst other puppet ethnographies……………………….. 37 The shape of the thesis………………………………………………… 41 Chapter 1: History, historiography, association, organization and festival: the formation of an identity……………. 45 Rhetorics of celebration and subordination in the histories…………… 45 Early chronology of Punch…………………………………………….. 49 Historical context of the early form: assimilation by middle-class audiences……………………………………………... 52 The move to the seaside: professionalisation and the creation of a dominant form………………………………………. 58 Meetings and the history of association……………………………….. 63 The formation of the organizations…………………………………… 68 Punch and Judy in the landscape of twentieth century British puppetry………………………………………………. 72 Covent Garden………………………………………………………..... 76 Chapter 2: Organizations and the management of the tradition………………………………………………………….. 82 The Punch and Judy Fellowship………………………………………. 85 The College…………………………………………………………… 94 „Independent‟ voices…………………………………………………... 100 Chapter 3: Performers……………………………………………….. 105 Identity and tradition in practice and in the past………………………. 106 Late twentieth century Punch groupings and the current situation…… 109 A range of contemporary performers……………………………….... 110 Chapter 4: The material culture of Punch and Judy……………... 134 Physical and iconographic determinants and invariants……………..... 135 Puppet makers, inheritors and users…………………………………... 140 5 Booths, prosceniums, backcloths and props………………………….. 160 Extension and spillage………………………………………………... 169 Cultural relocation of the objects……………………………………... 172 Chapter 5: Dramaturgy…………………………………………….. 178 The agency of the puppeteer and dramaturgical limits…………………... 178 Genre: the why of performance………………………………………. 183 Genre distinctions made through framing……………………………. 184 Internal genre distinctions……………………………………………. 193 Style: the how of performance……………………………………….. 199 Content: the what of performance……………………………………. 205 New dramaturgies……………………………………………………. 216 Chapter 6: Contexts and negotiations…………………………….. 221 From Mayhew to the Millennium Dome via Tony Hancock………………………………………………………. 224 The beach…………………………………………………………… 226 Country fairs, steam rallies and heritage sites………………………. 235 The show in the urban context and contemporary forms of street theatre………………………………………………. 242 Performances in schools and museums: unambiguous associations with the past…………………………………………… 248 Reintegration: festivals, control and internationalism……………… 253 Chapter 7: Reception and controversy………………………….. 260 Controversy and the contemporary performer…………………….. 261 How the agenda has moved on in the media……………………….. 268 Conclusion…………………………………………………………. 276 Appendices………………………………………………………… 288 A: Three contemporary versions of the core episode………………. 288 B: A older style show……………………………………………… 300 Bibliography………………………………………………………… 301 6 List of figures Fig. 1 Paul McCartney and Heather Mills-McCartney as Punch and Judy………………………………………………… 22 Fig. 2 College members on the beach at Paignton……………………… 27 Fig. 3 Cruikshank illustration of Piccini‟s show……………………….. 46 Fig. 4 George Speaight as Samuel Pepys……………………………….. 48 Fig. 5 Detail from The Humours and Diversions of Southwark Fair................................................................................ 50 Fig. 6 Samuel Collings: The Italian Puppet Show…………………........ 51 Fig. 7 Punch in the Victorian Drawing room c. 1871…………………… 55 Fig. 8 Newspaper advertisements, end of the nineteenth century……………....................................................... 60 Fig. 9 Puppeteers‟ adverts 1962……………………………………….... 61 Fig.10 Percy Press publicity brochure …………………………………. 61 Fig.11 Tom Kemp publicity brochure………………………………….. 62 Fig.12 Publicity postcard, Weymouth beach 1926…………………….. 62 Fig.13 Professor Green at Blackpool Sands, c.1930………………….... 63 Fig.14 Gathering of performers for the „325‟ celebrations…………….. 67 Fig.15 Covent Garden Mayfayre, booths and crowds………………….. 77 Fig.16 Booths at the PJF autumn festival………………………………. 88 Fig.17 Stairwell of the CAA……………………………………………. 91 Fig.18 Nuneaton Punch and Judy Festival………………………............ 93 Fig.19 College members at Paignton………………………………….... 94 Fig. 20 Bryan Clarke at the Covent Garden Mayfayre………………..... 111 Fig. 21 Pete Maggs with Judy ………………………………………….. 114 Fig. 22 Rod Burnett and Crocodile…………………………. …………. 117 Fig. 23 Dan Bishop and Punch…………………………… ……………. 120 Fig. 24 Geoff Felix erecting his booth ….................................................. 123 Fig. 25 Clive Chandler………………………………………………….. 126 Fig. 26 Mark Poulton and Punch .……………………………………… 129 Fig. 27 Irene Vecchia with her Pulcinella puppet……………………… 136 Fig. 28 Jose Gil with his Dom Roberto Puppet…… …………………… 137 Fig. 29 Ron Codman with his Punch and Judy puppets………………… 141 Fig. 30 Ron Codman's Joey Puppet…………………………………….. 141 7 Fig. 31 Pete Maggs‟ Black puppet……………………………………… 142 Fig. 32 Pete Maggs and Paul Klee Ghost puppets……………………...... 142 Fig. 33 Fred Tickner puppets in collection of Geoff Felix……………… 145 Fig. 34 Bryan Clarke Punch…………………………………………….. 145 Fig. 35 David Wilde with Punch by Quisto…………………………….. 146 Fig. 36 Bryan Clarke Judy puppet………………………………………. 147 Fig. 37 Bryan Clarke puppet heads……………………………………... 147 Fig. 38 Puppet heads in stages of carving………………………………. 148 Fig. 39 Finished Davey Punch head……………………………………. 150 Fig. 40 Mould for resin Punch………………………………………….. 151 Fig. 41 Dan Bishop‟s Punch……………………………………………. 152 Fig.42 Dan Bishop‟s Joey………………………………………………. 155 Fig. 43 Dan Bishop‟s Ghost puppet…………………………………….. 155 Fig. 44 Reg Payne with his Cornish Morris Dancer rod puppets……….. 156 Fig.45 Reg Payne‟s Ghost puppet………………………………………. 156 Fig. 46 Rod Burnett‟s Punch……………………………………………. 157 Fig. 47 Richard Coombs‟ Punch and Judy……………………………… 159 Fig. 48 Detail of painting of booth showing proscenium arch shaped to amplify the sound……………………………….. 162 Fig. 49 Tony Clarke‟s „Roselia‟ proscenium arch………………………. 163 Fig. 50 James Arnott‟s booth and clock……………………………….... 163 Fig. 51 Richard Coombs‟ proscenium arch……………………………... 164 Fig. 52 Rod Burnett‟s Proscenium arch ……………………………....... 164 Fig. 53 Martin Bridle with Punch and Proscenium…………………….... 165 Fig. 54 Michael Byrom‟s booth…………………………………………. 165 Fig. 55 Brian Davey‟s booth and detail………………………………… 166 Fig. 56 Geoff Felix‟s street-scene backcloth with Joey and Punch……… 167 Fig. 57 Robert Styles‟ proscenium with St Pauls on backcloth………… 167 Fig. 58 Gary Wilson‟s trick coffin……………………………………… 168 Fig. 59 Mark Poulton‟s semi-permanent booth…………………………. 169 Fig. 60 Pete Maggs‟ announcement board……………………………... 170 Fig. 61 Paul Jackson‟s