Editing Punch and Judy (section)

===Plots reflect their own era===

[[File:Hitler Punch and Judy Show.jpg|thumb|A traditional Punch and Judy show dating from [[World War II]] with the addition of a [[Hitler]] character as a figure of derision to reflect the times. Taken at the History On Wheels Museum, [[Eton Wick]], UK.]]
Punch and Judy might follow no fixed storyline, as with the tales of [[Robin Hood]], but there are episodes common to many recorded versions. It is these set piece encounters or "routines" which are used by performers to construct their own Punch and Judy shows. A visit to a Punch and Judy Festival at Punch's "birthplace" in London's Covent Garden will reveal a whole variety of changes that are rung by puppeteers from this basic material. Scripts have been published at different times since the early 19th century, but none can be claimed as the definitive traditional script of Punch and Judy. Each printed script reflects the era in which it was performed and the circumstances under which it was printed.

The various episodes of the show are performed in the spirit of outrageous comedy—often provoking shocked laughter—and are dominated by the anarchic clowning of Mr. Punch. Just as the Victorian version of the show drew on the morality of its day, so also the Punch & Judy College of Professors considers that the 20th- and 21st-century versions of the tale is used as a vehicle for grotesque visual comedy and a sideways look at contemporary society.

{{Blockquote|In my opinion the street Punch is one of those extravagant reliefs from the realities of life which would lose its hold upon the people if it were made moral and instructive. I regard it as quite harmless in its influence, and as an outrageous joke which no one in existence would think of regarding as an incentive to any kind of action or as a model for any kind of conduct. It is possible, I think, that one secret source of pleasure very generally derived from this performance… is the satisfaction the spectator feels in the circumstance that likenesses of men and women can be so knocked about, without any pain or suffering.|[[Charles Dickens]]|Letter to Mary Tyler, 6 November 1849, from ''The [[Letters of Charles Dickens]] Vol V, 1847–1849''.<ref name="History"/>}}

An awareness of the prevalence of [[Domestic violence|domestic abuse]], and how Punch and Judy could be seen to make light of this, has caused changes in Punch and Judy performances in the UK and other English-speaking countries.<ref>{{cite news |title=Puppet show faces knockout punch? |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/502752.stm |access-date=3 September 2008 |date=8 November 1999 |location=London}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Barnett |first=David |date=2024-05-11 |title=Judy stands up to Punch as classic puppet show gets modern makeover |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/article/2024/may/11/punch-and-judy-project-puppets-modern-makeover |access-date=2024-05-26 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}</ref> The show continues to be seen<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.punchandjudyworld.org/wwfbloggem/?itemid=134 |title=around the world with mr. punch » Silly-Season-On-Sea |publisher=Punchandjudyworld.org |date=14 August 2008 |access-date=2 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223201406/http://www.punchandjudyworld.org/wwfbloggem/?itemid=134 |archive-date=23 February 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> in [[England]], [[Wales]], and [[Ireland]]—and also in [[Canada]], the [[United States]], the [[Caribbean]] and [[Puerto Rico]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], and [[South Africa]]. In 2001, the characters were honoured in the UK with a set of [[Great Britain commemorative stamps 2000–09|British commemorative postage stamps]] issued by the [[Royal Mail]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1500372.stm |title="Stamp of Approval for Punch and Judy", BBC News, 20 August 2001 |work=BBC News |date=20 August 2001 |access-date=2 August 2012}}</ref> In a 2006 UK poll, the public voted Punch and Judy onto the list of icons of England.<ref>{{cite news|title=New icons of Englishness unveiled|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4952920.stm|agency=BBC News|issue=27 April 2006|date=11 June 2015}}</ref> In 2024, a new version of the show was staged at London's [[Covent Garden]].<ref name=":1" /> It was developed as part of the Judy Project,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Performance – The Judy Project |url=https://thejudyproject.exeter.ac.uk/performance/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |language=en-GB}}</ref> a three year study of the roles that women have played in the tradition of puppetry, by a [[University of Exeter]] team. The violence in this version of the show is directed more towards institutions of authority rather than any individuals, and Judy questions the treatment she has received from Punch over hundreds of years.<ref name=":2" />