Go to Covent Garden on Sunday 11th May and you will be able to enjoy for free the 50th Annual Covent Garden May Fayre & Puppet Festival. Why is it held here? Well it is all linked to Punch and Judy.
Historical Significance of Punch and Judy in Covent Garden
If you know Covent Garden you will no doubt know the Punch and Judy pub, even if you haven’t had a drink there. Its name commemorates an event which took place nearby 363 years ago. Opposite the pub is St Paul’s church, in front of which visitors gather to watch street performers and on 9th May 1662 crowds gathered to watch a novel performance.
On the façade of the church is a plaque to commemorate this performance which was seen by the great diarist Samuel Pepys. He recorded in his diary:- “Thence… into Covent Garden to an alehouse…. Thence to see an Italian puppet play that is within the rayles (barriers to keep back the crowds) there, which is very pretty, the best that ever I saw, and great resort of gallants.”
Evolution of the Punch and Judy Tradition
It is the first record of a Punch and Judy show in this country. It was given by the Italian puppet showman Pietro Gimonde from Bologna, who later that year gave a royal command performance at Whitehall for Charles II. So it was an import from Italy and at the time was a marionette (with strings) rather than hand puppet show. It had its origins in the Commedia Dell’Arte with Punch being originally Pulcinella, the Lord of Misrule – an anarchic character.
The performances were very popular in Restoration England after the time of Oliver Cromwell when theatrical entertainment was banned. It started as a show where the characters said outrageous things but later changed to using hand puppets as it was easier to perform more aggressive and sometimes violent behaviour not possible with stringed puppets. It was and still is a really a subversive art form. The storyline is somewhat standard but usually involves what we would today call domestic violence.
Punch and Judy, Photo by Susan Baker
Punch has a slapstick which he uses to hit other characters, in particular his wife Judy – the origin of the phrase “slapstick comedy”. These days the puppets do not really speak – the puppeteer uses a swazzle (a voice altering device) in their mouth to make the cackling voice of the characters, in particular, Punch.
Judy was originally called Joan but this was too difficult to pronounce using the swazzle. The main characters remain the same – Punch, Judy, their baby, a policeman, a crocodile, a string of sausages as a prop, often a skeleton and a doctor.
Cultural and Social Commentary
However, there is usually a variety of other characters, some of which may reflect the times e.g. during World War II Adolf Hitler appeared as one of the villains. The show usually ends with Punch overcoming encounters with law and order and often the supernatural – I saw one which ended with the devil and another with a ghost both of which were overcome. In another alternative version I have seen, it is Judy who is the more aggressive character, with Punch being the long suffering spouse.
In the second half of the 18th century the show went from being performed in a puppet theatre (which was expensive) to being in a portable booth with one puppeteer with a “bottler” to collect money. The show was originally aimed at adults but from the late Victorian period, the target audience was children and it was a popular seaside entertainment with the booths being set up on the beach.
Today in addition to being seen at the beach, Punch and Judy shows take place at festivals and birthday parties. It includes many elements of pantomime with the audience being encouraged to call out e.g. he/she/it’s behind you/ oh no he didn’t… The shows have been subject to cycles in popularity with alternative forms of entertainment being easily available and with the rise in awareness of domestic violence.
There were obviously questions about the violence even 200 years ago as Charles Dickens refers to this issue in a letter on 6 November 1849:- “ (it 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.” 🔊 Listen Now: Charles Dickens in Greenwich
The Annual Covent Garden May Fayre & Puppet Festival
There has been a celebration of these puppet shows for 50 years at Covent Garden, where it all started – the Annual Covent Garden May Fayre & Puppet Festival. It is mainly held in the garden of St Paul’s Church starting at 11am with a parade round the area led by a brass band. This is followed by a service in the church with Mr Punch in the pulpit. The afternoon is filled with numerous Punch and Judy shows, some coming from abroad.
You can join in maypole dancing or buy your own puppet. It is a great day out, particularly for children – last year they were joining in very enthusiastically. Do go along on 11th May (it’s always on the second Sunday in May) – no ticket required.
You can discover more about Samuel Pepys on our Samuel Pepys’s London walk or about Covent Garden on our Victoria Covent Garden walk.
