mr.t.ricks: punch & judy

mr.t.ricks: punch & judy: "The Punch and Judy show can trace its roots to the 16th-century The figure of Punch derives from the Neapolitan stock character of Pulcinell..."

punch & judy

The Punch and Judy show
can trace its roots to the 16th-century
The figure of Punch derives 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 mythologies. Punch's wife was originally "Joan".
May 9 1662 - the date on which the figure who later became Mr Punch made his first recorded appearance in England - is traditionally reckoned by "professors" as Punch's UK birthday. The diarist Samuel Pepys observed a marionette show featuring an early version of the Punch character in Covent Garden in London.
The mobile booth of the late 18th- and early 19th-century Punch and Judy glove-puppet show was originally covered in whatever inexpensive cloth might come to hand. Later Victorian booths, particularly those used for Christmas parties and other indoor performances, were gaudier affairs. In the 20th century, however, red-and-white striped puppet booths became iconic features on the beaches of many English seaside resorts; such striped cloth is the most common covering today, wherever the show might be performed.


A more substantial change came over time to the show's target audience. Originally intended for adults, the show evolved into primarily a children's entertainment in the late Victorian era. Ancient members of the show's cast, like the devil and Punch's mistress Pretty Polly, ceased to be included when they came to be seen as inappropriate for young audiences.
Modern British performances of Punch and Judy are no longer exclusively the traditional seaside children's entertainments they became in summer holiday resorts. They can now be seen at carnivals, festivals, birthday parties, and other celebratory occasions. With Punch and Judy, the characters usually include their baby, a hungry crocodile, Joey the Clown (a friend of Mr Punch), an officious policeman, and a prop string of sausages. The devil and the generic hangman Jack Ketch may still make their appearances but, if so, Punch will always get the better of them. The story changes, but some phrases remain the same for decades or even centuries: for example, Punch, after dispatching his foes each in turn, still squeaks his famous catchphrase "That's the way to do it!!"

Joseph Grimaldi

Grimaldi was born in Clare Market, London, the son of an Italian, Signor Joseph 'Iron Legs' Grimaldi ballet-master at the Drury Lane and Rebecca Brooker, a dancer in the theatre's corps de ballet. Grimaldi's father died when he was nine, and plunged the family into debt. When less than two years old, he was introduced to the stage at Drury Lane; at the age of three, he began to appear at the Sadler's Wells theatre. As a young man, Grimaldi fell in love and married the daughter of the principal proprietor of Sadler's Wells. Maria Grimaldi died in childbirth 18 months after their marriage. He found solace in performance, and eventually married again, to Mary. A son, Joseph Samuel Grimaldi was born and entered the profession, but drank himself to death, by the age of thirty.
As a pantomime clown Grimaldi was considered without equal, his greatest success occurring in Harlequin and Mother Goose; or the Golden Egg at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden (1806 and often revived).
Joseph Grimaldi was an innovator, his performance as Joey introduced the modern clown to the world, building on the existing role of Clown as a country bumpkin and fool, derived from the Commedia dell'arte; and making the clown the central character in the Harlequinade[2]. His physical comedy was extraordinary, as was his ability to invent visual tricks and buffoonery, and his ability to poke fun at the audience. As Music hall became popular, he introduced the pantomime dame to the theatre and was responsible for the tradition of audience participation.


His most famous song was Hot Codlins - literally, Toffee Apples. :A little old woman,
her living she got by selling hot codlins,
hot, hot, hot.
And this little old woman,
who codlins sold,
tho' her codlins were hot,
she felt herself cold.
So to keep herself warm she thought it no sin to fetch for herself a quartern of ........
The audience would shout Gin, with some glee, and Grimaldi would fix them with a stare and say Oh! For shame!, in mock disappointment.
A famous 'sad clown' anecdote was first told of Grimaldi (later also told of Grock): A young man goes to see his doctor. He is overcome by a terrible sadness and doesn't think anything will make him feel better. The doctor says, "Why not do something happy, like going to see Grimaldi the clown?". The young man answers, with a knowing look, "Ah, but Doctor," he says, "I am Grimaldi."
Comedy performer Tony Allen said of Grimaldi's performance:
Any description of Joey Grimaldi's varied talents always includes his unusual skill of lampooning popular figures of the day by apparently re-arranging fruit, vegetables and cooking utensils and other every day items on a barrow. It wasn't a one-off joke, he was known for it and he rang the changes. For example: upper class dandies, the Prince Regent included, had made the Hussar uniform high fashion. Now just how Grimaldi arranged a coal scuttle, a muff and a full-length coat into a primitive cartoon sculpture that had a Covent Garden audience of 2,500 rolling in the isles night after night was beyond me. I assumed that an allusion to royalty was dangerous and his comic genius must have been in the execution, leaving the joke therefore lost to us[3].
Suffering from ill health, Grimaldi retired from the stage. In his farewell speech he told his audience Like vaulting audition, I have overleaped myself and pay the penalty in advanced old age. It is four years since I jumped my last jump, filched my last oyster, boiled my last sausage and set in for retirement. By 1828, he was broke, and benefit performances were held at both Sadlers Wells (March 17) and Covent Garden (June 28). A pension of £100 per annum was instituted by the Drury Lane Theatrical Fund. He could barely walk, but spent his last years at the Cornwallis Tavern, in Pentonville, the landlord, George Cook carrying him back to his nearby lodgings at the end of the evening. On the night of May 31st, 1837, he died. He had become a physical wreck, owing to the years of extreme physical exertion his clowning had involved. The London Illustrated News wrote Grimaldi is dead and hath left no peer. We fear with him the spirit of pantomime has disappeared.
Joseph Grimaldi's grave is in Joseph Grimaldi Park (formerly, the courtyard of St. James's Chapel), Pentonville Road in Islington.
To this day, on every first Sunday in February, a memorial service is held for Grimaldi at All Saints' Church, Haggerston, Hackney. At this service, hundreds of clowns flock from all over the world in full 'garb', and the service is followed by a show for the children. The church hall had been the home of the Clowns' Gallery, but after a fire they relocated to a nearby community centre.