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Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Mr. Punch and one other character who usually falls victim to the intentional violence of Punch's slapstick .
The device is used to produce the distinctive harsh, rasping voice of Punch in a Punch and Judy show, and is held in the mouth by the professor (performer). The design of the swazzle was once a secret guarded by the professors and only taught to those with a genuine respect for and interest in learning the performance of Punch and Judy puppetry.
Mr. Punch (also known as Pulcinella or Pulcinello), the principal puppet character in the traditional Punch and Judy puppet show; Mr. Punch, the masthead image and nominal editor of Punch, largely borrowed from the puppet show; Mr. Punch, a fictional character in Neil Gaiman's graphic novel, The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch ...
Few seaside Punch and Judy shows remain but Joe Burns still attracts thousands of fans on the beach in Swanage.
Scaramouche is one of the great characters in the Punch and Judy puppet shows with roots in commedia dell'arte. In some scenarios, he is the owner of The Dog, another stock character. During performances, Punch frequently strikes Scaramouche, causing his head to come off his shoulders.
The general story is paralleled with the traditional story of the Punch and Judy show, "The oldest, the wisest play". The narrator is first introduced to Mr. Punch when fishing with his grandfather, but encounters it, and a mysterious "professor" (Punch & Judy man), during various other activities.
The name "slapstick" originates from the Italian batacchio or bataccio—called the "slap stick" in English—a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in commedia dell'arte. When struck, the Batacchio produces a loud smacking noise, though it is only a little force that is transferred from the object to the person being struck.
Is the Punch and Judy Show very violent and non-pc? Punch and Judy are to domestic violence what Tom and Jerry are to animal cruelty and the Keystone Cops are to police brutality. That stick Mr. Punch wields is the very slapstick that gave its name to the whole genre of broad physical comedy.