Punch and Judy - Today's Puppets

The Punch & Judy Cast - In modern form.

Questions have been asked, in the UK’s Press, as to whether the characters in the Punch play are actually lampooning real people. Only the Hangman, Joey The Clown and, you may argue, the Devil are actually based on ‘real’ individuals. The remaining characters are referred to as Stock Characters. This may explain why different versions of the characters may be seen but as, unlike (say) Winston Churchill (who we also have in puppet form) who needs a hat and cigar however he is depicted, generally there is no stock appearance for Judy, the Policeman, Ghost, Dog Toby, Boxers or even a Health and Safety Officer.

The Doctor has been a stock character, in Punch’s play, from the date of the earliest known script’s publication (1828). His primary function was to help Mr.Punch when he fell from a horse or, more latterly, is frightened by a ghost or bitten by the crocodile. There have been instances when the doctor transmuted into the hangman and he may even have started life as a Doctor of Law but as you can see the show develops and changes, to keep it sensitive to today's audiences but always with a nod to its iconic past.

The doctor’s diagnosis is announced, usually some unwelcome medicine is administered, it all depends on whether the doctor hears the call and is happy to practise his art.

Here are the main characters in the play, as we present it!