11 Things about Mr Punch you may not know

Punch puppet characters are called Kasperle in Germany, Guignolin France, Jan Klaassen in the Netherlands, Karagoz in turkey and Karaghiozis in Greece.

Mr Punch derives from the masked stocK chAracter of punchinello in ItaLIAN COMMEDIA DELL' ARTE

Samuel Pepys Diary , May 9th 1662, "an Italian puppet play that is within the rayles there, which is very pretty, the best that ever I saw..."

He is at least 350 years old

(in English)

But his character traits go back to ancient Trickster deities

He has legs and a hunchback

(so he can sit on the side of the stage and talk to the audience)

(because the hump of a hunchback is filled with luck)

Punch is operated with the Right hand and other puppets in the show with the left.

(Because Mr Punch is on stage most of the time and other characters come on, get slapsticked and go)

"Punch Line" is a term that comes from Mr Punch

A joke was often called a "bite" or a "hit", In Italian it is still called a "battuta" (a "beating")

Mr Punch carries a "Slapstick"...a noisy stick he hits o t h e r p u p p e t s w i t h . Punchinello carries one in Commedia dell arte.(Thus 'Slapstick 'Comedy...)

Punch puppeteers are called Professors

(Because fancy titles impress people if you want their money )

Traditionally, Punch's rasping voice is created with a Swazzle.

Swazzle: small metal instrument with vibrating reeds kept in the mouth . Easily swallowed.

12

3 4

5 6

7

8

910

11