PUNCH AND JUDY AROUND AUSTRALIA TOUR

Punch and Judy and Punch and Friends will be on the road in 2011!  We are touring by road with a caravan and the whole gang of puppets over 12 months, taking Punch to lots of small towns and regional centres.
We will be  travelling  around the country counter-clockwise, beginning in  New South Wales, then Queensland, The Northern Territory, Western Australia, then South Australia and back to Victoria.

If you are interested in booking any show or arranging a residency on the tour, please email Ken at kenharper@netspace.net.au

Dates are as follows:

NEW SOUTH WALES

February 14 - May 1

QUEENSLAND

May - June

NORTHERN TERRITORY

July - August

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

September - October

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

November - December

TASMANIA
To be Arranged

Victorian Country Tour
Rooty Toot Toot!  Mr Punch and the swag are off on a little tour of  Western Victoria!  What fun! Touring dates and times are as follows:

Stawell
Performing over three  days, courtesy of Stawell Regional Arts, from Monday Dec. 13 until Wednesday 15.
The Monday performance will be at the Hall's Gap Golf Club and there will be two performances per day in Stawell on Tuesday and Wednesday. Times and venue TBA

Castlemaine
Performing at the Castlemaine Regional Art Gallery in Littleton St, Castlemaine, from Thursday Jan. 6 until Saturday Jan. 8 Performances at 11 am each day at the Gallery and  a 2pm performance on Saturday as well. See the Gallery website for bookings and prices.
Castlemaine Art Gallery» Exhibitions » Punch & Judy Puppet comedy ...

NORTHCOTE KIDS FESTIVAL!  NORTHCOTE TOWN HALL, MELBOURNE

The wonderful people at Northcote Town Hall are presenting a program of shows especially for kids during the Victorian school holidays. Punch and Judy will be performing at the following times:
  September 25 & 26th  at 11am
 September 27th at 10am
 September 28th, 29,  30th  at 2pm

For bookings you can book  by phone or online at http://www.northcotetownhall.com.au/page/page.asp?Page_id=387

 THE BIG SKY FESTIVAL, GERALDTON, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

I'm delighted to be performing Punch and doing some workshops at the Big Sky Festival in September. There will be two performances of Punch and Judy. Saturday September 11 at 10.30 am  in the Kids Marquee, at the Geraldton Universities Centre, and Sunday September 12 at  the closing celebrations at Nukara Farm between  2.00 and 4.00. Bookings are essential for   the Sunday  event. phone 9920 5015

I will also be giving a talk on Puppetry Traditions of the World on Saturday Sept 11 at The Geraldton Universities centre at 2.30pm and doing a workshop for grade 5 and 6 students on Performing Comedy on Friday 10 Sept. at the QE Centre. For the full program see http://www.library.cgg.wa.gov.au/images/BigSky/big%20sky%20-%20a5%20booklet%20%5Bprogram%20pages%5D.pdf

Punch at ArtPlay
The next performance of Punch and Judy will be at The ArtPlay Winter Cabaret at ArtPlay on Birrarung Marr in Melbourne on Saturday  June 5. The show begins at 1.00pm and features a series of performances for kids. 
All welcome!
 

 REVIEWS

‘Punch and Judy, how utterly amazing. Hats off, two thumbs up. The kids went mad for all of the exquisitely made up puppets, the classic theatre set up and traditional story makes this an absolute must. I know it is a kids show but there were more of us adults than kids and I think we were making more noise. If you want to see Punch and Judy at it's best surrounded by all the colourful characters than this one is for you. Everyone should see Punch and Judy at least once in their life-time and this is by far the best. Spellbinding.’                                         *****
By Heidi Kinsey           Funny Tonne/  Melbourne Comedy Festival

 ‘Anarchy, violence, rudeness, sausage-stealing crocodiles and good old-fashioned puppets-whacking-other-puppets-with-sticks action  … what’s NOT to like? Alternately hilarious and horrifying, Ken Harper’s wonderful Punch & Judy show takes us to the heart of darkness that lies at the heart of all great family entertainment.’
By Andy Griffiths, Author

‘Dominic and I loved the show. As soon as we got home Dom put on his own Whacking Show with my precious Indonesian puppets and a half a dozen socks, and now has been asking me to draw life-sized Punch and Judy characters all week. The Devil and Death are his favourites - with Mr Punch coming a close third. He has also had the brochure by the side of his bed all week.’

By Sally Rippin, Author

‘I thought I'd like to say Thank You for the terrific Punch and Judy Show at the Northcote Town Hall yesterday. I loved the way the children got involved, and I must say we adults enjoyed shouting out too!’
Kaye Cole, Mother

‘A beautifully presented booth and puppets that were 'easy to read' combined with a well-rehearsed show made for an excellent afternoon.’
Sean Kinsey            The Australian Puppeteer’

SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES FEEDBACK
 
‘Punch and Friends’ was a wonderful introduction to the world of puppetry. The show culminates with a manic, mischievious and unadulterated Punch and Judy show. I would Highly recommend this performance to other libraries and schools.
Stephen Spillard              Dandenong  Regional Library, Victoria

‘Awsome!’
Year 10 student, Genazzano College Melbourne

 ‘The show was offered as a lunch-time activity.( for years 7-12) I think it worked well. The viewing area was full and the students laughed out loud and  called out. The interaction was wonderful to see.I thought the traditional look of the theatre itself and the puppets was extraordinary It was a fun end to Book Week.’
Susan La Marca  Librarian, Genazzano College, Victoria

‘Students loved it!  They want to see it again.  Very amusing, and great to see all ‘PC’ thrown out the window’
Robin Mc Greevy,  Yrs 2/3/4 Damla College, W.A

‘Great Show!Very interesting about how puppets work.  Very interactive with student responses and our children particularly loved the way  the puppetry was linked to their (Turkish) culture.
Tara Horkings,  Yrs 5/6 Damla College , W.A

Punch and Judy on YouTube
Scenes from the Melbourne Comedy festival performances of Punch can be viewed on the following YouTube links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qF35icZQG8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PoUjik48K0

Woohoo! What a great review from MICF Funny Tonne blogger Heidi Kinsey:
www.comedyfestival.com.au/2010/season/funny-tonne/heidi-kinsey/67/

"Punch and Judy, how utterly amazing. Hats off, two thumbs up. The kids went mad for all of the exquisitely made up puppets, the classic theatre set up and traditional story makes this an absolute must. I know it is a kids show but there were more of us adults than kids and I think we were making more noise. If you want to see Punch and Judy at it's best surrounded by all the colourful characters than this one is for you. Everyone should see Punch and Judy at least once in their life time and this is by far the best. Spellbinding."

Rooty toot toot, that's the way to do it!

Writing Activities for ‘Punch and Judy’

Year level Suggestions For Topics and Activities, created using suggestions from Dianne Edwards and Sophia Sabatier, literacy consultants with Australian Independent Schools of Western Australia ( AISWA)

Years 1-3

• Recount of the visit

• Description of a character in P&J.

• What sayings and phrases are repeated in the play

Years 4-5

• Descriptions of the different puppets in P&J

• Recount of the story

• Write a new funny story using the characters and plot of Punch and Judy: For Example: Judy goes Shopping, Joey meets the Crocodile in the Kitchen, Mr Punch’s Breakfast, Punch and Judy’s Wedding, The Devil plans to capture Mr Punch

Years 5-8

• Review of the show including : recount; description of two characters; opinion.

• Research the puppetry of one country. (Indonesia, Eastern Europe, Turkey, India, England, Italy, China, Japan, or Vietnam etc.) Present in a multi-modal form, poster or written report

Years 7-10

• Script a play with beginning, middle and end. Perform with own sock puppets http://www.legendsandlore.com/sockpuppets.html

• or: cut-out stick puppets http://www.teacherhelp.org/puppets.htm

Years 8 -12

• Consider the role of ‘The Villain’ in stories. Describe some villains in films or other stories. what motivates them? Essay or report.

• Research a history of Punch and Judy: Commedia Dell’ Arte (Pulcinello)>English Pantomime> Punch as puppet in street shows> addition of Judy.
  

• Write a different show for Mr Punch using the same characters.

Cross Curriculum links

Religion and Life

• Discuss links between puppetry and religions, especially in Indonesia, Bali, and India.

Design and Technology

• Puppetry in film and television. Students research a film or TV show which uses puppet techniques. Examples: Sesame Street, Labyrinth, The Fantastic Mr Fox, Mary and Max,
• Research different styles of puppetry: how are they made and operated?
• Make a puppet http://www.teacherhelp.org/puppets.htm
  

Art

• Design and Construct: sock puppets, shadow puppets , rod(stick) puppets

Civics and Citizenship

• What did Mr Punch do that is not permitted in Australia?
  

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 10 - 12 Big Sky Readers and Writers festival, Geraldton, Western Australia