FRINGE '04: Punch And Judy

Doc Drumheller is bringing his unique twist on the Punch & Judy Show to Wellington in the annual Fringe Festival 2004.

Drumheller will be performing at the Civic Square on Wednesday 25th & Thursday 26th February at 12 & 1pm each day.

Doc comes to Wellington after performing with some of the world’s best street entertainers in The World Buskers Festival held in Christchurch.

Drumheller will be performing several different shows some traditional, some modern and some of his own devising. These shows will be suitable for children, but adults will find themselves chuckling at the absurd humour.

“Some people seem to think that Punch & Judy is violent, but the same people will sit their kids in front of Dragon Ball Z or some of the other cartoons full of fighting. The knockabout humour is an old tradition and before there was television, parents took their children out in the streets to see Punch playing tricks and using his sticks. I suppose people find it violent because it’s right there in front of them and is actively engaging, instead of being passive like television and most parents might not notice how violent these cartoons are because they are attending to domestic duties while their children watch TV by themselves.”

“I think it’s important to try and preserve the traditions of puppetry and performances in the streets. I am always surprised when I do my shows and have people tell me that they have never seen a puppet show.”

Doc Drumheller is an experienced performer and has performed all over New Zealand doing his puppet shows. Doc also teaches puppetry and puppet making at CPIT (Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology).

The shows are free to the public but there will be a hat going around at the end of the performance.

“This is how we make our living in the street and all of the puppets have to eat. Mr. Punch has thirteen hungry children, all of them twins and they love macaroni.”

© Scoop Media