London Street Punch

I have been a professional street Punch showman since 1994. I have worked mainly in Covent Garden and South Bank, London, and principal cities within a two hour drive of London. I am not paid a fee for this work. I rely on a collection taken during the show by my bottler and outside man, Ian Carter. I also perform internationally at a wide variety of venues; under contract and busking. To the best of my knowledge I am the only showman in Britain performing Punch on the street for a living, and one of the few professional traditional street puppeteers in the world.

Each working day I give approximately six presentations, or three and a half, to four and a half hours work. Performance times vary between fifteen and fifty minutes, depending on many factors. I pay my bottler thirty percent after our expenses. His role crucial to the success of the show. He provides security and collects money. This is a very difficult job.

I first saw a Punch and Judy show as a child, on a beach in the South of England. My show grows from that experience. I tune my swazzel to the sound I remember from that day. It was a professional show given by Frank Edmonds; everyone was expected to pay.

In 1969 I was able to buy a set of figures made by the late Fred Tickner. I still use them today. Throughout my career in the dramatic theatre, as a performer, technician and designer, I would perform Punch when there was no other theatre work, always at paid venues, usually children’s parties, never in the street. I developed a friendly family puppet show.

When I became a full time street showman, I quickly discovered that there is a fundamental difference between a paid child’s party and earning a day’s wages (for two men) in the street. London is a hard city; people do not visit the city centre to give us money. We have to take it from them. A street show must have a hard edge and a dark side, to succeed with a sophisticated crowd.

London is the most cosmopolitan city in the world. 33 million people pass through Covent Garden each year. I am, therefore, very experienced at engaging large audiences of all ages and nationalities. My show is not text based. Over thousands of performances, under the harsh conditions of the street, I have been forced to develop communication techniques and ‘tricks’, unique to this profession and of ancient origin. I have to create a drama that is universal, or archetypal.

A very important element in achieving the “universal” is reflection (of the crowd). I have to step away from my ’self ‘, no opinions, age, gender, no politics, Punch belongs to everyone. The old showmen referred to themselves as “Punch workers” not puppeteers; they referred to Punch as a doll or, figure; not a puppet and I believe this is correct. We work the Punch; the audience together with Punch create the drama. Gradually, in this reflective process, archetypes develop subconciously and it feels as if the show runs itself. Over a long period one’s brain becomes a store of seemingly limitless ‘business’ and repartee, constantly added to; used over and over again, often at great speed, always in a new way and always with one aim; to give each individual a dramatic experience deep enough to justify asking them for money.

Aristotle said in his work ‘Poetics’ that for a tragedy to succeed, the emotions, “pity and fear” are essential. This has been my direct experience. I would add that for a comic tragedy, hunger and love, also seem to be essential emotions for a successful street show. By successful I mean, of course, a show that makes money.

I would say that a Punch show is authentic if it earns the showman a living wage, in the centre of the city, where the human soup is at it’s thickest and richest. Clean money, most of it freely given, in exchange for a glimpse in the mirror.

In 1996, with the building of the Royal Opera House extention on the East Piazza, the economic dynamic changed. I moved from my licensed pitch on Covent Garden Market property and established an unlicensed pitch on James Street.

Street Punch is site specific. This pitch had its own set of difficulties, mainly other street performers and pedlars ‘top-pitching’ and a very high level of ambient sound from amplified musicians. Being a main thoroughfare James Street is also much rougher than the East Piazza and of course this affects every aspect of the show. Working on a main street is a health and safety risk through a number of options; not the least being violent assault; although we have not had a blow landed, over the years we have been forced to land a few ourselves.

In 2003, as a result of the lack of enforcement by Westminster City Council, James Street became a haven for low level performers, beggars, pedlars, scammers of all shades and as a result of police zero tollerance in Leicester Square; hard drug trading. This had a very intimidating effect on the crowds and Londoners; our best payers; were beginning to avoid using that route to the market. Our income went down as the problems increased.

Finally, businesses on James Street could take no more and after a long campaign by local traders, Westminster City Council used their powers to stop all fly-pitching except that form of beggar known as ‘Living Statue’. Punch was swept up in this net and on Christmas Eve 2003 the police threatened to charge me with the criminal offence of obstruction.

When I became a full time street showman, I neglected all my old performance contacts and turned down paid work; to protect my bottler’s income, to protect my pitch and out of a sense of responsibility to my regular crowds. As a result of the increasing difficulties on James Street, I began contacting agents, bookers and international festivals. Since 2003 have I worked less on James Street and more on South Bank and other London pitches, as well as international work.

Copyright: Konrad Fredericks