Synopsis Witness a tragic comedy of manslaughter and love. It's Punch and Judy but as presented by Messrs Harvey and Hovey, a pair of broken vaudevillians who are now in the gutter and have been reduced to presenting a puppet show that goes wildly off-course. Featuring a lush score of bass fiddle, gin parlour piano, metronome and bells, this dark but hilarious show is performed on a gloriously theatrical wood-panelled set. Inside this shadowy world live a steaming crocodile, a parade of piggies, the devil and many other extraordinary characters. Age guidance 12+. Running time: 85mins with no interval
Amid the current flood of anniversaries, Improbable are throwing one more into the mix - the 350th birthday of Punch, the club-wielding puppet synonymous with pier ends and gratuitous violence.
In this tribute to one of theatre’s oldest and most enduring institutions, director Julian Crouch and his team have reimagined a pair of real-life Victorian puppet masters, Messrs Harvey and Hovey, who enact Punch’s descent to hell after he (yet again) beats his wife Judy to death and throws their baby out the window.
What he finds down there is a Chapman brothers-esque vista of discarded, part-melted puppets who haunt but eventually can’t suppress the inherently unapologetic Punch with his archly-arrogant catchphrase “that’s the way to do it!”. Even two giant penises with limbs and Mephistopheles himself are unable to keep this man down.
Around the puppetry we see Harvey and Hovey (played by the accomplished Nick Haverson and Rob Thirtle) undergoing their own surreal odyssey, one that features knights, musicians, bulls, bubbles and a cello-playing matador.
It’s a veritable smorgasbord of Punch-related material, played out in and around an exquisite puppet theatre (designed by Crouch and Thirtle with Mike Kerns) that facilitates no end of peep show trickery.
But for all its stylistic ingenuity the script is surprisingly short on laughs and is wound out longer than the story merits. Perhaps Crouch’s obvious reverance for the Punch legend has in some way stifled the storytelling, but either way the show fails to engage for the entirety.
3 stars - It’s been a long time since I had an Improbable fix. This might be a minor Improbable, but minor Improbable is better than no Improbable. This one is effectively a long adults-only Punch & Judy Show.
There’s an oversized booth with lots of ‘holes’ of various sizes, some big enough for people and some just big enough for heads, with the traditional Punch & Judy size curtained aperture at the centre. It’s a mixture of live, somewhat gothic, characters including historical puppet masters Harvey & Havey, and puppets including a whole litter of piglets!
From a typical Punch & Judy starting point, we move on to Mr Punch’s trial for murder, his meeting with the hangman and his descent into hell. It’s all very macabre, but also often funny, and there are a couple of lovely songs for good measure. Other pleasures include a group of bell ringers – just the hands and bells popping out of various apertures in the booth!
It’s overstays its welcome a bit at 100 minutes, but it’s inventive and fun. Julian Crouch’s imagination hasn’t diminished, even if he is showcasing it on a smaller scale.
- Gareth James
28 Feb 12
I'll confess I've loved everything I've seen Improbable Theatre do since I chanced across them in the late 90s. This show is no exception - ingenious, hilarious, dark, whimsical and surprisingly moving. Frankly the best thing on in London at the moment, and anyone giving his show a one star review should get their head examined. - Dom Brewer
21 Feb 12
I heard a lone laugher the night I was there....a drunk. - Coral
17 Feb 12
'But for all its stylistic ingenuity the script is surprisingly short on laughs and is wound out longer than the story merits.' You must have seen a different show to me, I laughed the whole way through. It is theatrical and magical and not too long at all. I usually fidget like mad and glance at my watch constantly during anything, but I can't even tell you how long it lasted. I was so engrossed in an evening that took me away from my everyday life. I loved it, and I don't say that too often about anything I see. - Shelley Silas
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