Punch & Judy

Since the late twentieth century many puppeteers have attempted feminist revisions of traditional Punch and Judy shows. Alice and Nancy re-interpreted Mr. Punch as a simple-minded fellow and made Judy the lead character. They also removed the violence of the original. Indeed, the Wonderland Puppet Theater possibly served as a solution to the “problem with no-name” that Nancy Friedan described in her 1963 best seller, The Feminine Mystique. Alix Kates Shulman’s “marriage agreement” moved Alice Swann to draft a response, lamenting that it is too late to negotiate a more equitable agreement for sharing housework and childcare duties with her husband. In the 50th anniversary video, Alice discusses the violence in Punch and Judy and how they chose to no longer perform this show.