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Published: 9 February, 2012
by HOWARD LOXTON

An operatic bull in love with a lady matador who plays the double bass, a typewriting dog, a troupe of piglet acrobats (who get turned into sausages) and a puppeteer who hates puppets.

What you might ask is going on?  

In fact it’s the traditional Punch and Judy story told in inimitable Improbable Theatre’s idiosyncratic way, complete with battered baby, beaten wife, crocodile, policeman, hangman and, of course, dog Toby They present us with what looks like a cross between Renaissance theatre and an ornate Elizabethan cabinet of curiosities made up of cupboards and compartments that prove full of wonders.

Beneath a line of festive bunting, they open to reveal strange faces, puppet figures pop up or strange hands reach out as they turn into miniature stages.

The wood and papier-mâché Punch and Judy figures are inspired by a set made by 19th-century New York showman Gus White, but the Punch puppet is first recorded in 1662.

This performance opens by taking us further back to the marionettes that have been a Sicilian tradition since the Middle Ages as they act out one of their best-known stories, the battle between Orlando Furioso and Tencredi.

In charge are Mr Harvey and Mr Hovey, real 19th-century New York puppet masters brought back to life.

Live actors and musicians appear along with their puppets as we follow Punch from when he takes over looking after the baby until he ends up in Hell.

It is an hilarious journey with shocks and pathos along the way and some delightful songs and music on bass fiddle, pub piano, hand bells and metronome.

As Punch says: “That’s the way to do it!” and director Julian  Crouch and his performers Nick Haverson, Rob Thirtle, Jessica Scott, Saskia Lane, John Foti and Seamus Maynard provide such a delightful 90-minute entertainment that I must agree, he’s right.

UNTIL FEBRUARY 25
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