Call To Ban Punch And Judy Shows To Be Considered By Midway’s Labo*r Council.

Summer is here, it’s hot and everyone is going to the beach. It’s a time of great English summer traditions, like ice cream, Kiss-Me-Quick hats and right-wing yobs rioting and looting in the name of “freedom of expression”...

Stock photo of Punch and Judy show...

And what could be more traditional than rolling out the lazy old annual summertime space-filler that says calls are mounting for traditional Punch and Judy shows to drop scenes depicting domestic violence?

Midway town council agreed to spend £3,000 to stage outdoor entertainments this year, so we dug out some old Facebook posts from various domestic abuse charities who suggested that Punch and Judy shows might want to think about “removing or re-imagining violent elements towards women”.

“At the heart of these classic performances are repeated scenes of domestic abuse – including Punch hitting his wife Judy and their baby,” they said a few years ago.

No-one from Midway Council has made any suggestion about banning Punch and Judy shows in Midway, but that won’t stop us putting out a sly headline that invites the hard-of-thinking to get on the “culture wars” bandwagon so that we can get our page-views up, just like we do every summer.

In recent years, Punch and Judy performances have been cancelled in other places across the country. Notably, in 2016, the plays were halted in Barry, Wales, over fears they trivialised violence. Organisers then dropped Punch and Judy from a fete in the village of Saltfleetby after the parish council objected in 2023. Then, in 2024, puppet shows that enthralled visitors for more than 120 years in the seaside resort of Eastbourne - perhaps the UK’s longest running - were axed.

None of these places are anywhere near Midway, but that won’t stop us drawing comparisons and implying our local council will ban Punch and Judy shows as well.

Ben "The Incredible" Oddball...

Despite this, Midway’s Town Council will pay £2,850 to entertainer Ben Oddball, a.k.a. Ben “The Incredible” Oddball, to ensure the show goes on at Claptout-On-Sea this summer.

Mr Oddball, 44, who has performed Punch and Judy around the south-east for more than 20 years, says “it would be a shame” to see the plays disappear.

"I'm not going to be there to offend anyone - it's a traditional show for clapped-out oldies who still think that Fawlty Towers or Bernard Manning is funny. I've never listened to a single complaint,” he said.

"Some people think that puppet shows depicting wife-beating as a ‘bit of a larf’ are dying out. That’s just a myth. They’re just mythogynists. Gettit? Gettit?” joked Mr. Oddball lamely.

“In my experience, it’s never been so popular with nostalgic old pensioners who think their great-grandchildren will laugh at same things that they did sixty years ago. It's terrific the council has paid for this old rubbish - not many do that”.

"This town has a long-running history of hosting stuff that stopped being funny years ago. It would be such a shame to lose that."

When the MORON visited Claptout-On-Sea on Monday we found that most beachgoers at Midway’s Claptout-On-Sea resort didn’t have a strong opinion on the matter - so we kept asking around until we found someone who did.

 "Sir" Stan Johnson: old fashioned discipline...

 “I think it’s all good family entertainment,” said one local, “Sir” Stan Johnson. “Punch and Judy is a reflection of good old Victorian values - like giving the wife and kids a slap when they deserve it.”

“Discipline – that‘s what modern families lack these days. Too much namby-pamby wokeness around today, that’s what I say."

"I gave my wife and kids a belt when I felt they needed it, and they all turned out all right, didn’t they?”

“Mind you, it was just a one-off,” he hastily added. “So that makes it all right.”

Gary “Gazza” Goldsmith, from London, added: “I think it’s a good thing - it’s a traditional English thing and it’s good that it is coming back.

Andy Griffiths, from Staffordshire, agreed. “Getting a big stick, hitting the missus and shouting ‘that’s the way to do it!’ - what could be more traditionally Tory than that?”

A town council spokesperson said it is keen to continue offering a traditional nostalgic old pensioner experience.

“Punch and Judy”, they said, is “part of that timeless experience.”

“We know our elderly right-wing residents and visitors enjoy seeing all the old stuff they’ve seen a thousand times before.”

“It saves them having to think.” 

In the real world, I suppose trying (and failing) to stoke a bit of culture wars is a bit of a break from the endless publicity for their favourite political party at county hall… 

Comments:
Please note that we do not moderate comments. However, we may edit or delete them, or manipulate the voting on them in order to reflect our editorial policy.

Chad Grindr wrote:
Some people worry about a childrens puppet show but often jump to the defence of certain communities that treat women literally as second class citizens.
What a bizarre perspective :-/

👍+23

GreyMondeoMan replied:
What ‘certain communities’ would they be then, Chad? Tory politicians?

👎-9

Hate all Reds And Greens replied:
Everyone knows that all Labo*r politicians are evil corrupt wife-beaters and are the scum of the earth and that is why everyone hates them.

👍+34

GreyMondeoMan replied:

Are you confusing “everyone” with just yourself and your multiple user IDs?

👎-4

Neil Barse replied:

Yet more sealioning, misinformation, lies and abuse from the vindictive peddler of misinformation and Far-Left hateful anti-British antagonist Europhile troll Greymondeoman. I think you far-left socialists must be mentally ill to constantly come out with the constant lies and whataboutery the way you do. And what about that Rachel Re*ves eh? Why hasn’t she resigned after been caught out lying on her CV?

👍+21

Auntie Nartsie wrote:
So it's ok for families with children having to watch hundreds of small boats landing on our beaches swarming with millions of illegal immigrants but not a punch a Judy show, if you don't want your children to watch it dont go to the show, save the space for someone who will enjoy and find it funny, here's to many more years of PUNCH AND JUDY!!

👍+25

SuperBigotDave wrote:
Can we 'cancel' Fawlty Towers and Keeping Up Appearances next? Their blatant misandry is a form of abuse and has gone on too long. It's just not funny.

👍+8

Victor Laudanum replied:
Don’t know about ‘abuse’ and ‘misandry’ but I otherwise agree. Fawlty Towers and Keeping Up Appearances are just not funny. Unless your sense of humour is still stuck in the 1980s, of course.

👍+9

Hate All Greens And Reds wrote:
Typical leftist Labo*r killjoys want to cancel Punch and Judy shows because it doesn’t fit their woke political agenda. This Labo*r government is the worst ever hate hate Labo*r hate whine moan Keir St*rmer hate moan hate Rachel Re*ves hate hate whine hate Angela Rayn*r hate hate hate rant rant rant etc. etc.

👍+54

Chad Grindr replied:
An excellent factual and moderate post HAGAR. This Labo*r government is truly awful and must be shriekily denounced at every opportunity until we get a proper right-wing government back run by trustworthy and competent individuals like Liz Truss and Boris Johnson.

👍+32

Grey Mondeo Man replied:
Who in Midway is calling for anything to be cancelled?

👎-18

Neil Barse replied:

What's the difference between cancelling and axing, dropping, dropping completely scenes depicting domestic violence. Did you fail too read this sentence also greymondeoman,

"In recent years, Punch and Judy performances have been cancelled across the country."

Notice the word "cancelled."

👍+15

Grey MondeoMan replied:

Those ‘bans’ were in other places and other times, Neil. Did you not read the “…in Midway..” part of my comment? No-one is cancelling anything in Midway. Read the article.

👎-2

Neil Barse replied:

Yet more sealioning, misinformation, lies and abuse from the vindictive peddler of misinformation and Far-Left hateful anti-British antagonist Europhile troll Greymondeoman. I think you far-left socialists must be mentally ill to constantly come out with the constant lies and whataboutery the way you do. And what about that Rachel Re*ves eh? Why hasn’t she resigned after been caught out lying on her CV?

👍+21

SuperBigotDave replied:

Don't waste your breath NB.

👍+4

Grey Mondeo Man wrote:
I would just gently remind our "it's only a bit of fun" chums that the call to "remove or re-imagine violent elements" came from the UK's biggest domestic violence charity. Not do-gooders, not Guardian readers, not the wokerati, not "pearl clutchers" and not professional moaners who only do it "for the sport".

👎-8

Wantsomemore replied:
Doesn't mean that their words are based on evidence or reason. If they don't have proof that Punch and Judy shows contribute to domestic violence, we don't need to take any notice of them. A classic appeal to authority.

👍+5

Grey Mondeo Man replied:
That’s an interesting argument, one which says that nothing should be deemed as offensive or undesirable unless it can be proven to have a negative effect.
In short, you are saying that morality is someone else’s problem.
Me, I don’t think it reasonable or even necessary that children of today should be expected to regard a depiction of domestic violence as funny just because our granddad did when he was a kid.
I put it to you that the world has moved on, including the world of children’s entertainment.
We can do better than a man puppet hitting a woman puppet and a baby puppet with a stick and shouting “that’s the way to do it”, don’t you think?

👍+8

Wantsomemore replied:
You make a good point. But Punch and Judy without the silly voices and mock violence just wouldn’t be Punch and Judy. Although to be honest, my grand-kids got bored of Punch and Judy after a couple of minutes of it. They can get much more graphic and realistic entertainment on their computer games these days.

👍+7

Grey Mondeo Man replied:
Your point above is equally valid. Perhaps Punch and Judy is a far more wholesome form of entertainment than some computer games, but then that comes down to parental supervision. I can’t see Minecraft producing a generation of wife-beaters or psychopaths, but some of the other stuff out there is scary.

👍+6

Neil Barse replied:

A typical pathetic leftist woke debate that has no place on this forum. If neither of you are prepared to resort to insults, gaslighting and shrill misinformation then clear off to the letters pages of the G*ardian where you belong you pathetic bed-wetting libtard trolls.

👍👍+90

Chad Grindr replied:

An excellent factual and moderate post Neil. This is our forum, not theirs. These pathetic bed-wetting libtard trolls who argue using logic and reason rather than emotive sound-bites and personal abuse deserve only insults, random distraction issues, whataboutery and gaslighting. This involves no rational thought whatsoever, which should not be wasted on demented leftists who disagree with us. This will ensure that wishy-washy, woke snowflakes will be driven away, meaning that WE WIN all of the time.

👍+32

Captain Jerkoff wrote:
No-Punch and Judy !
You have a choice, like a horror film. Don't watch if it "offends" your pathetic senses. Some people just moan for the sport.

👍+21

Grey Mondeo Man replied:
We have a choice about a lot of things but it doesn’t mean that they should be freely available. Are you suggesting we legalise all Class A drugs for example? After all, children could choose not to take them…

👎-12

Neil Barse replied:
Yet more sealioning, misinformation, lies and abuse from the vindictive peddler of misinformation and Far-Left hateful anti-British antagonist Europhile troll Greymondeoman. I think you far-left socialists must be mentally ill to constantly come out with the constant lies and whataboutery the way you do. And what about that Rachel Re*ves eh? Why hasn’t she resigned after been caught out lying on her CV?

👍+21

Pseudocreem 2 wrote:
Comrades punch and judy show is just your St*rmer seeking to show how he controls the people of your country with violence unlike freedoms of Russia under nice Mr. Putin you must all vote REFORM at your next elections so you can be truly free.

👍+2