A special anniversary festival is to take place to mark ten years since Punch and Judy professor Joe Burns started performing on Swanage Beach in Dorset.
Three other UK puppeteers will be joining Joe in Swanage on Saturday 22nd August 2026 from 12 noon for a traditional day of silliness and sausages by the sea, with four very different shows to amuse and entertain the crowds – weather permitting.
Punch and Judy professor Joe Burns has been attracting an audience on Swanage Beach since 2016
Seaside special celebration
The glorious summer to date has allowed Joe, who is only one of three full time Punch and Judy performers in the UK, to set a new record for the most consecutive days working without a break.
Now he is hoping for a record audience, as James Arnott, David Wilde and William Vaughan join him for the seaside special, celebrating Punch and Judy on the sands off Shore Road.
Mr Punch himself is officially 364 years old, first appeared on Swanage beach in 1904, and clearly still has an important role to play in 2026 given the number of children and adults who laugh and cheer their way through the show three or four times a day.
Celebrating 10 years of making children and adults laugh
Jokes about Minecraft and prosecco
Married to Judy with a young baby, a dog, a string of sausages and a crocodile in tow, Mr Punch has had a dark past over the centuries in which he’s whacked Judy over the head countless times, assaulted a policeman and even escaped the hangman’s noose.
But today the show jokes about Minecraft, clowns at the Clacton byelection, illegal barbecues and prosecco, while working the audience into a frenzy with pantomime calls and slapstick humour.
Although the show still features Punch throwing the baby downstairs (where its fall is broken by a Hoover – ‘that sucks’), fighting with a policeman and being bitten by a crocodile, as Professor Joe reminds the crowds they are just puppets and ‘this rubbish is just make believe’!
In fact, the sticks his characters use to bop each other gave birth to the expression slapstick, as they are actually two sticks joined together which make a loud slapping sound when used.
Let’s have a joke about the crocodile, and make it snappy …
“Puppetry is an ancient tradition”
Joe Burns said:
“Puppetry is an ancient tradition, which goes back to at least medieval times and possibly further. It’s part of who we are as humans, we use objects that are not us to represent us and tell far fetched stories.
“Puppetry is engrained in our roots, in the same way that the ancient Greeks used masks in their performances, there’s something that draws people in.
“They wouldn’t want to see real people having these arguments, but they don’t mind, and can be entertained by the fact that it is make believe puppets acting in such a way.
“Children in the audience can see this and laugh at Punch because they know he is behaving in a way they are not supposed to themselves.”
Punch and Judy was first performed in Swanage in 1904 and is pictured here on the beach in the 1930s
Families begin to gather for the latest Punch and Judy show
“Help spread the love for Punch”
Joe added:
“The diarist Samuel Pepys recorded enjoying a show while on a visit to Covent Garden four years before the Fire of London, on 9th May 1662, and Mr Punch’s birthday is taken from Mr Pepys’s account.
“The first recorded sighting of Punch in Swanage was in 1904, when the town was very well to do and didn’t like entertainments such as Punch and Judy.
“The year before there had been arguments about the bagpiper on the sands, then Punch came along and wound up Swanage council even more.
“It has always been tough for people doing Punch and Judy down here, but I’m glad to say that it seems to be getting easier again, I am getting more established and the crowds are getting bigger.
“I hope that my anniversary show helps to spread the love for Punch and Judy shows even further. There are not many opportunities to see such varied puppet shows in Swanage, it’s going to be such a great day and I would love to see as many people down here as possible!”
David Wildes, whose show was enjoyed by King Charles and Queen Camilla, will be perform at the Swanage festival
Inspired by shows on the beach
As part of the event, puppeteer James Arnott – one of the country’s leading puppeteers with numerous film and TV credits with the Jim Henson Company – will bring his Puppets on Parade show to Swanage for the first time.
Punch and Judy professor David Wilde is one of the country’s leading performers and the last to have trained in Covent Garden, Punch’s spiritual home, where he recently performed a show for King Charles and Queen Camilla.
And to inspire the youngsters, William Vaughan is a 16 year old Punch and Judy performer from Dorset, who has just completed his first season working on a beach, at Sandbanks.
Joe himself was inspired to become a Punch and Judy professor after repeatedly watching shows on the beach at Weymouth as a child and saved his pocket money to buy the puppet characters.
Punch and Judy caused a bit of an upset when it first appeared on Swanage Beach in 1904 but now it is cherished for keeping old seaside traditions alive
“It’s a joyous way of life!”
Joe Burns said:
“When I was 12 years old I put an advert in the Yellow Pages to perform a Punch and Judy show without my parents knowing, and then we started getting phone calls and I was booked out pretty solidly, which is how my professional career started 22 years ago.
“I did spend a few years working as a professional actor after graduating in drama, but in the end Punch drew me back and in 2016 I took a jump into the deep end to perform my show daily, weather permitting, on Swanage beach during the summer.
“I always wanted to perform, and with Punch and Judy I was able to be in charge of every part of the show – making the props and puppets, writing the scripts and running the show.
“I have to make as much as I can from my summer show to keep me going through the rest of the year, and it can be a hard winter.
“But I keep myself as busy as I can performing around the country with my touring show and working in my Swanage studio restoring and creating puppet props and costumes. It’s a joyous life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!”
It’s just £2 per person per show for a bit of seaside heritage
Rely on honesty and generosity
Joe added:
“The celebration on Saturday 22nd August is open to all, but we are asking for a payment of £2 per person for each performance – with cash and cards accepted.
“We are not paid to do the show here, and we have to rely on the honesty and generosity of the audience to pay for watching.
“There are now only three full time Punch and Judy beach performers left, here in Swanage, in Weymouth and in Llandudno in North Wales.
“The only way we can keep Punch and Judy on the beach for generations to come is if people support us with payments.”
Further information
- Follow Swanage’s Punch and Judy professor Joe Burns on his website
