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Galle Cats
Late 19th / early 20th century
Do you recognise some of these Punch and Judy characters – Mr Punch with his hooked nose, his wife Judy, the policeman, a crocodile with a mouthful of sausages?
Why are they so familiar… and can you remember the squeaky voice shouting ‘That’s the way to do it!’?
The voice comes from a ‘professor’, using a special ‘swazzle’ in his mouth; you might still be lucky enough to see a performance on a seaside beach in Britain.
The tradition is thought to be over 350 years old, and based on Italian marionette puppet shows; Samuel Pepys recorded seeing a show in 1662.
Views of slapstick humour might have changed over the years…but a seaside booth with a puppet crocodile running away with sausages will still delight a crowd!