Punch and Judy at the Beach and in the Mall.

This article examines how the traditional English folk form of Punch and Judy is deployed in two very different contemporary public settings in the UK: the beach and the shopping mall. It explores how the nature of public settings alters profoundly the meaning of this highly specific cultural object and how its commodification as part of the spaces of everyday consumption transforms its original value and connection to its audience. Other examples of street performance in British urban contexts are also considered. The article derives from recent ethnographic research into the contemporary significance of Punch and Judy, combined with theoretical accounts of spectacle in urban space. Its authors are from two quite different academic and research fields - puppetry and street performance, and urban design. The research demonstrates how these approaches and styles of conceptualizing public space can be creatively synthesized to yield fresh insights into the nature of spaces of performance - and on the notion of 'tradition' as it is experienced in the contemporary public realm. The analysis and examples of Punch and Judy performances derive from an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded PhD ethnographic study in collaboration with Royal Holloway, London. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]