Punch and Judy puppets of all shapes and sizes are featured in an exhibition that opened this week at Pollock’s Toy Museum in the West End — celebrating a tradition still popular to this day. The memorabilia are from the collection of Professor John Styles, who has been a Punch and Judy performer himself, and includes booths used in the 1960s television series The Avengers and the film Time Bandits. Also on display is a collection of Punch and Judy prints dating from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The future of Pollock’s is uncertain at the moment; the lease on the museum premises expires next year. An appeal campaign to raise money to purchase the freehold will be launched shortly.