Punch and Judy festival to celebrate Bognor's rich seaside heritage

Taking place from September 30 to October 1 at The Royal Norfolk Hotel Gardens, this year's event will feature a special focus on The Punch and Judy Man; a 1963 tragi-comedy starring Tony Hancock as the titular seaside performer, alongside co-stars like John Le Mesurier

In the film, Bognor Regis doubles as the fictional piltdown-on-sea, home to Hancock’s Wally Pinner: a disillusioned Punch and Judy maM n and the film’s hero. With appearances from more than 2,000 locals and a range of iconic Bognor Regis locations used throughout the film, The Punch and Judy Man was poorly received by contemporary audiences expecting something closer to Hancock’s Half Hour, but instead got a melancholy look at life on the British seaside, and the entertainers who survive on the holiday trade.

In the years since, critical perspectives have changed, and the film is now seen as a classic of the sixties, having recently been screened by the British Film Institute. Now, sixty years later, the festival will bring some of the country’s top Punch and Judy shows together on the grounds of the Royal Norfolk to celebrate Hancock’s happy-sad classic.

Alongside the shows, the free-to-attend festival will also feature music, magic and a range of marionettes, all culminating in the unveiling of a blue plaque commemorating the town’s heritage. The full film will be screened on Saturday evening at the Picturedrome Cinema, with a post-viewing discussion, and a chance to see some of the wooden heads used in the film afterwards, puppet collector David Wilde will be on hand to perform with Hancock’s puppets from the film, reuniting them with artefacts, scripts, photos and archival material from the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society.

The event has been organised by the Punch and Judy Club, which was founded to ‘stick up for Mr Punch’ and promote Britain’s favourite puppet wherever possible. The Bognor Regis Heritage Partnership, which was formed in 2014 to promote the town’s heritage assets, is also involved, and features representatives from a range of local organisations.