Profiles

On a hot August day, Mark Poulton can be seen performing his Punch and Judy routine four or five times a day from a red and white striped booth on the sands.

His form of entertainment may be old fashioned but that doesn't stop him cracking topical jokes about the ghost of Tony Blair or getting Mr Punch into a scrap with Colin the camp crocodile.

Mark said, "My show is mid-way between the Carry On films of the 50s and The Simpsons."

Weymouth's Punch and Judy professor Mark Poulton

His set of characters includes the old favourites – Punch and Judy of course, the ghost, policeman and Joey the Clown. One character he doesn't have is the hangman on the grounds "he's no longer relevant to today's audience but he admits; If I could get a laugh out of it I would."

Mark said, "It (the show) has to change it has to evolve, it has to be relevant to today's audience, it's not the same as it was in the 1828 script. It's moved on from that."

Hard act to follow

Mark took over from Guy Higgins in 2005 who had worked the beach since 1976. Guy was his inspiration. Mark used to watch his show in Weymouth and by 1981 before he'd even left school, he was doing shows himself.

Mr Punch took Mark all over the country – Kent, Cornwall, North Wales and Devon before setting up his booth on Weymouth's sands in 2005. Following in Guy's footsteps, he had much to live up to and as a mark of his respect he made a "Guy Higgins" puppet to be part of the show.

Weymouth has the longest continuous run of Punch and Judy shows in history and also has one of the longest seasons stretching from May to August.

Mark said "It (Weymouth) works for Punch… You've got a very safe sandy beach, so you've got the people who are happy to come down and sit on the sand, but also you've got the prom… There's a lot of passing trade and when you look at the old prints of old photographs you can see that there are just as many people up on the prom (watching the show) as there are on the beach, and it just works well. "

Being the Punch and Judy professor won't make him rich but that doesn't put Mark off. 
"I like the thrill of busking, you never know how much is going to go into the box at the end of the day. You're constantly pushing to find new routines to get the same people to come back and stop the show stagnating".

Young and old still enjoy watching Punch and Judy.

Competition

While Mark may reign supreme in Weymouth the competition is hotting up. There are now more people than ever having a go at Punch and Judy, although not necessarily on the beach. Many do private shows for parties and functions.

During the winter months Mark too will take his puppets indoors to anyone who wants to see them. He also spends the time making new puppets and maintaining his booth.

Mark's predecessor Guy Higgins worked the sands for 29 years. The man who did the job before that Frank Edmonds was in the job almost twice as long – 50 years. 

Mark has ambitions of longevity too. As long as Weymouth is happy to have him, Mark Poulton will remain on the sands for many years to come but he has thousands of shows ahead of him if he is to beat the record.