This is the one and only Punch and Judy, presented live, and updated for the 21st century.
Allow Mr. Punch to remove your bad mood, in this absurdist delight for four out of the five senses. Watch as Judy tames unruly plumbing while avoiding the jaws of the carnivore du jour! And, feast your eyes upon the diaper change that should not be! The script has been updated to remove the traditional murder and misogyny of a Punch and Judy show, but Mr. Punch still swings a verbal slapstick at the powers that be.
It’s a melodrama of epically small proportions, and it’s so funny that you’ll forget to take out your phone for at least the first half-hour. It’s a low-tech old-time spectacle, as entertaining to the masses of today as it was three hundred years ago.
The hand puppets are created from up-cycled designer trash and performed in an eccentric itinerant puppet stage. The show is hosted per tradition by a “bottler,” the uku-lady Rose Friedman. Justin Lander—showman of the absurd—portrays all the characters.
The program is rounded out with live music played on a variety of instruments, from the cornet to the bicycle pump.
All Ages
PAY WHAT YOU CAN
No one will be turned away from PiP events for lack of funds; please contact us at 207-879-4629 or pip@mayostreetarts.org for information on our pay-what-you-can admission policy. Our box office staff are also happy to help.
Xavier Bobés Things Easily Forgotten in PiP 2024 is an intimate performance for which only 50 total seats are available. We have allocated 30 tickets for sale at $50, 12 seats as pay-what-you-can via a sweepstakes, and 8 seats for staff and volunteers. Tell us what you think.
ACCESSIBILITY
Congress Square Park is accessible from two locations: via Congress Str bordering the park’s performance stage and the outside wall of 593 Congress St onto a ramp which leads to the lower part of the park; and from High St between the park which leads into the lower part of the park.
If you would benefit from additional information or accommodations, we invite you to contact Amy Krawczyk, PiP Festival Coordinator, at amy@mayostreetarts.org or 207-879-4629.
EVENT PARKING
Congress Square is surrounded by Paid on-street parking with metered parking 9AM-6PM Monday through Saturday. On-street parking is free on Sundays.
Two parking garages are conveniently located near Congress Square:
Gateway Parking Garage (181 High St, Portland, ME 04101)
Spring Street Parking Garage (45 Spring St, Portland, ME 04101)
Congress Square Park is served by many Greater Portland Metro bus routes. Click here to learn more.
SEATING POLICY
We will save your reserved seat until showtime, at which point any unclaimed seats may be offered to other people.
COMMUNITY HEALTH
Audience members — in addition to artists, staff & volunteers — who feel sick or exhibit symptoms of illness should stay home out of respect for others.
CANCELATION POLICY
PiP has a no refund policy for all reservations. In the event that PiP is forced to cancel an event due to weather, illness, etc., refunds will be offered via the Ticket Tailor platform.