Punch and Judy Booth for sale - any interest

[mike444beer]

Dear Punch and Judy people,

We have a Punch and Judy booth that my husband built for a community event that we are looking to sell. We wondered if there was any interest. It is pretty sturdy being made out of wood and ply. Approx height is 6ft and width 4 feet. It comes with a full length blackout curtain at back and front curtains. It cost around £125 to make for all materials incluing curtains and paint but was a labour of love so we would like more for it than that. We live in Aberdeenshire, North East Scotland. It does have a props shelf inside. I can put up more pics of inside and back later if there is any interest. It is on Ebay.

[Chris]

It would be interesting to see photos of the inside, showing construction.
From the look of this it is doubtful if it would be much use professionally unless one had a permanent site. If it is all plywood then it is not very portable I imagine.
Also it looks a bit too low for many adults, and wider than most Punch booths. What it might be ideal for would be a school general puppet theatre - not specifically Punch.
But some information about how quick it is to erect and dismantle etc. would certainly be interesting.

[mike444beer]

Thanks Chris.

You are right. A general puppet show would be more suitable. We are not Punch and Judy professionals or even amateurs. It was built for two people to operate puppets and we were crouching low. My husband could modify it fairly easily- that is he could easily make it taller and narrow the sides slightly, but not sure how worthwhile this is. It was just a shame not to do anything with it after all that work. It does weigh quite a bit. Around 47 kilos with the roof on. It wouldn't take long to dismantle. The sides are attached with two large brackets. The roof slides into place and the shelf is bolted on. I would also need to give it a coat of weatherproof varnish.

It is made out of 125 mm MDF and wood for fixings. I will try and attach some more pics.

[Chris]

Yes, that's what I suspected. Punch and Judy performers depend on a highly portable light weight booth. They have to perform in all circumstances, from kid's bedrooms to fundays on the school field. Most booths fold up to fit in a Golf bag, and are easily transportable by car.
Also "crouching low" to perform would be impossible..
You might like to try posting the details on the Message Board of http://www.puppetguild.org.uk with a less specialised puppeteer readership.

[martinpunch]

Maybe ebay it?

A nursery might want it I have a 3 piece small half booth, which my son uses and we set up next to mine so the kids can make thier own show with my sons small puppets. The kids really enjoy doing their own show