Traditionally Punch and Judy shows have stuck close to the same basic plot and characters that were in the show first published in the early 19th century. But within that format there has been considerable variety among the shows of different Punch performers.
It's a somewhat unusual entertainment in that one is not expected to adhere strictly to an established script in the manner of most conventional plays, but neither is one required to create and entirely original and unique performance as would be expected of a standup comedian.
With that understanding, my topic for discussion is this: how is the borrowing/stealing of lines or business from the shows of other contemporary, living, working Punch performers viewed by others within the P&J community?
There are, I'm quite sure, more than one performer using a Health and Safety Inspector wearing a fluorescent yellow vest. Somebody was first. Somebody else copied. Likewise in an earlier time one P&J prof made a crocodile puppet and introduced it to his show. All others are copies. The character of the crocodile did not spontaneously and independently appear all over the country.
Today many respected, professional magicians frown upon the use of another persons routines without permission and/or the purchase of the rights to perform that routine. Comedians feel the same way.
If I saw a bit I liked in a Punch and Judy performance, would putting it in my own show be right, wrong or a gray area? Would it matter if generally we performed in different cities or countries or continents?
Can Punch and Judy performers identify particular bits or lines and say that is a Bryan Clarke line or a Geoff Felix line or a Glyn Edwards or Richard Coombs or Tony James line. Do P&J professors gossip about how Prof. Underbelly stole that piece of business from Prof. Goodyshoes and isn't it a scandal?
You don't have to name names or give examples.