The Judy Project went far beyond its stated ambitions. Not only were the project’s original deliverables achieved—ethics and data plans, two key deliverables were achieved ahead of schedule—a project website and the practice component, and dissemination at conferences and via speaking engagements as well as forthcoming publications exceed expectations. The research produced two new Punch and Judy shows (rather than one) with a local emerging performer, Nephew Spike Bones, that toured widely to family and adult audiences, and stimulated vibrant dialogue across the UK and Europe through more than a dozen high-profile festivals, conferences, and events. National press coverage and social media outreach further amplified its impact, engaging researchers, practitioners, and public audiences alike.
Central to these results is a new “her”storiography of Punch and Judy, putting women artists and innovators—both as practitioners and as the character Judy—at the very heart of the story. Building on limited earlier scholarship while sharply expanding the historical record, the research exposed systemic misogynist biases particularly about the contribution of Charlotte Charke whose foundational work has long been sidelined. The reframing of gender performance across the tradition not only corrects historical oversights but also demonstrates women’s leadership and innovation since the eighteenth century, with renewed visibility for recent generations.
The planned deliverables included: an Ethics plan and formal process (developed and implemented in partnership with the host and EU guidelines), a Data Management plan, a project website, publication of three scholarly articles, dissemination at three conferences or speaking engagements, and the creation of one new show. In practice, the project yielded: nineteen conference presentations, extensive social media communications, three national press feature articles, four forthcoming publications, and two new shows (one for family audiences, one for adults) that toured to major festivals including Covent Garden May Fayre (2024), Being Human Festival (2024), and Kasper? Kasper! Festival (2025), and regional appearances. (For a complete list of engagements see the project website performance page.)
Delivery of these achievements required rigorous project and financial oversight, advanced ethical compliance (information sheets, consent, ethics review), a robust data management system, extensive archival and ethnographic fieldwork (with visits to eleven collections, eight interviews), creative collaboration with a lead artist, ongoing website development, and strong coordination with institutional press and digital engagement. Significant time was devoted to career development across health, safety, equality, open access, impact strategy, and communications, including training and mentorship as part of the GW4 Crucible program (2025).
