The Big Grin, a celebration of the official 350^th anniversary of Punch and Judy, Britain’s national puppet, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, ran across many cities and towns in the UK during 2012. It has proved an opportunity to celebrate and take stock of the heritage of popular puppetry in Britain. This academic symposium follows up on the festivals, exhibitions and documentary projects of the Big Grin, in order to interrogate and debate the work and import of Big Grin and situate current efforts to revitalize and re-interpret Punch and Judy as national cultural heritage in relation to puppet heritage as defined in other cultural settings and societies.

This two-day symposium, co-sponsored by the UNIMA Research Commission, The Centre for International Theatre and Performance Research at Royal Holloway, University of London and The Centre for Research into Objects and Puppets in Performance at the Central School of Speech and Drama, will include four paper panels, with keynote speeches and film showings, including the premiere of a newly subtitled Portuguese cinematic masterpiece, Dom Roberto (a.k.a. The Puppeteer, 1962), directed by Ernesto de Sousa. Speakers will include Kathy Foley (USA), Ida Hledikova (Slovakia) and John McCormick (Ireland).

To register (free of charge) please email biggrinsymposium@gmail.com.