PUNCH and Judy might be a traditional British seaside past-time but one former Blackpool student has taken the outdoor sideshow across the Atlantic to crowds in the USA.

Cheryl Willis, 32, plans to unveil the puppet booth characters at this year's 11th annual Minnesota Fringe Festival in Minneapolis, USA, which runs from August 6-15.

But, unlike the dated traditional scripts that depict 'racist' Punch as a loud-mouth wife beater and thief who turns his baby into sausages, Cheryl aims to update the puppet shows.

Cheryl, who emigrated to the USA six years ago, aims to use 'Blackpool postcard' humour of Punch and Judy to perform British greats including Agatha Christie's 'And then there were None'.

"I want to concentrate on English literature," said Cheryl.

"It will be in the Punch and Judy style, with all the jokes, slap stick and comedy, with the Christie script as a framework for the show. Can you guess who the killer will be?"

Other classics to get Cheryl's Punch and Judy make-over include Sherlock Holmes and Monty Python.

Cheryl first got into puppet theatre about 15 years ago with work for Dragon Mouth Puppet Theatre, Blackpool, while studying drama at the town's college. She also had a spell as a volunteer with Jim Henson's famous Creature Shop, mending Fraggles.

She trained as an actress at Mountview Theatre School, London, a couple of years later, and secured some television and stage work, including a show at the Edinburgh Festival, before heading off to America.

But, although acting work was not hard to come by in the USA, Cheryl claims the roles were not giving her the satisfactory buzz she craved.

Instead she turned to her old puppet theatre interests, to combine her theatrical skills, and set up the 12ft x 7ft booth puppet theatre shows as a one-man band.

Now named the 5th of November Puppeteers it includes four professional puppeteers and an actor.

Cheryl, who is due to marry her American fiance, Drew, in September, is now hoping to establish a network for British people in Minnesota to celebrate this country's history and tradition including tea drinking, fish and chips and Guy Fawkes.

"I am really interested in sharing my culture with Minnesota as it is a great state for cultural diversity," said Cheryl.