'Punch' review — James Graham's shattering play based on the true story of a one-punch crime

Read our review of Punch, written by James Graham and based on the memoir by Jacob Dunne, now in performances at the Young Vic through 26 April.

Playwright James Graham has become known for his state-of-the-nation plays, tackling government, class, and even the most sensitive of subjects: the losing streak of the English football team in international tournaments in Dear England. Yet it is Punch, his latest play to transfer to London, that is most likely to leave a lasting impression on audiences.

This is because it draws on the horrifying true story of a senseless act of everyday violence that shattered several lives in a single moment. Based on the memoir Right From Wrong by Jacob Dunne, Graham’s play recounts how trainee paramedic James Hodgkinson was killed on a night out in Nottingham in 2011 through a single punch to the head, delivered by the then 19-year-old Jacob.

The one-punch crime is the dark, beating heart of this production, but the play primarily focuses on Jacob’s story: growing up part of the “aspirational working class” on the deprived Meadows Estate in Nottingham, partying, chatting up girls, and selling weed, through to his 30-month incarceration, and eventually turning his life around.

David Shields powerfully conveys each of these stages, mastering Graham’s script which rattles along at breakneck speed in the first act. Racing through Jacob’s life story, Shields is a knot of restless tension, his poetic monologues almost like a rap as he discusses life in a gang on his estate. In his world, honour and reputation is decided by your fists. His frenetic energy is heightened by Alexandra Faye Braithwaite’s throbbing sound design and Robbie Butler’s flashing lights as he dashes from one side of Anna Fleischle’s grey-scale set to the other, via a concrete double stairway.

What is remarkable about this story is the relationship that develops between Jacob and his victim’s parents David and Joan — both on stage and in real life. However, the play’s uneven pace means their decision to meet Jacob feels too sudden. While his backstory is dissected at length, not enough of their emotional journey is shared and Joan, in particular, seems to accept Jacob too readily.

Despite this, the meeting is a key moment of catharsis, as the production finally has a chance to breathe. It is an excruciating watch, and rightly so: Shields perfectly captures Jacob’s desire to escape as he remains rooted to his seat, anxiously wringing his hands, and avoiding eye contact, while Julie Hesmondhalgh (known and loved by many for her portrayal of Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street) and Tony Hirst are a perfect portrait of grieving parents, desperately swallowing their pain as they search for answers.

There are extraordinary details, directed with care by Nottingham Playhouse artistic director Adam Penford, such as when David refuses to shake hands with Jacob because he does not wish to touch the hand that killed his son. But there are also awkward attempts at introducing humour to slice through the tension, such as when David mumbles through a mouthful of biscuits, which fall flat under the weight of what the characters are enduring.

With Graham at the wheel, it is no surprise that Punch is full of messages about social politics, from the redevelopment of council estates to the redistribution of local government funds, but his commentary often feels heavy-handed. Ultimately, there is no need to preach in a show which already has such a powerful and devastating message.

Book Punch tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: David Shields in Punch. (Photo by Marc Brenner). Inset: the full cast, and Julie Hesmondhalgh with Tony Hirst