The currently rancorous political and social climate lends a timely forcefulness to the new drama by James Graham, opening in productions on Broadway and London’s West End within days of each other. Based on Jacob Dunne’s book “Right from Wrong,” Punch dramatizes the circumstances surrounding the fateful moment when a drunk and stoned 19-year-old Dunne, itching for a fight, accidentally killed a man with one punch. The play delivers a message of forgiveness that we desperately need right now.
Taking place in Nottingham, England between 2011 and the present day, the play being presented by Manhattan Theatre Club is largely narrated by Dunne (an outstanding Will Harrison, The Coast Starlight), whose family, he informs us, are members of the “aspirational working class.” He starts getting into trouble at a young age, much to his mother’s (Lucy Taylor) disappointment. “You can’t just turn bad overnight,” she laments, although his behavioral issues are made more explainable by his being diagnosed with dyslexia, ADHD, and being on the spectrum.
On the night in question, Dunne didn’t mean to kill anybody. He merely got involved in a brawl involving some friends, and threw a punch at a stranger who fell to the ground and didn’t get up. Dunne fled from the scene, unaware that his victim, a 28-year-old paramedic named James Hodgkinson (to whom the play is dedicated), would die of his injuries.
[Read David Finkle’s ★★★★☆ review here.]
Dunne, found guilty of manslaughter, received only a 30-month prison sentence, of which he served 14. After being released, he found himself floundering, unable to pick up the pieces of his life. Until, that is, a restorative justice program facilitated contact between Dunne and Hodginson’s parents. Their emotionally fraught encounters proved therapeutic for everyone involved.
It’s a powerful story, albeit unevenly told in this play by Graham (Dear England, Ink) that, at least in its first half, relies too heavily on narration and non-linear chronology. It also feels attenuated at times, weaving in subplots about Dunne’s romantic life and his relationship with his younger brother that don’t feel entirely necessary. But it picks up powerfully in Act II, especially in the scenes depicting the meetings between Dunne and the parents, beautifully played by Victoria Clark and Sam Robards, that are all the more powerful for the lack of histrionics. One of the evening’s most moving moments involves nothing more momentous than a spilled glass of water, but it demonstrates a grace that is all too missing from our daily interactions.
The acting in these scenes is truly extraordinary, with Harrison, previously electric in his high-wire intensity, conveying his character’s inner torment with the subtlest of inflections and mannerisms. It’s a tremendous performance that’s coming very early in the season but deserves to be remembered at awards time. As do those of Clark and Robards, who make the parents’ anguish wrenchingly palpable.
Director Adam Penford, abetted by Robbie Butler’s piercing lighting design and Alexandra Faye Braithwaite’s propulsive music and sound design, provides a dynamic staging — at times too dynamic, with the ensemble, frequently launching into choreographed movement, sometimes looking as if they’re going to break out into “The Rumble” from West Side Story. And the fact that many of the cast members play multiple roles sometimes leads to confusion.
But these are minor quibbles for a major play that lives up to its title and more. Punch will linger in your memory long after you’ve left the theater, delivering grace notes of redemption that feel like a healing balm.
Punch opened September 29, 2025, at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and runs through November 25. Tickets and information: manhattantheatreclub.com
