Punch by James Graham - Nottingham Playhouse / Young Vic

Has anyone had a chance to see this yet too? Very much looking forward to visiting Nottingham this weekend for it

Superb review in The Times.

I went to see PUNCH this afternoon. It is another absolute stunner of a play from James Graham (who was there, which was very exciting). It deals with themes such as gang violence, toxic masculinity, faith and the power of forgiveness.

The first act begins with the fateful punch, and then goes back in time to show how our main character, Jacob got to that point. It moves through time throughout, with scenes involving James’ parents, David and Joan (the victim of Jacob’s one punch). It is very energetic and fast-paced.

The second act is where the play really takes off, and is the emotional heart of the piece. This focusses on the restorative justice process once Jacob gets out of prison, and how he turns his life around. This is the first time that Jacob can bring himself to say James’ name. It is incredibly moving, and I had tears in my eyes throughout. However, it also does that typical Graham masterstroke of making you laugh alongside the tears. The scene where the three main characters meet for the first time is absolute fire!

The dialogue in this is incredibly well crafted, feeling hyper-realistic. Sentences trail off unfinished, only for another to be introduced and characters interrupt one another as you would expect. Every single interaction feels authentic.

The small cast do a fantastic job at portraying multiple characters.

David Shields as Jacob is a star. He is immensely watchable, and you cannot take your eyes off of him. Having listened to the audiobook of Jacob’s memoir, he also does an uncanny job with his voice. He is onstage throughout, and the energy is breathtaking. His reactions to others when not speaking are also beautiful to watch.

Julie Hesmondhalgh and Tony Hirst as James’ parents, Joan and Tony are a moving presence throughout, and portray their anguish and inner conflict beautifully.

Alec Boaden, Shalisha James-Davis and Emma Pallant excel at playing their multiple roles. It feels like each one is played by a different actor.

I also just wanted to mention the lighting, which is brilliant. It works really well with the static set to move us from scene to scene, as well as create mood and atmosphere.

This deserves a future life, beyond its month in Nottingham. It is a really important piece of theatre, that should be seen by a much wider audience. I encourage those who can get to Nottingham to go and see it.

I can’t wait for BOYS FROM THE BLACKSTUFF in July.

5 stars.

This really was excellent. Definitely worth a trip to Nottingham to catch it if you're on the fence!

I want to see this so badly.

You can always tell when you're watching a James Graham play. What's nice is as he's matured as a playwright it feels like he's letting himself do stuff like what happens in the second act, longer scenes, not as focused on storytelling in his fast and funny way and letting characters have proper discussion, let emotions bubble slowly to the surface. I still think there are moments in this where he throws away an opportunity for drama in the interests of keeping the story moving (I don't want to spoil anything, it's related to what happens to the main characters mother that I'm thinking of) but this becomes so moving in act 2, especially when you reflect that this is a representation of real events. It's nice to see an audience crying because of moments of kindness, that's what I think hits hardest.

The combination of lighting and direction got a bit weird a couple of times in the first act but they do a lot with minimal set and props, it's a great example of regional theatre punching above it's weight technically. The cast are excellent, there's a lot of doubling (tripling, quadrupling) going on with lightning fast changes in character which must be exhausting for them.

Most wonderfully sitting in a Nottingham audience hearing them laugh at jokes and insider references about their own town, I really hope this is something that everyone locally is coming out to see and it's not just theatre fans like me driving up of an evening. There's a strong sense of a local theatre putting on a real and important local story and inviting the whole community in to see it. The Nottingham Playhouse was quite lovely I thought as well, I was in the front of the circle and it's a nice house.

Worth journeying to go and see it where it means the most, I'd say this is guaranteed to transfer though.

Word's got out! All remaining performances now sold out.

Is it Nottingham accents, Duck?

For the reasons Parsley has set out in the Boys from the Blackstuff thread,I don't always get on with James Graham.

Act I is typically Graham. Very wordy. Very busy. No scene longer than two minutes.

Act II is less frenetic. More static. More powerful. This being James Graham, he also can't stop himself from reminding the audience of his politics.

The cast, and their dressers, work their socks off. Often leaving the stage only to return, literally seconds later, as a different character in a different costume. The exception is David Shields who, quite rightly, receives the loudest round of applause. Julie Hesmondhalgh plays Julie Hesmondhalgh.

Will it transfer? Although it would recoup in about three days, I'm not sure even the hardest of hard-nosed producers would be comfortable making money out of a true-life tragedy. Its natural home would probably be the National Theatre, which is thanked in the programme, if that's a clue.

Transfer to the Young Vic confirmed for spring 2025.

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