Review: PUNCH, Young Vic
James Graham's visceral and deeply moving play leaves you floored
By: Aliya Al-Hassan Mar. 07, 2025
Based on the memoir of Jacob Dunne, Punch is the sobering true story of the tragic and rippling consequences of a single Punch thrown on a night out.
As a 19-year old, Jacob sells drugs, gets drunk and spends nights itching for a fight; by the end of one such typical night, he will have killed 28-year-old trainee paramedic James Hodgkinson.
As Jacob tries to come to terms with his actions and find reasons for his behaviour, we rewind to his childhood we see a single-parent household on a deprived council estate. He struggles at school and finds violence is a means of proving his value to his peers.
The show debuted in Graham's beloved home town of Nottingham last year and the whole cast reprise their roles. David Shields is extraordinary in the role of Jacob; incredibly agile in switching between the heightened past and calmer present version of his character.
In telling the story of his youth before the fateful Punch, Shields is a twitching, jittery ball of aggressive energy, constantly on the move, Punching his chest and asserting his presence. He is the embodiment of toxic adolescent masculinity in all its terrible glory. In the years after his incarceration, Shields becomes reflective, his mind and body more still.
Photo Credit: Marc Brenner
Julie Hesmondhalgh and Tony Hirst are both wonderful as James's bereaved parents. Hirst simmers with rage and depair, which eventually softens into something closer to acceptance. Hesmondhalgh is more warm, thoughtful and forgiving. Through their almost unbearable kindness, Jacob is given hope that he can have another sort of life. It is almost as though one man is sacrificed for the good of another and gives hope to the concept of restorative justice in a deeply visceral way.
Shalisha James-Davis, Emma Pallant and Alec Boaden multi-role with aplomb, shifting between accents and ages beautifully. Pallant is particularly good as Jacob's mother, descending into her own pit of alcoholic despair, despite loving her children desperately.
Graham is a playwright who never shies away from the darker side of stories and Graham deftly weaves in explorations of the consequences of social deprivation on young people and the rehabiliation offered to young offenders. He also manages to bring wry humour into a script which puts collective social responsibility at its heart. It is also a play that every teenager should see to bring home the potential life-changing consequences of a split-second decision.
Graham's writing moves from the coarse language of the streets to an almost lyrical poetry, reflected in Adam Penford’s excellent direction. Leanne Pinder's fluid movement direction envelops the audience with all the different energies on stage; from pulsating nightclubs, to the stark stillness of the room where the grieving parents sit.
Anna Fleischle’s impressive set design, uses a semi-circular, two-tier structure, that the cast run over, jump around or just sit upon. Its grey metallic brutalism adds to the sense of a harsh, urban environment, where there is no softness or greenery.
Photo Credit: Marc Brenner
Sound designer and composer Alexandra Faye Braithwaite’s and Robbie Butler’s lighting work brillianty together to move us seamlessly from a classroom; to prison cell; to a New Year fireworks display.
It is difficult to end such a story and the script does tail off a little at the end, but Punch gets you in the gut in a way that is rare in theatre. James Graham has proved yet again what a magician he is at balancing pathos with humour, while managing to explore incredibly serious issues without ever being patronising. How lucky we are to have him.
Punch is at the Young Vic until 26 April
Photo Credits: Marc Brenner
