Theatre
Review
Review: Punch
James Graham’s new play at the Apollo Theatre is an emotionally intimate study of violence
Back in 2011, a brief brawl on the streets of Nottingham made headlines. Nineteen-year-old Jacob Dunne, after a day of drinking, threw a single punch at 28-year-old James Hodgekinson. Hodgekinson’s fall to the ground proved fatal, but not immediately – he died nine days later of a bleed to the brain, his life support switched off.
James Graham’s new play shows us the devastating moment where parents Joan (Julie Hesmondhalgh) and David (Tony Hirst) confirm to each other that taking James off life support is the right choice. It shows us Jacob’s path to violence in minutia, from his absent father to his mother’s drinking to the gang culture on his home estate. What it doesn’t show us is the altercation itself. James isn’t in Graham’s play at all, but his loss overshadows everything. Punch is dedicated to him, and to all the victims of one-punch.
Based on Jacob Dunne’s memoir Right From Wrong, Graham’s play isn’t a crime story. It is forensic in its examination of the facts, but the facts it’s interested in don’t have much to do with the medical explanation of what happened to James or the workings of the justice system. Instead, Punch charts a course from James’ early years to the moment he pulls his fist back and wonders to what extent what happened that day in July 2011 was preventable. As the play goes on to chronicle in its moving second half, this is a question Jacob and Joan ultimately tackle together, and Graham’s play is another piece in the larger picture of their real-life advocacy.
Adam Penford’s direction is exuberant and urgent, whilst Anna Fleischle and Robbie Butler’s production and lighting design make much of a simple set, bringing Jacob’s estate to life. It’s a small, multi-role-r cast, as with many of the Young Vic’s new plays. In a strong group of performers, David Shields as Jacob shines, bouncing between different versions of the character as he narrates the events and shows us Jacob’s journey, from neurodivergent teenager desperate to prove himself to his friends, to the criminology student advocating for change. It’s the kind of central performance that elevates an entire production, and turns an already moving story into something completely absorbing.
Punch is playing at the Apollo Theatre until 29 November – find tickets here
