Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Playwright James Graham brings his latest kinetic docudrama PUNCH to the Great White Way

• By drediman
• October 6, 2025
• No Comments

This past weekend, I was able to catch up with James Graham’s new play Punch, which is currently playing on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman theatre courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club (interestingly, the play has the distinction of also running simultaneously on the West End). Based on the book Right From Wrong by Jacob Dunne, the work chronicles Dunne’s unlikely and remarkable true story as he — after killing a young man (James) with a single blow to the face — makes the difficult journey from unhinged hooligan to an upright citizen and a meaningfully contributing member of society. What makes the story even more astonishing is how much Dunne’s evolution was fostered and inspired by the parents of the boy he killed. Graham’s play is ultimately a moving testament to the power of mercy and forgiveness and the importance of social programs.

The play follows in the playwright’s collection of docudramas (e.g., Ink, Best of Enemies) that animate biographical stories with the kind of kineticism more likely found in large scale musicals than in serious dramas. In plenty of scenes, the play lives up to its name with punchy scenes that cascade into one another — particularly in the breathlessly staged first act — thanks largely to some tight, highly physical ensemble work by the hard-working cast as directed by Adam Penford on Anna Fleischle’s sturdy two-tiered playground of a set. Although there’s undeniable thrill in witnessing these earlier propulsively staged sequences, Jacob, with his volatile and violent tendencies, remains emphatically unlikable and nearly impossible to empathize with. That being said, Graham sets up the foundation of Jacob’s story by making a potent commentary on Britain’s class-driven system. After the intermission, the pace noticeably eases as Jacob commences his existential metamorphosis into his new self. Indeed, it’s in this latter half that the play captivates, culminating in a deeply touching scene that dramatizes the first face-to-face encounter between Jacob and James’s parents.

All around, the cast is very good, starting with newcomer Will Harrison in the central role of Jacob. In the first act, the actor is an absolute firecracker — again, despite the unsavory aftertaste left by the character’s misplaced rage and unsustainable lifestyle — bounding about the stage with the coiled, pent up energy of a restless wild tiger. In the second half of the play, Harrison gradually swaps this brash intensity with vulnerability with disarming emotional nakedness. The other truly exceptional performance of the production comes from veteran New York stage actress Victoria Clark — a two-time Tony winner for her memorable turns in the musicals The Light in the Piazza and Kimberly Akimbo — as Joan (among other minor characters), the mother of the deceased James. Ever present and generous, it’s a performance of tremendous grace and humanity that breaks the heart as it inspires. The rest of the cast morph into various people that play a part in Jacob’s life — some more prominent than others — with selflessness and quicksilver ease, driving the production forward with intention and the sweep of collective theatrical storytelling.

RECOMMENDED

PUNCH
Broadway, Play
Manhattan Theatre Club
2 hours, 20 minutes (with one intermission)
Through November 2