Punch
Young Vic

PUNCH lands at the Young Vic with all flags flying. 

Commissioned by Nottingham Playhouse where it premiered last May to glowing reviews, it must, of necessity, make its mark in the capital. As another blazing new hit from the sensationally successful James Graham and as a fine-tuned production from director Adam Penfold (also artistic director of the Nottingham Playhouse), it fixes on a true local story and packages it impeccably.   

The tale tells of one Jacob Dunne who — on a relatively routine delinquent night out — threw a punch at a young trainee paramedic, accidentally causing his death. What seems to result in devastation for all, finds new and unexpected hope for Jacob and the dead man’s parents as they pick themselves up, cross the divide and commune with one another. 

“Restorative justice” is the triumphant theme here. But the snowball effect of council estate alienation and gang culture is the pressing charge. And, whereas this play enjoys a happy ending of sorts, it’s the desolation of lives like Jacob’s that continues to haunt.

Anna Fleischle’s set, without replicating the infamous Meadows Estate where the action takes place, captures a world of grim neglect and lurking shadows. A grey metal staircase arches over the stage, reducing the characters to also-rans in a subtly threatening environment which offers neither comfort nor private refuge, and Alexandra Faye Braithwaite’s music enhances the constant unease and bursts of youthful adrenalin as the lights dim. 

It’s an impressive cast who — led by the energetic David Shields as Jacob — commandeer the stage, moving with balletic grace from action to stillness, through buoyancy and hard regret. Julie Hesmondhalgh as victim James’s bereft mother superbly centres the action and Tony Hirst treads the unenviable line between forgiveness and rage with appropriately visible restraint. There are comic and quietly touching moments, a masterly script and a deeply authentic story. 

Somehow, though, the very fluency and articulacy of the words mask the real deprivation of Jacob’s life, rendering his redemption too painless, and James’s parents’ gift of forgiveness too smooth and effortless. For such a loaded subject, emotions seem strangely muted. The punch itself is passed over in an instant and James’s death — which should hit us with horror — is too gently acknowledged, polite language occasionally misfiring as when his father says he still “feels cross” about his son’s demise … a glaring understatement! 

Restorative justice must be supremely complex. Quite why it works here seems to depend on the particular, selfless humanity of the deceased’s parents and the emerging, innate intelligence in James. Somewhere, though, the hard part is missing so the play feels rooted in journalism rather than in truly immersive drama.

That some good can be snatched from tragedy is the uplifting message. That desolate housing estates and droves of abandoned, gangland teenagers remain all over the country is the darker, more neglected truth. And, while this is a glittering moral tale, it’s politically subdued and, somehow, more polite than raw.       

An accomplished show, though, and deeply relevant.

Runs until April 26. Box office: 020 7922 2922, youngvic.org