By: Cathryn Macey
One punch. Just one, single punch; that was all it took to derail the lives of not just one, but two families.
Based on the real lives of both perpetrator and victim, PUNCH is enjoying a huge amount of hype following its success at Sunday night’s Olivier awards.
Jacob Dunne (Jack James Ryan) is a young man high on a heady cocktail of cocaine, alcohol and toxic masculinity when he spontaneously punches James Hodgkinson on a night out in Nottingham.
After landing the blow, Jacob instinctively reverts to his default setting of running away and pegs it home. Sadly, James dies in hospital and Jacob is called in by the police for questioning. He goes to prison, but his sentence is arguably short as he is convicted for manslaughter as opposed to murder. Some of his peers inside are serving longer jail terms for looting and rioting.
James’ parents cannot swallow the bitter pill of injustice they feel the legal system have served them and they want answers. Surely their son’s life is worth more than the TV sets and designer trainers young thugs took in the 2011 riots.
They decide to push for a face-to-face meeting with Jacob. But will Jacob want anything to do with James’ family and will talking about what happened actually help anyone?
It is the energy and pace of Act 1 that really make this show stand out. Like Jacob’s troubled mind, the speed at which the narrative unfolds is frantic and fast. Episodic in structure, sometimes we see glimpses of Jacob’s therapy sessions, sometimes we are privy to his future and frequently we are confronted with the events that lead to James’ death.
Its structure (James Graham) is deeply absorbing and we’re forced to piece together lots of different information about Jacob. Some scenes make us like him. A flash back to his tenth birthday, for example, is a tender insight into the warm childhood he experienced. Clutching his mum (Laura Tebbutt) and begging for the head of his Colin the Caterpillar cake, Jacob is the epitome of innocence.
Overall however, Jacob seems charismatic but dangerous. In a series of soliloquies, delivered intimately to the audience under warm amber lighting (Robbie Butler) and in front of a concrete urban back drop (Anna Flieschle), Jacob reveals his ambitions for gang land domination: “Doing bad feels good.” He’s both likeable and utterly despicable.
Somewhere between The Artful Dodger and Trainspotting’s Begbie, Jack James Ryan delivers an outstanding script packed with fierce and poetic energy. Director Adam Penford manages to capture the complexity of Jacob’s personality prior to the process of restorative justice. We can’t quite bring ourselves to like him, but Ryan’s characterisation enables us to catch a glimpse of the young, kind boy that lies underneath lots of layers of bravado.
Other moments in this fast paced and deeply immersive first half are heightened by outstanding use of sound effects and lighting. A spotlight dazzles Jacob before it is quickly, and without warning, turned on us. Snippets of Grime music bellow out from the speakers with the bass turned up high; its vibrations pulsate which exacerbate the (already sky high) tension levels on stage.
The second half is more cathartic. Focusing on Jacob’s rehabilitation and the process of restorative justice with James’ parents, we get to experience the delicate process of mediation. This part of the performance is incredible and made believable by the cast’s sensitive portrayal of all the people involved in the meetings between the two parties.
Joan’s (Finty Williams/ James’ mum) capacity for compassion and forgiveness is awe inspiring and whilst some audience members might not agree with her decision to meet with Jacob (let alone encourage him to forge a new path in life), the way Williams presents Joan’s character is unforgettable. She may not hail from the North, but she is full of Northern grit as she vows to be “the best version” of herself so she can make James proud.
This is a show you can’t stop thinking about long after the curtain call. Is prison the right place for offenders like Jacob? Should restorative justice be used more widely as a more effective approach to rehabilitation? Are we the product of our surroundings or is an individual able to rise above negative influences if they really want to?
I still don’t have the answers to any of these moral and ethical dilemmas but I do know that we are so lucky that Nottingham Playhouse decided to feature TRP on its (very small) UK tour this year ahead of its larger national tour in 2027. Make sure you see it whilst its still on our doorstep!