‘Punch’: ‘Restorative justice’ in the U.K.

‘PUNCH’: (left to right) Sam Robards, Victoria Clark, Camilla Canó-Flaviá & Will Harrison. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

PUNCH
By James Graham
Based on the book Right from Wrong by Jacob Dunne
Directed by Adam Penford
Through November 2, 2025
Manhattan Theatre Club
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
261 West 47^th Street
https://www.manhattantheatreclub.com/shows/2025-26-season/punch/

By Scott Harrah

Punch is an intense drama based on the true story of Jacob Dunne (Will Harrison), a British man who killed another with one single punch. The play is also based on Mr. Dunne’s autobiographical book Right from Wrong, telling how a moment of violence in a small English town changed his life forever.

The crime

The play opens as Jacob, a 19-year-old working-class guy, stands on a bridge over the River Trent in Nottingham, U.K. Jacob lives for drugs, parties and violence. He gets into a fight with James Hodgkinson, a 28-year-old trainee paramedic. The audience never actually sees the victim. A single punch kills James, and Jacob’s world is immediately shattered.

After a trial, Jacob is convicted of manslaughter and goes to prison. In a strange twist, he is offered a chance to participate in a “restorative justice” program. He is asked to meet with James Hodgkinson’s parents, Joan (Victoria Clark) and David (Sam Robards). This is an attempt to give Jacob a sense of mercy and rehabilitation while helping the victim’s parents heal emotionally.

Restorative justice

The second act chronicles Jacob’s journey through the restorative justice program. He first starts writing letters to the victim’s parents and eventually has an in-person meeting with them. With the help of caseworker Nicola (Camila Canó-Flaviá), Jacob must come to terms with the gravity and scale of his crime. In the process, Joan and David learn more about the details of the night their son was killed, allowing them to move past the trauma and have a sense of closure.

Does the message work for U.S. audiences?

Considering that Punch is a British play, the idea of restorative justice might work across the pond. However, in 2025 America, the concept on the surface seems too idealistic in our divided nation, one in which mass school shootings and political violence are so common that many feel inured by the news about them. Or could the concept work here? Many believe in reform for the criminal justice system in the U.S. due to a high incarceration rate, overcrowded jails and the need for decriminalization of misdemeanors. So, restorative justice is a concept that has both pros and cons, depending on one’s political views.

Razor-sharp direction of fine ensemble

Director Adam Penford does an outstanding job directing the fine ensemble. With unique staging—including a metal bridge—and great sound design, this production conveys the requisite sense of violence and danger in this dark setting.

Will Harrison as Jacob is consistently brilliant. He is the narrator, tortured protagonist and vulnerable all at once, and has the unique ability to make us feel true empathy for a not-so-likeable character.

Equally noteworthy is Victoria Clark as Joan, the victim’s mother. She never comes across as mawkish or saccharine, and conveys a true sense of wanting to forgive the man who killed her son. Sam Robards is also sublime as the husband and grieving father, frustrated by the whole bleak situation.

The ensemble cast members often take on multiple roles, and do so with deft precision.

Punch is an incisive drama packed with emotion and a sobering, thought-provoking message about crime, punishment and the criminal justice system in both the U.K. and USA.

Published October 9, 2025
Reviewed at press performance on October 4, 2025

‘PUNCH’: Cody Kostro & Will Harrison. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘PUNCH’: Victoria Clark and Sam Robards. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘PUNCH’: James Harrison. Photo: Matthew Murphy.