WHTTE KNUCKLE RIDE

James Graham’s ‘Punch’ is a powerful yet sometimes preachy take on violence and restorative justice, writes Alice Saville

- Alice Saville

After a messy day of boozing, Jacob mindlessly threw a single punch that wrecked four lives paramedic James sustained a fatal head injury, and his parents were left reeling as his attacker was packed off to prison. This latest work from wildly prolific playwright James Graham Dear England, Boys from the Blackstuff) was a hit when it debuted last summer at Nottingham Playhouse, in the city in which it’s set and whose sharply drawn social divides cut through its story. Transferring to the Young Vic, its thoughtful search for meaning in a senseless act leaves the audience noisily sobbing.