Punch review: James Graham's play is a marvel on London's West End

‘Punch’ Review: After a Fatal Blow, an Unlikely Connection

Jacob Dunne is 19 and jumping out of his skin, with no prospects beyond the instant gratifications of booze, drugs and violence. He and his friends particularly love what they refer to as “drama.” For Jacob, “doing bad things … creates good feelings,” and the best time to get that release, he says, is when there’s nothing left to do at the end of a night of partying with your buddies. “That’s when you want the … ‘drama.’” But it’s tragedy that J…

Where Tough Guys Do Dance: Punch

James Graham’s play, just transferred from London and starring Sam Robards and Victoria Clark, is squarely earnest but still has the power to move.

Review: ‘Punch’ on Broadway is about the possibility of forgiveness

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BROADWAY REVIEW: James Graham drama packs an emotional ‘Punch’

As America deals with an epidemic of gun violence — a Sunday shooting and fire at a Mormon church in Michigan being only the latest example — a British play arrives on Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club about a single blow to the jaw with a clenched fist. That might sound like a play making a tacit argument for much tighter gun laws. That certainly comes to mind in the current U.S. context: Fists don’t rip through lungs or cause blood to spu…

'Punch' Broadway Review: A True Story of Manslaughter Makes a Mawkish Transfer to the Stage

On stage and in the movies, scenes set in a group therapy session or a psychiatrist’s office usually come off as something of a cheat. We’re offered a lot of psychological details and explanations without much effort from the writer. That theatrical shortcut is only part of the problem with James Graham’s new play “Punch,” which opened Monday at MTC Samuel J. Friedman Theatre after its world premiere at the U.K.’s Nottingham Playhouse in 2024. I…

Will Harrison delivers impactful Broadway performance in 'Punch'

Will Harrison delivers an impactful performance in the new Broadway play 'Punch,' which is based on the true story of a killing in the U.K. Read EW's review.