Take note: this is not a play about the eponymous magazine specialising in scathing political satire, although such fare might more readily be expected from playwright James Graham. This is about the ripple effects of a single punch, thrown by a teenager on a night out, with fatal consequences. Fabulously directed by Adam Penford, it is based on a memoir by Jacob Dunne who killed 28-year-old trainee paramedic James Hodgkinson in this way. It is a powerful study of problematic young masculinity that defines itself through swagger, reputation and recreational violence. But it is also a way of giving a terribly sad story as gentle an ending as it can have.

Source: Punch May 10, 2024 16:21 UTC