Punch @ Manhattan Theatre Club

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The Play: Punch, a kinetic adaptation of a memoir by Jacob Dunne, a former British rowdy boy who threw a punch that killed a man but who, after serving a sentence in prison, found redemption—and a new life—through his later encounters with the dead man’s parents

Written by: James Graham        Directed by: Adam Penford

One good thing: Will Harrison is giving a star-making performance as Dunne that hits every beat from macho bro to anguished penitent

One not-so-great thing: Even though the staging is dynamic, the production can’t evade the color-by-numbers sensibility of an afterschool special or an advertorial for the restorative justice movement that helped Dunne move on from his deed

 


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