PUNCH
Written by James Graham
Based on the book Right from Wrong by Jacob Dunne
Directed by Adam Penford
Presented by Manhattan Theatre Club in association with Nottingham Playhouse
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
261 West 47th Street
Fall 2025
Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC)—Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director, and Chris Jennings, Executive Director—is pleased to announce the Broadway premiere of the critically acclaimed new play Punch by Olivier Award winner James Graham (Ink at MTC, Dear England, Best of Enemies, This House), directed by Adam Penford (Associate Director for Broadway’s One Man, Two Guvnors) at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street),
Punch, based on the book Right from Wrong by Jacob Dunne, earned ecstatic five-star reviews when it premiered last year at Nottingham Playhouse and transferred to The Young Vic in London earlier this year. It will play the Apollo Theatre in London’s West End this fall.
A powerful account of a fatal act of random violence and a path toward understanding and forgiveness, Punch has been hailed as “James Graham’s most moving work yet,” by The Times, “a story that needs to be told” by The Independent and “another state-of-the-nation masterpiece from James Graham” by The Telegraph.
As Jacob tears through Nottingham in a whirlwind of drugs, girls, and bar fights, he makes a fatal mistake that lands him in prison. But as he struggles to accept the consequences of his actions and build a new life, he finds an unusual source of salvation: the parents of the boy he killed.
Adam Penford returns to Broadway to direct MTC’s production, having previously been the Associate Director on the Tony Award-winning One Man, Two Guvnors. Punch is presented in association with Nottingham Playhouse, where Penford serves as Artistic Director. James Graham returns to MTC where his play, Ink, received six Tony Award nominations in 2019, including Best Play. Punch will open MTC’s Broadway season at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.