As we know simple acts can have a massive impact. I went to see James Graham’s play Punch at the Young Vic. It’s not a play for children. It deals with the true story of a lad with a chequered past who on a night out with his mates in Nottingham punched someone in the face and ran off. Tragically the man who was punched fell and lost his life.
The central character Jacob is brought before the courts, is found guilty and goes to prison. We also see the changed lives of James’s parents and they deal with the sad loss of their son who was a warm, caring, compassionate paramedic. The play delivers a punch of its own because the action is immediate but the repercussions are ongoing and full of powerful emotion and sadness on both sides.
The system deals with Jacob after his release from prison and things proceed as you might expect until one day the idea of restorative justice is brought up. Gradually Joan and David, the parents and Jacob are brought together. Understandably they want answers, they want to know how this senseless thing happened. At first, Jacob is unwilling to see what he has done and explains it away as an accident but by writing to the family and eventually meeting them he becomes less in denial, more self-aware and then genuinely remorseful. His transformation is very touching to see.
None of this is easy but somehow, they all make a journey of understanding about each other. David, the father had told his son that everything would be alright and couldn’t forgive himself for saying it. He now couldn’t shake hands with his son’s killer. For his part, Jacob studies, retakes his school examinations and goes on to university to study criminology. He now talks to groups about his story and what it did to him. David still can’t forgive him but he grows respect for the man Jacob has become.
The real Jacob wrote a book that the play is based on. The play is brilliant as a piece of writing but also as a group performance by 6 actors who play all the parts and take us to all the places. Particularly outstanding are Julie Hesmondhalgh and Tony Hirst who play mum and dad and David Shields who plays Jacob.
The play is so moving and it does what all great theatre should do. It sends us away knowing these people with all their problems and we live it with them. We hold it up to the light and catch something of ourselves in the process. How would this be if it happened to me?
I heard about the concept of restorative justice but this play showed me how human beings can be when they make space for each other. Now I know about it. They may be trapped in the situation but they can look beyond and add something to their life. You come out of the theatre with a changed perspective and perhaps more hopeful about people and their redemption.
If you get a chance to see it, I thoroughly recommend it.
