Details have been announced about the weekly post-show conversations taking place on Tuesdays throughout the West End run of the critically-acclaimed Nottingham Playhouse production of Punch. The play is by Olivier Award-winning Nottingham playwright, James Graham, based on the book ‘Right From Wrong’ by Jacob Dunne, and directed by Adam Penford. It transfers to the West End following sold-out runs at Nottingham Playhouse and the Young Vic.
The post-show conversation series – After the Punch – will run Tuesday nights from 30 September featuring a variety of expert panellists. Curated by The Forgiveness Project, the series will be co-hosted by a range of Charity Partners from across the social justice and education sectors, on topics including The Process of Restorative Justice, What Makes a Man? and The Story Behind Punch. See below for full details.
Three performances with all tickets at £10 for schools, community and special interest groups, curated by charity partner Go Live Theatre, will offer wide access to the play in the West End. An extensive education pack, aimed at the PSHE and Drama curriculums, will be made freely available via www.PunchThePlay.com, providing resources for schools’ work around the play during the West End run, and in the future.
Kate Pakenham, Producer, said, “In bringing Punch to the West End, we wanted to honour the real people at its centre by amplifying the important conversations the play provokes, and ensuring that we reach as many young people as possible with this powerful story. This culture of care, conversation and learning was embedded in the production from its start at Nottingham Playhouse and carried through to the Young Vic, and it was important to the producing team that we continued that on Shaftesbury Avenue. We are so grateful to our charity partners, particularly The Forgiveness Project and Go Live Theatre and their supporters, for working with us to curate the access opportunities and conversations around the production, and our investors in supporting our mission to make this more than a West End transfer of a great new play. We hope that success in the West End will allow for further sharing of this inspiring story with young people across the country.”
As previously announced the producers have committed their royalties and any producer profits from the West End run into sharing the play with young people around the UK in the future.
Alongside this, James Graham will be channelling all his earnings from the West End run of Punch into supporting access initiatives in the West End – particularly in paying for tickets and travel for community groups and young people from his home county of Nottinghamshire – and into the educational and social missions beyond the London run.
James Graham, Playwright, said, “I distinctly recall the moment after a show at the Nottingham Playhouse when audiences were informed of the ‘talking circle’ that Jacob Dunne had built and placed outside the theatre for willing audience members to stay and chat about what they had just seen. It was built to seat 8 people – but a couple hundred people stayed behind to cram in and engage with the conversation beyond the play. I commend and celebrate how our producers and their partners have thrown themselves into facilitating the wider debates and events around the themes of Punch.”
This production is dedicated to James Hodgkinson and all victims of one-punch.
POST-SHOW CONVERSATIONS – AFTER THE PUNCH
Curated by The Forgiveness Project
Made possible through the generous support of Carol Sellars
STEPPING INTO THE SHOES OF ANOTHER
Tuesday 30 September
After crime, how is it possible to embark on a journey of understanding?
Theatre has a profound capacity to build empathy and open the door to understanding. This conversation explores what it takes for a victim of crime to meet with the person who has harmed them; and asks how do you forge a path toward understanding, empathy and possibly even forgiveness.
Hosted by The Forgiveness Project, the speakers include: Marina Cantacuzino (The Forgiveness Project - Founder) and Sandra Barefoot (The Forgiveness Project - Executive Director), Jo Berry (Public Speaker) and cast member Julie Hesmondhalgh.
WHAT MAKES A MAN?
Tuesday 7 October
Masculinity, shame and what lies beneath the surface.
This conversation explores the influences that shape young men and boys’ understanding of masculinity in today’s society. The discussion will consider factors such as shame and vulnerability, social media, families and popular culture.
Hosted in partnership with Football Beyond Borders – Lost Boys Taskforce, the speakers include: Nico Concha (Social and Emotional Learning Practitioner at Football Beyond Borders), Dr Kenny Imafidon MBE (Entrepreneur, Author and Social Commentator), Gethin Jones (Unlocking Potential - Founder) and cast member Tony Hirst.
THE STORY BEHIND PUNCH
Tuesday 14 October
On truth, adaptation, and the power of lived experience.
A candid discussion with the real people behind the creation of Punch.
How theatre can shape emotion, challenge assumptions, and humanise harm.
The speakers include: Jacob Dunne (Author of Right from Wrong), James Graham (Playwright), Adam Penford (Director) and cast member David Shields.
THE PROCESS OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
Tuesday 21 October
Hear from the real people who engaged in Restorative Justice and inspired the play.
This conversation invites the real people who inspired this play to share their own lived experience of Restorative Justice and its enduring impact to this present day.
Hosted in partnership with Remedi, the speakers include: Jacob Dunne (Author of Right from Wrong), Joan Scourfield (Mother of James Hodgkinson), Nicola Fowler (Restorative Justice Practitioner for Jacob, Joan and David) and cast member Shalisha James-Davis.
BEYOND THE SENTENCE
Tuesday 28 October
Does a prison sentence really end when you leave prison?
What awaits people returning on release into their communities and the workplace? How willing are employers and the public to believe in reform and rehabilitation? And how can those with lived experience sharing their stories, setbacks and success stories change perceptions? This conversation will show how taking your second chance depends on a complicated range of issues.
Hosted in partnership with The Longford Trust, the speakers include, Roxanne Foster (Longford Scholar), Jimmy McGovern (Screenwriter), Andrew Morris (Longford Scholar) and Ronke Phillips (Presenter and Reporter).
IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD
Tuesday 4 November
What role do communities need to play in raising our children?
This conversation explores the vital components and (real-world practice) needed for an entire community to share responsibility in bringing up our children so that they feel they belong and can flourish into adulthood. How can we all get involved in supporting raising our children?
Hosted in partnership with St Giles Trust & Just for Kids Law, the speakers include: Aika Stephenson (CEO Just for Kids Law), Ciaran Thapar (Director of public affairs and communications at the Youth Endowment Fund) Desmond Skyers (St Giles Trust - Senior Mentor) and Jacob Dunne (Author of Right from Wrong).
INVISIBLE WOUNDS
Tuesday 11 November
How do we understand the effect of harm passed down the generations and empower young people to live well and thrive?
Not all wounds bleed. Some are carried silently along an intergenerational pathway. This conversation explores how the unseen forces of intergenerational trauma, and pain, can shape the behaviours of young lives today. It also asks how understanding intergenerational trauma can empower people to live well and thrive.
Hosted in partnership with Oasis Restore, the speakers include: Steve Chalke (Founder of the Oasis Trust), Dr Gwen Adshead (Psychotherapist), Danielle Manson (Barrister) and cast member Emma Pallant.
FACING THE PEOPLE WE HARM (RESTORATIVE JUSTICE WEEK)
Tuesday 18 November
Exploring the promise of restorative justice.
This conversation explores the promise and possibilities of restorative justice. What does it mean to take responsibility and accountability for harm? What are the factors that make this process possible? And in what ways can it support profound transformative change?
Hosted in partnership with Why Me?, Calm Mediation and Remedi, the speakers include: Julie Clark (Calm Mediation), Michael Palin (Actor, Writer and Presenter) and Nick Dawson (Author and Ambassador for Why Me?).
JUSTICE BEYOND THE HEADLINES
Tuesday 25 November
Bridging divides to find common ground on justice
Hosted by Jacob Dunne, this discussion will include former Labour strategist, now writer and broadcaster, Alastair Campbell and Alice Dawnay, co-founder of The Common Ground Justice Project. Together they’ll explore how Britain can move past political divides and work towards a justice system that better serves victims, communities, and society as a whole.
Hosted in partnership with The Common Ground Justice Project, the speakers include: Jacob Dunne (Author of Right from Wrong, Common Ground Justice Project), Alice Dawnay (Common Ground Justice Project) and Alastair Campbell (Writer and Broadcaster).