JOHN GREEN surveys the remarkable career of screenwriter Malcolm Hulke and the essential part played by his membership of the Communist Party
Routine delinquency
MARY CONWAY admires an accomplished drama that explores the consequences of a fatal punch on a desolate housing estate
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Last Breath, Sister Midnight, Opus, and The Electric State
HENRY BELL is moved by the account of scientists under seige in Leningrad who preferred to starve rather than sacrifice their life-saving work
RUTH AYLETT recommends two anthologies: one that bears witness to refugee and immigrant experiences, and the other to our political relationship to water
SETH SANDRONSKY appreciates a fresh take on a 100-year-old novel that helps to contextualise the current moment of conspicuous wealth, waste and climate chaos
A no-nonsense ex-Garda female cop, Scandi-noir’s newest flawed hero, the lure of Aussie gold, and unexpected decency in Silicon valley
JAN WOOLF doubts that soft-core musical is the best way to transmit an important story of heroism and resistance
Punch
Young Vic
PUNCH lands at the Young Vic with all flags flying.
Commissioned by Nottingham Playhouse where it premiered last May to glowing reviews, it must, of necessity, make its mark in the capital. As another blazing new hit from the sensationally successful James Graham and as a fine-tuned production from director Adam Penford (also artistic director of the Nottingham Playhouse), it fixes on a true local story and packages it impeccably.
The tale tells of one Jacob Dunne who — on a relatively routine delinquent night out — threw a punch at a young trainee paramedic, accidentally causing his death. What seems to result in devastation for all, finds new and unexpected hope for Jacob and the dead man’s parents as they pick themselves up, cross the divide and commune with one another.
More from this author
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
A landmark work of gay ethnography, an avant-garde fusion of folk and modernity, and a chance comment in a great interview
ANGUS REID applauds the inventive stagecraft with which the Lyceum serve up Stevenson’s classic, but misses the deeper themes
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