NEWS: Spring 2026 shows announced

Nottingham Playhouse in association with KPPL Productions, Mark Gordon Pictures and Eilene Davidson Productions presents Punch by James Graham, based on the book Right from Wrong by Jacob Dunne, directed by Adam Penford.

Back by popular demand and following hot on the heels of its sell-out run at the Young Vic, and its highly acclaimed transfer to both Broadway and the West End, Punch, directed by Adam Penford, returns to Nottingham in March 2026. It will then transfer to Leeds Playhouse from 7 – 11 April and Theatre Royal Plymouth from 14 – 18 April 2026.

James Graham’s (Dear England, This House, BBC’s Sherwood) Punch, was a sell-out 5-star production, receiving standing ovations every night and unprecedented audience feedback during its initial run at Nottingham Playhouse. It led to the issue of Restorative Justice being raised in Parliament and a local judge cited it when sentencing a one-punch case.

James Graham was awarded the Kevin Pakenham Award (Longford Trust) for Punch, and David Shields won the Best Performance in a Play (UK Theatre Awards 2024).

Punch was Nottingham Playhouse’s highest grossing new play and when it transferred to London’s Young Vic for an 8-week run, achieved the theatre’s highest ever box office revenue. For all venues, producing Punch went beyond presenting the play, demonstrating theatre’s wider influence, by producing a series of community engagement programmes for reflection on justice, responsibility, and community. Free post-show ‘Talking Circle’ talks, exhibitions from The Forgiveness Project and signposting to Restorative Justice charities Remedi and Calm Mediation, created dialogue around the social and political issues within the story.

Jacob, a teenager from Nottingham, spends his Saturday nights seeking thrills with his friends. One fateful evening, an impulsive punch leads to fatal consequences. After serving prison time, Jacob finds himself lost and directionless. Searching for answers, Joan and David – the parents of his victim James – ask to meet, sparking a profound transformation in Jacob’s life.

A powerful true story of hope, humanity, and the possibility of change.

Nottingham’s James Graham, is one of Britain’s most celebrated writers, winning multiple Olivier Awards, as well as BAFTA, Emmy and Tony Award nominations. In Punch he turns Jacob Dunne’s unflinching true-life account into a gripping and moving play, that’s firmly rooted in Nottingham, energetic, entertaining and heartbreaking.

Adam Penford, Director of Punch and Artistic Director of Nottingham Playhouse, said:

“It’s been a whirlwind journey, seeing this Nottingham-based story, made at Nottingham Playhouse, affecting audiences so deeply across the globe. It’s also been affirming to witness the local producers, in every city and venue, taking up our call for a meaningful community engagement programme exploring the themes of the play, ensuring the work offstage is just as impactful as the work onstage.

“We remain ever grateful to the real-life people whose story we’re telling and hope the play continues to help them in their campaigning. This production is dedicated to James Hodgkinson and all other victims of one punch.”

Shawab Iqbal, Chief Executive of Leeds Playhouse, said:

“We’re incredibly proud to be welcoming back Olivier Award-winning playwright James Graham, this time with his acclaimed hit play Punch. Direct from the West End, this production is a dynamic, bold, urgent and deeply human story that speaks powerfully to our times.

“We’re thrilled to be the first and only venue in the North to host it, and to be part of its journey. This will be a compelling piece of theatre for our audiences – one that provokes, inspires and connects.”

James Mackenzie-Blackman, Chief Executive and Artistic Director for Theatre Royal Plymouth, said:

“We’re honoured to be presenting Punch in our spring 2026 season. It is a seminal and urgent work about the power to forgive, beautifully told, through James Graham’s award-winning play. It is an anchor feature of our upcoming season and we look forward to welcoming the company to Plymouth.”

Punch at Nottingham Playhouse is sponsored by Nottingham Trent University.

LISTINGS

Punch

Nottingham Playhouse

13 Mar – 4 April 2026

Press night: Wed 18 March, 7pm

Access Performances:

BSL interpreted: Fri 27 Mar, 7.30pm

Captioned: Sat 28 Mar, 7.30pm

Audio Described + Touch Tour: Thu 26 Mar, 7.30pm; Sat 28 Mar, 2.30pm

Relaxed performance: Tue 31 Mar, 7.30pm

Leeds Playhouse

7 – 11 April 2026

Access Performances:

BSL interpreted: Wed 8 Apr, 7.30pm

Captioned: Wed 8 Apr, 7.30pm

Audio Described + Touch Tour: Fri 10 Apr, 7.30pm

Access productions at Leeds Playhouse are sponsored by Principal and Access Partner Irwin Mitchell

Theatre Royal Plymouth

14 – 18 April 2026

Press night: Tue 14 April 2026

Access Performances: 

Captioned: Thu 16 Apr, 7.30pm

Audio Described + Touch Tour: Sat 18 Apr, 2.30pm

BSL interpreted: Fri 17 Apr, 7.30pm

A powerful new production of Small Island comes to Nottingham Playhouse in April 2026. A co-production with Leeds Playhouse and Birmingham Rep, in association with Actors Touring Company, Small Island is directed by Olivier Award-winning director Matthew Xia. Matthew ‘speaks directly to audiences today’ with his deeply personal and richly evocative take on Andrea Levy’s award-winning story.

Journey from the sun-drenched shores of Jamaica to the cold, grey streets of 1940s London in Small Island, a powerful and intimate new portrayal of Andrea Levy’s multi award-winning novel, adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson.

This exhilarating new co-production – the first to bring the story to audiences outside London – premieres at Leeds Playhouse on 11 – 28 March before transferring to Birmingham Rep on 1 – 18 April, and Nottingham Playhouse on 28 April – 16 May 2026.

Directed by Olivier Award-winning director, composer and DJ Matthew Xia (Artistic Director and Joint CEO of Actors Touring Company), this bold staging offers a fresh perspective on a world shaped by empire and entitlement, caught between belonging and unbelonging, disappointment and hope.

“Small Island resonates deep in my bones,” he said. “As someone of Jamaican and English heritage – my father arrived from Jamaica in the 70s – I’ve personally navigated many of the tensions and connections Andrea Levy so powerfully explores.

“Audiences can expect to be immersed in an intimate, atmospheric production that evokes the textures and tones of the 1940s: the sharp cut of a demob suit, calypso crackling through a wireless, the gloom of blackout curtains.

“Small Island is about migration and memory, empire and entitlement – but also about love, across culture, colour, and class. I want this version to speak directly to audiences today, and open space for reflection in a Britain still reckoning with its past.”

Adam Penford, Artistic Director of Nottingham Playhouse, said:

“We are so thrilled to be collaborating again with our colleagues, Leeds Playhouse and Birmingham Rep, to bring this beautiful and powerful tale to the stage. And we are especially delighted to welcome back former Associate Artist Matthew Xia, who previously directed memorable productions of Shebeen and One Night In Miami in Nottingham. We can’t wait to see this large-scale, theatrical epic fill the stage.”

Leeds Playhouse Chief Executive Shawab Iqbal said:

“We can’t wait to share Small Island with audiences in Leeds, Nottingham and Birmingham – cities with deep connections to the Windrush story. We’re also delighted to reunite with Matthew Xia and Actors Touring Company after the incredible success of Tambo & Bones in spring 2025.

 “Together with our partners at Nottingham Playhouse and Birmingham Rep, we’ll explore our collective history through the music, style, landscapes and characters whose stories echo across decades and continents. It promises to be an important and unforgettable journey for us all.”

Small Island at Nottingham Playhouse is sponsored by Daltons.