Theatre is a bold medium that doesn’t shy away from going to dark places as it confronts the big stories and tragedies in our society. There are several powerful, hard-hitting, true-life plays currently showcasing in the capital, and London theatre tickets are in great demand to secure seats.
Playwright James Graham’s latest offering, Punch has enjoyed a sold-out run at the Young Vic and will now transfer to the West End at the Apollo Theatre from September 22nd due to popular demand. The plot is set in the summer of 2011 when a single punch thrown outside a Nottingham pub transformed 19-year-old Jacob Dunne’s life forever. It was not unusual for Jacob to get into the odd skirmish when out on the town with his friends but this was different: the man he had struck, trainee paramedic James Hodgkinson, didn’t get back up.
That tragedy forms the basis for James Graham’s powerful play, which premiered at Nottingham Playhouse last year. He rewinds to show Jacob’s early life, growing up on a rough council estate, and how he became drawn in, and intoxicated by gang culture.
Punch is a play partly inspired by Jacob’s memoir Right From Wrong, and a moving story of the power of restorative justice. As in real life, Jacob meets with James’s grieving parents — a cathartic, gut-wrenching experience for all of them as they search for some form of peace.
Graham takes this real-life story and uses it as a platform to ask even bigger questions about male violence, social inequality, lack of mental health provision, and what justice and punishment should look like. The play will also open on Broadway later this year and tickets to Punch at the Apollo Theatre are now on sale.
Another powerful piece currently showcasing in London at the Royal Court is the play, Manhunt. In 2010 Raoul Moat, a former bodybuilder, and nightclub bouncer with severe anger management problems, was convicted of assaulting a 9-year-old relative. After his release from Durham Prison, Moat hunted down and injured his ex-girlfriend, and shot dead her new partner.
Extraordinary events occurred over the next few days resulting in one of the biggest manhunts in UK history, as Moat went on the run while taunting the authorities resulting in another shooting — of Police Constable David Rathband. Over 160 armed officers were involved in the hunt, along with sniper teams, dogs, helicopters, an RAF jet, tracker Ray Mears, and even former England footballing legend Paul Gascoigne.
The incredible story is chronicled in the ITV series, The Hunt for Raoul Moat, and on the London stage in a world-premiere drama written and directed by the Olivier Award-winning Robert Icke.
Samuel Edward-Cook stars as Moat alongside Leo James, Nicolas Tennant, Danny Kirrane, Patricia Jones, Trevor Fox, Angela Lonsdale, and Sally Messham. The production is at the Royal Court until May 3rd, and tickets to Manhunt are available now to book online.
Another current production that approaches real-life events in an unexpected, soul-stirring way is the musical London Road, which will open at the Olivier Theatre on June 5th. The musical was first seen in 2011 at the National Theatre, directed by Rufus Norris, and now returns as part of Norris’s final season as the artistic director of the National Theatre.
The ground-breaking production focuses on the serial killer dubbed the ‘Suffolk Strangler’, Steve Wright who murdered five sex workers in Ipswich in 2006. The show delves into the ripple effects of the crimes on the local community. Wright and his victims are not characters in the show; we get to know sex workers, the residents, and members of the media as they attempt to rebuild their lives and make sense of what happened.
London Road has a documentary feel to it as well as a musical since the text is verbatim and recorded by writer Alecky Blythe. She collaborated with composer Adam Cork, remarkably capturing the natural rhythms of people’s speech, almost placing the audience in the neighbourhood with them, resulting in a raw, hypnotic, transcendent piece.
The show had another brief run at the National Theatre in 2012 and was turned into a movie in 2015, starring Olivia Colman and Tom Hardy. This revival marks the much-anticipated return of a modern classic. Tickets to London Road at the Olivier Theatre are on sale now.
About Theatre Tickets London
Theatre Tickets London is the online arm of Concierge Direct Limited and has been a trusted platform for securing London theatre tickets since 2003. Not tied to any single suppllier, the company works closely with London ticket agencies to ensure maximum value and customer satisfaction. Their secure online booking system provides a seamless and stress-free customer experience. Please visit their website to view the full list of London theatre shows available at the most competetive prices.
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