Manhattan Theatre Club will present the Broadway premiere of two-time Olivier Award winner James Graham's “Punch,” directed by Adam Penford, as well as the world premiere of “The Monsters,” written and directed by Ngozi Anyanwu, as part of its 2025-26 season. “Punch,” presented in association with Nottingham Playhouse, will open at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in fall 2025, while “The Monsters,” a co-production with Two River Theater, will open off-Broadway at New York City Center in winter 2026.
“Punch,” which premiered last year at Nottingham Playhouse and recently transferred to The Young Vic in London, is based on the true crime book “Right from Wrong” by Jacob Dunne. Teenage Jacob spends his days tearing through Nottingham in a whirlwind of drugs, girls and bar fights—but when he makes a fatal mistake, his life changes forever. As he copes with the consequences of his actions and strives to build a new life, he finds a powerful but precarious source of redemption: the parents of the boy he killed.
“The Monsters” is described as a sibling love story about reunions, resentment, reconnection and wrestling with demons. For a long time, Lil has been obsessed with fighting, and one fighter in particular: her older brother Big, an aging but successful figure in the local Mixed Martial Arts circuit. But she’s been doing it all from afar… until one day when she decides to show up on his doorstep.
“All of us at Manhattan Theatre Club are thrilled to welcome the brilliant James Graham back to the Friedman Theatre, where our production of his play “Ink” received great acclaim in 2019,” said MTC Artistic Director Lynne Meadow in a statement. “Ink” received six Tony Award nominations in 2019, including Best Play. Of “The Monsters,” Meadow added, "We’ve been fans of Ngozi’s work for some time and are excited to bring her to MTC.”
This article previously appeared on Broadway.com.
