What I liked
The Cast: This is a show that lives or dies based on how good the cast is at crafting the live-action, larger-THAN-life characterizations that are necessary to pull this off. And boy, oh, boy is this cast capable of doing EXACTLY that.
I could write entire essays on each and every one of them—and if they were to continue this show for a longer, extended run where I could watch it multiple times I might do exactly that—but for the purposes of this review, I’m going to focus only on the gentleman who holds it all together. But please don’t let that fool you. There isn’t one weak or underperforming actor in this bunch. Every single performer here is playing at top form—every single one. It’s like watching a choir in perfect pitch or an orchestra under the control of a master conductor. Everything works in perfect harmony.
As for the soloist of the show—that, of course, is Jimmy Slonina as Punch. A voice like nails across a chalkboard. Physicality that is at once violence incarnate and oozing, dark and brooding grace, Slonina’s Punch is a whirlwind of incredibly perfect bad choices—our worst self made incarnate and set loose upon the world with brilliant disdain for what that does to the world itself. Every decision the actor makes is a perfect choice for a character who cannot make ANY decision that is anything less than 100% wrong. It’s impossible to look away. And brilliant to watch.
The Direction: Do not forget, however, how important Christopher Johnson is to all of this madness. His choices in what to show us (such as a specific piece of anatomy) and what to imply are crucial. His vision is clear throughout and it helps to corral the madness with JUST ENOUGH control that I never felt it was going to spin into danger—just dangerous enough to be fun. In this sort of show, that is truly important.
And Jen Alpert’s choreography—surprisingly hard, dangerous, inspired and cool. Just really, really cool. And yet it always ended up with me cheering for Punch. Exactly when I didn’t want to do so. That’s hard to get me to do—so very well done.
Finally, Ryan Beveridge’s foley and sound additions were amazing. They made SUCH an INCREDIBLE difference and addition to the show. Without them, the show would have felt flat, weak and hollow somehow. With them, the show felt exactly and JUST cartoon-y enough.
What I didn't like
Not a damn thing. I don’t think there was a missed step for me.
My overall impression
Look, I’ll be honest. I’m not a big Punch and Judy fan. Never much cared for the puppets or their ongoing feuds and violence and nonsense. Never much got it, cared for it, understood why kids were ever riveted by it. So when I say this show had me GLUED TO MY SEAT—you should understood how BLOODY DAMN GOOD it is.
And bloody is EXACTLY the right word to use here. Some reviews I’ve seen for this show suggest a lack of blood. I disagree—I think there’s quite a bit of blood. It’s just tastefully and artfully done to create the exact amount of excess needed to get the point across. Is it buckets like a Saw movie? Of course not—but that kind of blood never has an impact anyway. A bat beaten over and over and coming up covered in gore, however….well.
This is the latter type of show. You could hear the audience’s collective gasp. Of laughter and just a little bit of … shock… at what the stage was giving them.
And that’s what this show does—it walks the line of what is allowed in society. Because let’s face it: Punch is the type of man feminists should hate. He’s the type of man MEN are told they should never, under any way, try to emulate in any fashion. He is violence incarnate, he hates women, he’s sexist, he’s racist. He’s the “Worst Man in the World”.
And yet none of us can stop watching him. And we laugh when he gets away with it, over and over and over. Because he, in so many ways, represents the worst impulses we recognize in ourselves.
And this show represents him beautifully. The cast is stellar. Practically perfect in every way. They attack every scene with incredible energy that makes them a joy to watch, even if/when they are being slaughtered. Punch is so zealous in his plans we want him to win. The rest are so zealous in their attitudes that we want them to succeed or be killed, as the scene dictates. The comedy is broad for a reason. The violence is both cartoonish and INCREDIBLY brutal. It goes on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on.
And on.
And still manages to quit just before it gets too real.
It’s made me understand why Punch and Judy work for kids. And for adults. And that’s high praise, indeed. Catch this show before it vanishes. Seriously. Catch Punch before he does more damage. Please.
