Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) has just announced two shows that will be apart of the 2025-26 season. MTC will present the Broadway premiere of the critically acclaimed new play Punch by Olivier Award winner James Graham (Ink at MTC, Dear England, Best of Enemies, This House), directed by Adam Penford (Associate Director for Broadway’s One Man, Two Guvnors) at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Additionally, they announced the world premiere of The Monsters, written and directed by Ngozi Anyanwu (Good Grief, The Homecoming Queen), which will open Off-Broadway at NY City Center.
“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 Lynne Meadow. “James’ fantastic new play Punch will be helmed by Adam Penford, who will make his Broadway and American debut as Director with the show. At City Center, we’re delighted to partner with Two River Theater to produce the world premiere of Ngozi Anyanwu’s The Monsters. We’ve been fans of Ngozi’s work for some time and are excited to bring her to MTC.”
James Graham’s Punch, based on the true-life book Right from Wrong by Jacob Dunne, earned ecstatic five-star reviews when it premiered last year at Nottingham Playhouse and recently transferred to The Young Vic in London. A powerful account of a fatal act of random violence and a path toward understanding and forgiveness, Punch has been hailed as “James Graham’s most moving work yet,” by The Times, “a story that needs to be told” by The Independent and “a compelling examination of the human cost and consequences of violence” by The Telegraph.
Ngozi Anyanwu’s The Monsters, a world premiere co-production with Two River Theater, is about two siblings, LIL and BIG, who reunite after a long time apart and must wrestle with their pasts.