Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend Punch at the West End with my colleagues at JFKL - a powerful and deeply moving production written by Olivier Award-winning playwright James Graham and based on Jacob Dunne’s true story.
The play tells the story of Jacob, a teenager from Nottingham whose impulsive decision one night led to devastating consequences and a life changed forever. After serving his sentence, Jacob begins a journey of transformation when he meets the parents of his victim, James Hodgkinson. It’s a story of forgiveness, accountability, and the power of human connection - reminding us that one moment can alter a young person’s entire future, but compassion and community can also help rebuild it.
I also had the chance to listen to the post-show panel discussion, “What role do communities need to play in raising our children?”, hosted in collaboration with The Forgiveness Project. The panel featured one of our Co-Leads', Aika Stephenson, Ciaran Thapar (Youth Endowment Fund), Desmond Skyers (St Giles Trust), and Jacob Dunne himself.
The conversation explored how society can collectively take responsibility for ensuring that children and young people feel like they belong - that they are part of a “village” that values them and helps them thrive.
A moment that stood out to me during the panel discussion was when Aika spoke powerfully about the impact of “othering” young people, particularly those excluded from schools, and how early exclusion can push them further away from the village that should be protecting and nurturing them. She also touched on adolescent brain development and how impulsivity, risk-taking, and decision-making differ during that critical stage of growth.
The discussion left me reflecting on how incarceration often removes children from their communities from the very “village” that could have supported them. As Aika put it, “As solicitors, we often have to look backwards - asking when something became a behavioural issue rather than a safeguarding issue.”
“As solicitors, we often have to look backwards - asking when something became a behavioural issue rather than a safeguarding issue.”
The evening was a powerful reminder that we all have a role to play in creating environments where young people feel they belong. Supporting community organisations, listening to young voices, and investing in early intervention are not just acts of goodwill, they are vital steps toward preventing harm and building safer, more compassionate societies.
Thank you to The Forgiveness Project and the Punch team for creating such an impactful space for dialogue, and to Just for Kids Law for the opportunity to attend and be part of this vital conversation.
You can listen to the full post-show discussion here
