In a new intimate pub theatre, we are taken into the even more intimate space of a hotel room. Or rather three hotel rooms, across a timeframe that spans twelve years. The Pearly Queen Theatre is a new space above the Bow Bells pub. It presents, as its second production, John Donnelly’s The Pass, which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 2014.
As we enter, projections of football matches play on the back curtain and immediately place us into lead character Jason’s world. Jason (Ben Moxon) is riding an exercise bike on stage before the play begins, a building block for the sense that we are voyeurs, peering in.
The Pearly Queen’s small scale lends itself well to this play as the audience are thrust almost directly into the performance space. With no backstage or sidestage areas, entrances are through the audience. Director Glenn T. Griffin uses the stage area in full, right up to the front row. It is impossible not to feel we are in a small room with the cast. We could literally reach out and touch them. However, the set design (Evan Mercer) with its hanging uniforms and benches can misdirect us toward feeling that we are with them in a locker room rather than a hotel.
What follows are three hotel room encounters, each circling around Jason’s fears for his career and for his sexuality. As is fitting for a hotel scene, Jason wears underwear in the first scene and, at times, a kimono. The underwear choice leaves the actor very exposed, both physically and emotionally. Perhaps a vest, such as the one worn by his teammate Ade (Josh Hitchman-Pinnock), would have given the necessary sense of undress, but also provided Moxon some protection.
In the first hotel, Jason and Ade are vying for just one spot on the team. A homoerotic tension between them is palpable and, so too, is their sporting tension. In a world where self-belief and self-promotion are key, doubt cannot be admitted. A teammate may be a friend but is also a rival. This drives both loneliness and isolation. The two are together in the room, jostling and joshing, but both are hiding their real selves. For me, this first scene dragged a little, but it provides necessary background for what comes later.
In the second scene, we meet the rather glorious Lyndsey (Eliza Shea), a dancer with all the bravado and self-awareness that Jason lacks. Shea is fizzingly powerful and flirtatious in a no-bullshit-I-see-right-through-you kind of way. Watching her lecture and cajole Jason is immense fun and there is great chemistry between the two actors. Ultimately though, a scheme is revealed which stresses again the solitary position fame has created for Jason.
Finally, after twelve years, Jason and Ade are reunited in a hotel. Jason’s professional and personal life are both in disarray, whereas Ade has moved on and found a solid path in both spheres. Ade’s costuming here demonstrates a change towards confidence and success. Jason is dressed much as initially. This makes sense; he has not successfully moved on or developed. (That said, perhaps a rich footballer might be in a new kimono and not the exact same one.) They are joined by a hotel worker, Harry (Charlie Hammerson), who becomes their companion and plaything. Hammerson makes the role look effortless, though it requires comic timing, near drowning and both nerdish excitement and eventual disdain
The Pass successfully invites us right into the mind of Jason. It also displays how well this new theatre space can be used. I am excited to see what comes next for the venue. The Pearly Queen is a short walk from Bow Road station. I encourage people to give this new theatre a try, though the historic nature of the building means you must be able to walk up stairs.
[Thank you to the Pearly Queen Theatre for gifted tickets for an honest review.]
Venue: The Pearly Queen Theatre @ The Bow Bells Pub, 116 Bow Rd, London E3 3AA
Dates: 17 September – 3 October 2026 (10 performances)
Times: 19:30
Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Tickets: From £20 (concessions available at £16)
Book: www.pearlyqueentheatre.co.uk
Recent reviews:
- Review: The Pass, Pearly Queen Theatre ★★★½
- Review: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Legacy, Sadler’s Wells ★★★★½
- Review: Darkling, Bush Theatre ★★★★
- Review: For Colored Girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, Yard Theatre ★★★★
- Review: Tartuffe (remixed), Marylebone Theatre ★★★½
- Review: The Tempest, Golden Hinde ★★★★
- Review: Death Note, Barbican ★★★
- Review: Cats, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, ★★★★
- Camden Fringe Review: How Do I Love thee? ★★★★
- Camden Fringe Review: Chicken Dropping ★★★½
- Camden Fringe Review: Your Favo(u)rite American Woman ★★★★
- Camden Fringe Review: Mates, ★★★★½
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