The Jolly Fisherman review – last orders for an east London boozer in tense tale
Underbelly, George Square, Edinburgh
A real-life pub closure inspires a sensitive and subtle drama about friendship and community by John Dinneen
Two years ago, it was reported that a pub in Barking called The Jolly Fisherman had found a buyer after five years of dereliction. The prospective owner was a Muslim charity, which planned to turn a former business based on alcohol into a place of abstinence.
In one respect, a building that had been the focus of community life in this part of east London for 150 years would continue to be the focus of community life. In another respect, the community had changed.
To examine what that change might feel like, playwright John Dinneen imagines two school friends, Alan (Alex Hill) and Amir (Jonny Khan). Alan’s father is a fixture in The Jolly Fisherman – the kind of regular who has his own seat and a nickname for every drinker. Amir’s parents, by contrast, are British-Pakistani immigrants who would never step over the threshold.
The playwright avoids stereotypes. Yes, there are Brexity opinions among some of the drinkers, but they nonetheless broadly welcome Amir into their fold (he tells his parents he is at a homework club). For his part, Alex takes enough of an interest in Amir’s religion to join him for prayers. The tension comes when economic pressures expose the racism and Islamophobia lurking just below the surface – even for the seemingly open and accepting Alan.
In Layla Madanat’s lively production, they bounce across a decade and more, from the boom days of beer-garden parties to the isolation of the pandemic and the far-right march and counter protests of July 2024. Hill and Khan have the boyish exuberance of natural friends and we pity their falling out, but the play is subtle enough to understand the social importance of gathering places and the threat to community cohesion when they are lost.
Explore more on these topics