A beautifully acted and sharply written portrait of young love that feels at its best when it keeps things real.
⭐⭐⭐
What's it about?
Written by Eleanor Tindall and first performed at the Bush Theatre two years ago, Tender is an intimate one-act play exploring the exhilaration, awkwardness and uncertainty of love. Through honest conversations, humour and moments of vulnerability, it follows two young thirty-something women as they navigate the excitement of a new relationship while trying to understand themselves and what the future might hold.
What we loved
This is a production built around two exceptional young performances. Nadi Kemp-Sayfi as Ivy and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers as Ash completely inhabit their characters, leaning into the conversational style of the writing with remarkable ease. Their chemistry is effortless and we are genuinely invested in both their relationship with all its initial awkwardness and where life might take them.
Amewudah-Rivers also plays the voice of the male characters - Ivy’s boyfriend and brother Cas, which generally works well and keeps the action dynamic, although is occasionally a little confusing.
The writing is a real strength. The dialogue feels refreshingly natural, full of wit, warmth and observations that ring true. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, with the humour emerging organically from the characters rather than feeling manufactured.
With audience members seated on three sides, Director Emily Aboud has done a great job in bringing the drama out to ensure everyone has a strong view of the action. The actors constantly move around the space and come close to the seating bank, bringing an intimacy into the storytelling.
The set is simple but effective looking like a cheap London flat where nothing matches which Ash rents at the start of the play. There is clever use of sound effects and a simple curtain device helps create moments of tension.
Anything we'd change?
While the production is consistently engaging, it's at its strongest when it trusts the realism of its characters and dialogue. The less naturalistic moments and more metaphorical passages briefly pull you out of the emotional journey that the play has worked so carefully to establish. The honesty of the central relationship is so compelling that it hardly needs these flourishes.
Who would enjoy it?
Fans of contemporary new writing.
Who Created It
Tender is written by Eleanor Tindall and directed by Emily Aboud. Set and costume design by Alys Whitehead, Lighting Design by David Doyle and Sound Design by Ellie Isherwood.
Verdict
Tender is a confident and deeply engaging piece of new writing, elevated by two outstanding performances. Funny, moving and emotionally truthful, it draws you into the lives of its characters with remarkable ease. Although some of the more abstract moments interrupt the realism that makes the production so powerful, this is an accomplished and affecting one-act play that showcases exactly why the Bush Theatre has such a strong reputation for developing new writing.