Review: TENDER, Bush Theatre

Colourful and full of detail, Eleanor Tindall’s Tender is an engrossing evening of theatre. Combining the sweetness of a contemporary queer rom-com with the dark underbelly of body horror, the play showcases two excellent performances and some stunning design work.

For this show, the Bush’s smaller, studio space has been covered in bright yellow: from a mustard yellow floor, to  a round, rose-shaped yellow sofa and a fluttering yellow curtain. Taking this aggressively cheery stage are Ivy (Nadi Kemp-Sayfi) and Ash (Annabel Baldwin), two thirty-something women whose lives gradually begin to intertwine. Ivy has just moved in with pushy boyfriend Max, leaving behind her childhood bedroom, a place cursed with memories and old pieces of herself; that room is then rented to Ash, an openly queer woman escaping a dangerous almost-marriage. As the narrative ping-pongs between the pair, we are drawn into a world of uncanny coincidences, unsettling phone calls, and unspoken connections.

Kemp-Sayfi and Baldwin both give thoughtful, intricate performances, deftly weaving their way through Tindall’s emotionally heavy script. Lines that could verge on over-poetic blend into moments of realism thanks to their skill in handling dialogue. The pair also have electric chemistry, their opposing characterisations complimenting each other perfectly: Kemp-Sayfi’s Ivy is raw but chatty, while Baldwin’s Ash is outwardly cool and inwardly overcome with anxiety. 

The characterisation is one of the strongest aspects of Tindall’s script. Both women are fleshed out to the point where they feel equally real and equally vivid. The writer also has a clear instinct for storytelling and plot: Tender’s 90 minute running time feels closer to an hour, and thanks to smart pacing, the show never drags. All of this is further elevated by Emily Aboud’s direction, which moves the duo around the space with an ever-present sense of play. The direction especially shines in a movement sequence featured around the halfway point, which brings to the forefront the actors’ chemistry and the tentative, buzzing energy between them. 

On top of this, set and lighting designers Alys Whitehead and David Doyle add a whole other layer to the production through their creative use of the yellow curtain adorning the back wall: this play about pieces of ourselves we bury and hide is brought to life with a wall that moves and breathes as though sentient, and lighting that gently shifts between spaces. 

Where Tender’s weakness lies is in its familiarity. The play has remarkable parallels with Rafaella Marcus’ Sap, but lacks the strong mythological scaffolding of the Fringe hit. In this production, there is often a disconnect between the grounded, human relationship at its heart, and the more supernatural imagery: Tindall attempts to integrate themes of body horror and magical realism, but a case of one too many ideas leaves the play feeling as though there are some loose ends still yet to be tied up. 

Over the past few years, Fringe theatre, and especially small-cast, queer Fringe theatre, has become something of a genre in its own right. For better or worse, Tender hits all the beats of this ever-growing category, from voiceovers to club scenes and repurposed props. There are also a few moments where acting beats are over-exaggerated and feel out of place – particularly some of the moments of eating –  and where the words verge too far towards spoken word. 

For those less entrenched in the world of Fringe theatre, however, this play will offer something exciting and expansive. Tender is, after all, an imaginative, ambitious play, excellently showcasing a cast and creative team who are all doing fantastic work. And most importantly, it’s a deeply entertaining story. 

Tender runs at the Bush Theatre (Studio) until 21 December

Photo Credit: Harry Elletson

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