Tender is getting a second outing this time in the Bush Theatre’s larger space and is a play about a chance encounter that develops into something more.
The encounter is between two women who are living with not wholly comfortable relationships. Ivy (Nadi Kemp-Sayfi) is living with her pushy boyfriend and has an equally pushy brother.
Ash (Francesca Amewudah-Rivers) has returned from living in Spain, having left her fiancé at the altar only to find that he is stalking her. She has just moved into her own flat.
They are very different to each other. Ivy is defiant but in small ways, while Ash is cool and confident. Mostly.
Both are hiding parts of themselves; there is a yearning for something that connects them, but that connection is… complicated.
The staging is simple, with the back wall of the performance space made of silky material with a door to one side.
When Ash is at home, the silky material pulsates along with a soundscape, pressing in as if alive. It adds tension and foreboding.
There is a bed of sorts, a chair and a few other props deposited on hidden shelves around the stage to be brought out when needed.
A square portion of the stage has been lowered to form a pit, but the way this is used makes it feel like an unnecessary embellishment rather than purposeful.
The story unfolds at a steady pace, keeping you hooked as Ivy and Ash find out more about each other.
Eleanor Tindall is confident in her central narrative and doesn’t feel the need to overadd layers and themes.
The more metaphorical language adds symbolism, but it’s the self-narration and exchanges between Ivy and Ash which are the strength of the piece.
Lighting treatment towards the end emphasises the clarity of discovery as Ivy and Ash’s relationship enters a new stage. Loss becomes the path to finding themselves.
Final thoughts
There is something familiar in the characters, and a sweetness to the story and yet it is also ominous. Tender is a play that charms and alarms, and I’m giving it four stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tender, Bush Theatre
Written by Eleanor Tindall
Directed by Emily Aboud
Cast: Nadi Kemp-Sayfi and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers
Running time: 1 hour and 30 min
Booking until 1 Aug, for more details and to buy tickets, visit the Bush Theatre
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