REVIEW: Tender

l-r Francesca Amewudah-Rivers (Ash) and Nadi Kemp-Sayfi (Ivy) in 'Tender' at Bush Theatre. ©️ Photo by Harry Elletson

Eleanor Tindall’s Tender begins with what appears to be an almost impossibly coincidental love story. Ivy seems to have her future neatly planned with her boyfriend, while Ash has just fled her own wedding and moved into a new flat whose walls appear to breathe. A chance encounter outside a nightclub develops into repeated meetings, an unexpected romance, and gradually something stranger. As the boundaries between reality and surrealism dissolve, the play reveals that these two women are connected in ways neither of them fully understands. What initially resembles a romantic comedy slowly mutates into a psychological exploration of desire, shame, memory and self-destruction.

One of the production’s greatest strengths lies in how naturally it handles its romantic comedy moments. Under Emily Aboud’s direction, the early encounters between Ash and Ivy feel effortless and recognisably human. The pacing of these scenes is relaxed, the awkward pauses land beautifully, and the chemistry develops with genuine warmth rather than theatrical exaggeration.

However, once the production shifts into its more surreal territory, it becomes increasingly difficult to remain fully connected. While the script clearly asks the audience to inhabit an unsettling emotional landscape, many of the moments intended to disturb never quite land. There is often a curious mismatch between the technical cues and the actors’ physical rhythms; rather than building psychological tension, this occasionally created the feeling that the production was rushing towards emotions the performances had not yet fully reached. Aside from the wonderfully unsettling breathing walls early in the play, the sustained sense of dread promised by its surreal world rarely fully materialises.

It was only during the extraordinary image of flowers suddenly pouring from Ivy’s ceiling, completely engulfing her, that the production fully realised its surreal potential. That sequence finally achieved the overwhelming, dreamlike horror that had been building throughout the evening, creating an image that felt both emotionally devastating and visually unforgettable.

Francesca Amewudah-Rivers (Ash) delivers a deeply charismatic performance and possesses an effortless stage presence that consistently draws focus without appearing to demand it. Ash’s vulnerability, humour and uncertainty coexist naturally, and every exchange with Ivy carries an undeniable emotional charge. Particularly during their quieter conversations, Francesca creates an intimacy that makes the relationship feel immediate and believable. Nadi Kemp-Sayfi (Ivy) is especially compelling during Ivy’s monologues. Those moments feel like the rare occasions where we are allowed direct access to her interior world, revealing layers of fear, confusion and longing that often remain hidden during dialogue.

From a design perspective, the production is consistently outstanding. David Doyle’s lighting design becomes the audience’s emotional compass throughout the evening. In a play that deliberately blurs reality and fantasy, the lighting provides remarkable clarity, subtly guiding us through shifting psychological states while continually reinforcing the emotional temperature of each scene. Alys Whitehead’s set and costume design similarly finds elegant visual metaphors for the play’s central concerns. The final image, where the fabric wall of the bedroom is stripped away to expose the bare structure beneath, is particularly striking. After spending so much of the play surrounded by soft, breathing surfaces, the sudden exposure of raw walls becomes a devastating representation of emotional collapse and loss. It strips away not only the room itself but also the illusion of safety the characters have tried so desperately to construct.

Ellie Isherwood’s sound design handles the transitions between intimacy, romance and psychological horror with remarkable sensitivity. If anything, I was left wishing the direction had leaned into this work even more. Many of the movement sequences still felt as though they needed additional rehearsal time to achieve the same fluidity and precision found elsewhere in the production, preventing the physical storytelling from fully matching the sophistication of the design.

What ultimately lingers is the emotional idea hidden beneath the surreal imagery. Tender is, at its heart, a story about self-rejection. Whether it is the characters’ uncertainty about their own worth, their sexuality, their relationships, or the lives they have built for themselves, both Ivy and Ash are struggling against versions of themselves they cannot fully accept. That shared internal conflict becomes the true source of their attraction, their recognition of one another, and perhaps even the explanation for Ash’s self-harm and Ivy’s decision to flee her wedding. Beneath all of its magic realism and horror imagery, Tender tells a quietly devastating story about two people desperately searching for somewhere they can finally exist without having to hide from themselves.

While the production’s surreal language could be more rhythmically integrated into the performances, the strength of the central performances, the exceptional design work, and the emotional honesty at the play’s core make Tender a compelling and thought-provoking evening. Even when its surrealism occasionally loses its footing, its exploration of identity, intimacy and self-acceptance continues to resonate long after the final image fades.

★★★★

Tender is currently performing until 1 August. For more information, please visit: https://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/event/tender-2026/#about

Credits

Writer：Eleanor Tindall
Director：Emily Aboud
Set and Costume Designer：Alys Whitehead
Lighting Designer：David Doyle
Sound Designer：Ellie Isherwood
Intimacy Director：Tommy Ross-Williams
Associate Intimacy Director：Sophie Cooch
Producer：Jessie Anand Productions
Associate Producer：Broccoli Arts
Production Manager：Titch Gosling
Company Stage Manager (Book)：Nikita Bala
Assistant Stage Manager：Frankie Neville

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