Written by Eleanor Tindall (Before I Was A Bear, Soho Theatre) and directed by Emily Aboud (Lady Dealer, Bush Theatre), Tender is a turbulent sapphic meet-cute searching for stability.
A turbulent sapphic meet-cute searching for stability
Nadi Kemp-Sayfi plays Ivy, the unhinged and unhappy girlfriend of Max with thoughts of the grotesque, while Annabel Baldwin plays Ash, the recently single drifter who visits Ivy’s cafe for company.
The two women command the minimalist space, creatively playing the voices of the male characters and weaving their drama with an urgency at odds with the silken, yellow softness of the space.
When the two strike up a relationship, they are both in need of tenderness. The men in their lives have both disappointed and hurt them, leaving them hollow and fearful. Ivy’s unstable mental state and Ash’s loneliness make for an interesting dynamic, but it’s hardly the healthiest of romance stories.
Focused on preoccupations of London life – expensive coffee, pretentious dinner parties and binge drinking – the story risks being run-of-the-mill, but the unhappiness built into this way of life is sure to resonate with many.
Tindall’s dialogue is nicely crafted and lighthearted despite the intense themes. And though the fantastical body horror elements are sometimes hard to grasp, their presence gives us a sense of Ivy’s desperation.
At its essence, Tender is a meet-cute, but if you were looking for a light sapphic romance, this is not it. Instead, we are given a more realistic insight into two turbulent lives searching for romance in a grey world.
