Playwright Eleanor Tindall talks London return of ‘Tender’: “Repressing queerness is only getting worse with the increased hostility towards LGBTQIA+ people”

Following a critically acclaimed inaugural run in 2024, the play transfers to the Bush Theatre’s main house in an upgraded production also featuring new material and cast members. Guillermo Nazara chats with the show’s creator to learn more about her and the piece’s journey over the years, and its depiction of queer relationships in a bolder, rougher way than is usually expected.

How does it feel to have your play returning to the Bush Theatre?

It’s such an enormous privilege – to return to these characters and have the chance to give them more breathing space is a rare gift. I’ve taken it as a real opportunity to push myself and see what else this story can do. 

How did the idea for the show come about?

It was originally inspired by the short story The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, but it ended up being more of a springboard for the play as opposed to an adaptation. I wanted to write something that felt as unnerving as The Yellow Wallpaper- and that explored themes like autonomy and suppression under patriarchal structures -but I also wanted to tell a story that felt rooted in contemporary life. I decided I wanted to approach it through a queer lens and look at suppression of self and desire, and how this affects the way that we experience love and romance.

How does this show stand out from other queer love stories?

Though Tender is a love story, its engine to me is the sort of dreamlike, feral, surreal psychological thriller element – and that’s what makes it stand out. There are no neat endings or easy answers, and Ash and Ivy are very imperfect people who make questionable decisions. There is still this softness at the centre of it – this human desire to connect amongst all the noise, though never at the expense of any mess or sharp edges. 

Two of the play’s key themes are repressed sexuality and self-discovery. How are those explored throughout the play?

These themes in particular are anchored in surrealism, a genre that I am obsessed with and that comes quite instinctively to me as a writer. What I try to achieve in all my work is surrealism wedged tightly against naturalism, as I find this the most satisfying in terms of storytelling. I love presenting emotions as these theatrical things that break the boundaries of human flesh and become tangible. That way, you can really look at them.

What other themes have you intended to explore and how have you done it?

Desire, intimacy, belonging, autonomy, care vs coercion, love under patriarchal control. I’d say these themes permeate through the characters, their interactions with each other, and the story itself, which is twisty and unexpected and has a primal pace to it.

What’s been your process to build such an intimate story in a way that feels truthful and compelling?

I think a lot of this comes down to the entire team and how we work together. Collaboration is essential and one of my favourite parts of making theatre and in terms of creating something truthful and compelling – everyone is involved. You can’t create something like that in silo. 

What particular creative challenges have you faced with this play?

When I first started writing Tender (back in very early 2020 just as we were locking down), I really struggled with how exactly to tell this story. I started a very naturalistic version, which I abandoned after 20 pages, and decided to try and lead more with my gut in terms of form. I had (without realising) narrowed my own vision of what the play should be. It’s something that can happen a lot, especially in the early stages of writing something (for me anyway), but it was also quite ironic to be struggling with this particular thing considering the play is literally about trying to break out of self limiting structures. 

Has the played evolved in any way between its first and upcoming runs at the Bush Theatre?

We have a brilliant new cast member, Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, who is bringing gorgeous fresh energy to the character of Ash and the play as a whole. It’s really exciting. I’ve also done some rewrites, and me and Emily, the director, have had lots of conversations about what we want to develop in this upscaled version. 

The larger space has also meant that the design has really evolved. It’s much more like a character in itself now, and there’s loads of chances for Ivy and Ash to interact with it, which is thrilling. I’d say we are all working together to see what we can do better this time round – it would feel like a wasted opportunity to not try and push ourselves even further with this iteration. 

Why come see ‘Tender’?

It’s funny, it’s thrilling, it’s a pacy drama that whips along – it’s an enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes. It’s a story about queerness that you might not have seen before. It’s a story about repressing your queerness and authenticity, which is something I hoped might be less relevant but I fear is actually only getting worse with the increased hostility towards LGBTQIA+ people. 

There’s also a real universality to the story – it’s ultimately a play about the pitfalls and consequences of not being true to yourself, and simultaneously how difficult the world makes living comfortably and safely in authenticity. I think that this is something everyone can relate to in some way, in some area of their life.

Tender plays at London’s Bush Theatre until 1 August. Tickets are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara