★★★★★
Written by Ida Esmaeili, tenderly captures the highs and lows of falling in love, while exploring important topics such as grief and immigration. All journalism student Will (Nate Janis) wants is help with his paper on Iran. He didn’t expect to fall for the sarcastic and witty Iranian student Alina (Ida Esmaeili). Slowly, Will chips away at Alina’s frosty demeanour, and after an awkward compliment, personalised love song and a dance while waiting on a bus after a party, the two become a couple. It’s not all smooth sailing however: Alina’s Visa application has been denied, while Will’s dad is hospitalised with cancer. These place strain on their relationship and a number of fights break out.
Will and Alina’s conversations are packed with details that bring them to life. When they first meet, Alina tells Will the story of her parents meeting for the first time in a medical school lecture, while Will fondly recalls tales of sitting in cafes with his dad, eating chocolate croissants and trying to complete the crossword first. They seem an unlikely couple; where Will has big plans to meet Alina’s family halfway between Iran and the US in Iceland, Alina is far more practical, studying all the options she has to extend her Visa. Yet their chemistry is palpable from the moment they step onto the stage. When one of them has “a feeling”, the other suggests a dance break, a tradition which started in the early days of their relationship when Alina first confessed her anxieties about the future.
Contemporary dance segments are used to split up the scenes. Moving the props is integrated into the choreography, and the two chairs onstage are rearranged to form a bench, a sofa or a car, depending on the scenes. They are complimented by various hand props, which the actors bring out at the start of the show in a cardboard box labelled with the dates that the plays span.
tenderly is a slow burn; with the plot of Alina’s Visa application fully beginning half an hour into the show, but this makes the romantic parts feel more satisfying. A beautifully written and truly captivating drama, tenderly will tug on your heart strings and leave you wanting more.
tenderly will be performed at Greenside @ Riddles Court from 18-20 August as part of Edinburgh Fringe. Get your tickets now.
Words by Ellen Leslie
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