Tender at Soho Theatre Review: Dave Harris' Bold Exploration of Masculinity Through Male Strippers

There is something deliciously subversive about a play that invites you to wave fake cash at male strippers before pulling the rug out and asking you to think deeply about vulnerability, desire, and what it really means to be a man. That is precisely what Dave Harris achieves with Tender, his bold new play receiving its world premiere at Soho Theatre, running until 30 May 2025.

Reuniting Harris with director Matthew Xia, Tender is set inside The Dancing Bears, a failing male strip club where three performers must reinvent their act or face closure. What begins as riotous, physically dazzling entertainment gradually evolves into a sincere, confronting and surprisingly moving exploration of masculinity, power, and the pressures men place on themselves and each other.

An Immersive Opening That Sets the Tone

From the moment audiences enter the auditorium, they know this will not be a conventional evening at the theatre. Paddles and fake cash are distributed, stickers are placed over phone cameras, and the room pulses with music and dim pink lighting. The effect is immediate: you feel as though you have walked into an exclusive, slightly illicit private club rather than a London fringe venue.

This immersive framing is clever for more than just atmosphere. It positions the audience as participants rather than passive observers, blurring the line between spectator and patron. When The Dancing Bears finally take to the stage, the room erupts with genuine excitement, and you are complicit in the spectacle that Harris and Xia are about to deconstruct.

The Dancing Bears: Spectacular Performances with Hidden Depths

The three dancers at the heart of the show are Trae, Geoff, and Donnie, played with tremendous energy and nuance by Kwami Odoom, Dex Lee, and Darren Bennett respectively. Their opening routines are genuinely impressive, featuring pole work, backflips, and the kind of athletic choreography that draws gasps as readily as laughs. These are performers who can move, and the physical demands of the roles are met with apparent ease.

But Harris is not interested in spectacle for its own sake. The Dancing Bears club is in trouble. A rival venue has opened with a similar act that is, by all accounts, better. Audiences are drifting away, and the future of the club looks bleak. Enter Bea, the boss's daughter, played by Jessie Mei Li, who arrives with a mandate to reinvent the business and save it from extinction.

Jessie Mei Li Brings Cool Authority as Bea

Li plays Bea with an unflinching, measured presence that contrasts beautifully with the bravado of the three dancers. Initially brought in as a practical problem solver, Bea's role quickly becomes something more intimate and transformative. She challenges the men not only to devise a unique new act, but to interrogate their own relationship with pleasure, vulnerability, and authenticity.

It is through Bea's questioning that the play reveals its true concerns. When she asks these men, who perform desire for a living, whether they themselves actually enjoy sex, the discomfort is palpable. The question cuts through the swagger and exposes something raw. Do these men suppress their own needs to fulfil what they believe others expect of them? Are they permitted to be soft, curious, or emotional without it threatening their sense of who they are?

Li also brings her own layers to the role, suggesting that Bea's determination to save the club is not entirely selfless. There are hints that her drive is fuelled by a need for validation from her mother, adding another dimension to the play's examination of how family expectations shape identity.

Harris' Script: Witty, Provocative, and Emotionally Generous

Dave Harris has crafted a script that manages to be consistently funny while tackling weighty themes with real sophistication. The comedy is sharp and character-driven, with each of the three men offering a distinct comedic register. Dex Lee's Geoff is the quick-witted showman whose animated bravado masks deep insecurities. Kwami Odoom's Trae provides a gentler counterpoint: sensitive, modest, and inclined to people-please at his own expense. Darren Bennett rounds out the trio as Donnie, a meditative former adult performer whose calm, paternal energy anchors the group.

The interplay between these three characters feels natural and lived-in. Their backstage banter, rivalries, and moments of genuine connection give the play its beating heart. Harris writes male friendship with real affection and honesty, capturing both the warmth and the limitations of how these men communicate with each other.

Beyond the comedy, the play unpacks heteronormative ideas about pleasure with a refreshing openness. Harris suggests that there are limitless ways to experience desire and intimacy, and that the rigid categories men are often expected to inhabit serve nobody well. True to its title, Tender creates space for its characters to experience tenderness, to be vulnerable, and to begin breaking free from society's narrow expectations of masculine identity.

Direction and Design: Matthew Xia Keeps the Energy High

Under Matthew Xia's direction, the production maintains its momentum throughout, balancing the raucous energy of the strip club sequences with quieter, more reflective scenes. Much of the drama unfolds in what feels like a back office, a liminal space where the masks can slip. Ciarán Cunningham's lighting design is key to the transitions, using intense shifts in colour and intensity to transport us between the glare of the stage and the shadows backstage.

The cast enhance Harris' witty dialogue with terrific physicality and expressive reactions. Comedy beats land cleanly, and there is a generosity in the performances that ensures the more dramatic moments are given room to breathe. The audience paddle-waving may get the laughs, but it is the quieter scenes, where characters finally say the unsaid, that linger longest.

Does It All Work? Minor Pacing Issues in the Final Stretch

If there is a criticism to be made, it concerns pacing. The final scenes feel slightly stretched, and there is a sense that the material might have benefited from a tighter, single-act structure. The emotional climax, while affecting, takes a little longer to arrive than it perhaps needs to, and one or two threads feel as though they could have been resolved more efficiently.

That said, this is a minor quibble in the context of a production that delivers so much. Tender is wildly entertaining, genuinely thought-provoking, and performed with skill and heart by a cast who are clearly having a fantastic time on stage.

Should You Book Tickets for Tender?

If you are looking for something fresh, fun, and unexpectedly moving, Tender at Soho Theatre is well worth your time. The immersive elements add a layer of excitement, the performances are universally strong, and Harris' writing is both hilarious and emotionally generous. It is the kind of play that will have you roaring with laughter one moment and sitting in contemplative silence the next.

The production runs until 30 May 2025, and given the buzz around its world premiere, tickets are likely to move quickly. Whether you are a regular Soho Theatre attendee or new to London's fringe scene, this is a standout production in the spring calendar.

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