Paul T Davies reviews Tending at Greenside Riddles Court at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Tending

Greenside Riddles Court, Edinburgh Fringe

4 Stars

Book Tickets

A verbatim piece collating and performing the experiences of nurses working in the NHS. Beautifully structured, this is an emotionally powerful play that needs to be witnessed. Our NHS staff need to be listened to. Created from over 50 interviews by playwright El Blackwood, it's a piece that stays with you.

It's a classic Fringe play of plastic chairs and bare stages, the cast have the words and performances to convey to us. They are uniformly excellent, all three actors holding us in their words, sensitively directed by John Livesy. The pandemic sequence alone is devastating. We must never forget the trauma the staff went through.

The story of a 15-year-old patient is introduced and withdrawn a few times until delivered in full at the end. It has a devastating punch. Our nurses deserve and need so much more from the government and from us. A play of dignified strength.