From the ★★★★★ Tambo & Bones powerhouse duo: writer Dave Harris and director Matthew Xia comes a steamy, boisterous and tender new play about breaking free from masculinity’s seductive cage.
The Dancing Bears strip club is failing. Ten covers on a Saturday night. One booking next week. The new club down the street are packing fifty women a night with their twelve-inch synchronised dicks.
When the boss’s daughter shows up, she realises they’re gonna need a bigger show.
Welcome to the club. Red lights. Oiled abs. Dollar bills. Three men about to make you feel things you weren’t expecting. Grab front row seats to get up close and very personal.
Captioned Performance by Alex Romeo: Wed 13 May, 7pm
Audio Described Performance by Miranda Yates: Thu 14 May, 2pm
PRE SHOW Q&A – Fri 22 May, 6.15pm
Join influencer Stephanie Yeboah (author of Doing It For The Plot) and Tender cast member Jessie Mei Li for a Q&A before the show. Doors for Q&A open 6.10pm. This is a free event for ticket holders of Tender on Fri 22nd May.
Cast
Darren Bennett
Darren Bennett
DARREN BENNETT is a leading stage and screen actor, who has an extensive career in the West End and in theatres across the UK. West End credits: Victor Garber in TITANIQUE (Original London Cast, Criterion Theatre); Vince Fontaine in GREASE (Dominion Theatre). Film & TV: THE ROYAL VARIETY PERFORMANCE 2025 (ITV); BETTER MAN directed by Michael Gracey (Saban Films); THE SOUND OF MUSIC LIVE directed by Coky Giedroyc (ITV1); CINDERELLA with Camila Cabello directed by Kay Cannon (Columbia Pictures/Amazon Prime).
Dex Lee
Dex Lee
DEX LEE is best known for playing Bear Sylvester in BBC’s DOCTORS for five years, earning nominations at the British Soap Awards and Inside Soap Awards. Other TV includes Kenny Simmons in the 2024 Christmas special of DEATH IN PARADISE (BBC).
Theatre includes: Toulouse-Lautrec in MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL (Piccadilly Theatre); Benny in IN THE HEIGHTS (King’s Cross Theatre), having played Jose in the Original London Cast (Southwark Playhouse); THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS (Garrick Theatre, dir. Susan Stroman); and FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (Royal Court Theatre). WhatsOnStage Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE. He trained at The Arts Educational School.
Jessie Mei Li
Jessie Mei Li
JESSIE MEI LI recently wrapped production on the feature film A RARE BREED and the six-part television project THE SEASON, in which she stars as Cola Pierce. She can currently be seen in the Netflix feature film HAVOC, alongside Tom Hardy, directed by Gareth Evans. Jessie is also widely recognised for her starring role as Alina Starkov in two seasons of SHADOW & BONE. Other work includes THE AGENCY (Paramount+), WE MIGHT REGRET THIS (BBC), the Edgar Wright feature LAST NIGHT IN SOHO for Working Title Films/Film4, and Ivo van Hove’s stage adaptation of ALL ABOUT EVE at the Noel Coward Theatre opposite Lily James and Gillian Anderson.
Kwami Odoom
Kwami Odoom
KWAMI ODOOM is a stage and screen actor and award-winning stand-up comedian. His theatre work includes playing Sebastian in TWELFTH NIGHT at Shakespeare’s Globe, and spans productions such as Inua Ellams’ HALF GOD OF RAINFALL at the Kiln Theatre and BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES at The National. Other theatre credits include QUEEN MARGARET, ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL and HUNGER. On screen, he has appeared in DEATH IN PARADISE, THE ROOK, THE ATHENA, BBC’s DOCTORS and HOLBY CITY, and short film, THE ONE MINUTE PROBLEM.
Creative Team
Dave Harris
WriterMatthew Xia
DirectorULTZ
DesignerCiarán Cunningham
Lighting DesignerRoly Botha
Sound Designer and ComposerShelley Maxwell
Choreography and Intimacy DirectorHeather Basten CDG
Casting DirectorToby Smith for The Production Family
Production ManagerMark Simmonds
Associate DesignerMaybelle Laye
Associate Costume DesignerWiebke Green
Assistant DirectorProduction images
Trailers
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Audio described asset - audio introduction
An audio description of the venue, stage and set, characters and costumes, as they appear for the performance.
Audio described asset - introduction transcript
A written description of the venue, stage and set, characters and costumes, as they appear for the performance.