Playwright Dave Harris has channelled his own heightened libido during the LA wildfires into his latest work, Tender. Set in the failing Dancing Bears Club, the play follows male strippers and examines themes of sex, power, and masculinity. Harris admits to being 'obsessed with sex' and describes the four places he feels most himself as 'writing, sex, cooking and dancing'.
The play challenges how men, particularly straight men, struggle to articulate their own pleasure. 'A lot of my male friends don’t have any language for their own pleasure,' Harris explains. 'In this play, there’s a desire to explore how infinite pleasure can be, and how stifled a lot of people are in their understanding of it.'
Director Matthew Xia reunites with Harris after their collaboration on Tambo & Bones. Actor Dex Lee, who plays one of the strippers, notes that the play presents masculinity as performed rather than fixed. Jessie Mei Li’s character B, the club owner’s daughter, challenges the men’s rigid views on sex and power. Li observes that 'patriarchy traps men in this idea of how they have to behave'.
Rehearsals included research into male strippers and sex workers, as well as pole dancing classes. The cast also attended a performance of Magic Mike Live for inspiration. Safeguards ensure a safe environment, with consent conversations and audience paddles to indicate willingness to participate in interactive scenes. Harris aims to blur the line between audience and performer, embracing the potential for chaos in live theatre.
