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There are 400,000 nurses in the NHS today. This is their story.
Tending is an award-winning play that shines a light on the day-to-day lives of NHS nurses. Following a critically-acclaimed run at Edinburgh Fringe 2024, it is now returning for a national tour.
Based on over 70 interviews with nurses of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities, Tending immerses you in the experience of life on the ward. All the laughs and late-night coffees. The hilarity and the heartbreak. The patients you know you’ll remember, and the friendships you’ll never forget.
At its core the play asks an essential question: when the system’s under pressure and lives are on the line, who takes time to care for the carers?
Tending is a love letter to our National Health Service, created with the community who hold it up.
Written by El Blackwood and directed by John Livesey.
Praise for Tending
★★★★ “One of the most timely plays of the Fringe” The Scotsman
★★★★ “A piece that stays with you…needs to be witnessed” British Theatre
★★★★★ “Compassionate…beautiful, and master-crafted” British Theatre Guide
★★★★★ "A truly extraordinary production" Scottish Field Magazine
★★★★★ “an intravenous drip that feeds directly into the veins of the audience…An illuminating, unflinching portrayal of the nursing profession” Reviews Hub
★★★★★ "It should be performed in the Houses of Parliament. It should be on our TV screens… Please go and see it." The Edinburgh Reporter