EL BLACKWOOD
TENDING
WRITER / ACTOR
images by Charlie Flint.
THERE ARE 400,000 NURSES IN THE NHS.
THIS IS THEIR STORY.
Tending offers a heartbreaking, hilarious and very human look at the experience of the nurses on the frontline of our health service.
Based on over 70 interviews with nurses of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities, Tending immerses you in their day-to-day lives. It asks an essential question: when the system’s under pressure and lives are on the line, who takes time to care for the carers?
National Tour/Transfers
Brixton House 8th-12th October 2024
Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal Bath, 11-12th April 2025
Riverside Studios, London, 14th April-4th May 2025
North Wall Arts Centre, Oxford, 1st-2nd May 2025
National Tour 2025
CAST
Nurse 1 - Ben Lynn
Nurse 2 - El Blackwood
Nurse 3 - Anjelica Serra
CREATIVE TEAM
Playwright - El Blackwood
Director/Dramaturg - John Livesey
Sound Design - Sarah Spencer
Lighting Design - Ros Chase
Edinburgh Fringe 2024
CAST
Nurse 1 - Ben Lynn
Nurse 2 - El Blackwood
Nurse 3 - Mara Allen
CREATIVE TEAM
Playwright - El Blackwood
Director/Dramaturg - John Livesey
Sound Design - Sarah Spencer
Lighting Design - Ros Chase
Producer - Ellie Birdsall-Smith
Edinburgh Fringe 2023
CAST
Nurse 1 - Stella Saltibus
Nurse 2 - El Blackwood
Nurse 3 - Alisdair Linn
CREATIVE TEAM
Playwright - El Blackwood
Director/Dramaturg - John Livesey
Sound Design - Leelu Dallas-King
Lighting Design - Ros Chase
Producer - El Blackwood
Assistant Producer - Izzy Howes
★★★★★
“Compassionate…beautiful, and master-crafted”
BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE
★★★★★
"A truly extraordinary production"
SCOTTISH FIELD
★★★★★
"It should be performed in the Houses of Parliament"
THE EDINBURGH REPORTER
★★★★★
"An illuminating, unflinching portrayal of the nursing profession...The use of verbatim theatre is like an intravenous drip that feeds directly into the veins of the audience."
THE REVIEWS HUB
★★★★
“One of the most timely plays of the Fringe”
THE SCOTSMAN
★★★★
“A piece that stays with you…needs to be witnessed”
BRITISH THEATRE
★★★★
"Unflinching...deeply cathartic...a love letter to those who do the most caring."
THEATRE & TONIC
AWARDS
SIT-UP Award for Social Impact, Tending - WON
Susan Smith Blackburn Prize - NOMINATED
Derek Award - WON
FLORENCE
DIRECTOR / DRAMATURG
images by Charlie Flint.
HAVE YOU EVER LONGED TO BE SOMEONE ELSE?
A compelling, witty, tragi-comic play bringing to life the idiosyncrasies of the contemporary art world.
This one-woman narrative follows a woman willing to use any means necessary to secure her success. Including creating a new persona, called Florence.
We are thrown into a world of colourful characters, high stakes and searing satire as our protagonist navigates life much better as Florence than she could have done herself. However, cracks begin to show that threaten everything she’s worked for...
Edinburgh Fringe 2025
CAST
Honor Santa Barnes
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer - Honor Santa Barnes
Director/Dramaturg - El Blackwood
Set Design - Ellie Wintour
Sound Design - Sarah Spencer
Lighting Design - Benji Huntrods
Producer - White Pear Productions
The Other Palace 2025
CAST
Honor Santa Barnes
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer - Honor Santa Barnes
Director/Dramaturg - El Blackwood
Set Design - Ellie Wintour
Sound Design - Sarah Spencer
Lighting Design - Ed Saunders
Producer - White Pear Productions
★★★★★
“Superbly executed.”
EVERYTHING THEATRE
★★★★★
“Potentially the best show at this year's Fringe.”
THE NATIONAL
★★★★★
THEATRE AND THE ARTS REVIEWS
★★★★★
THE NERD PARTY
★★★★.5
"A powerhouse production."
THE REVIEWS HUB
★★★★.5
A YOUNG(ISH) PERSPECTIVE
AWARDS
Fringe Theatre Awards, El Blackwood (Best Production) - NOMINATED
Fringe Theatre Awards, El Blackwood (Best Play) - NOMINATED
Fringe Theatre Awards, Honor Santa Barnes (New Writing) - NOMINATED
Fringe Theatre Awards, Honor Santa Barnes (Lead Performance) - NOMINATED
Fringe Theatre Awards, Ellie Wintour (Set Design) - NOMINATED
Fringe Theatre Awards, Ed Saunders (Lighting Design) - NOMINATED
Fringe Theatre Awards, Sarah Spencer (Sound Design) - NOMINATED
SYRUP
WRITER
March, 2025
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer - El Blackwood
Director - John Livesey
Performer - Jamie McClean
A YOUNG MAN'S PATH INTO AND OUT OF FAR-RIGHT EXTREMISM.
A series of monologues commissioned by The Groundswell Project to be performed by an actor in schools. Syrup toured schools deemed vulnerable to far right narratives in the wake of the Southport riots.
“Remarkably impactful.”
TEACHER FEEDBACK
MOSAIC
WRITER/DIRECTOR
images by Charlie Flint.
LONDON'S VARIETY THEATRE NIGHT.
A biannual event celebrating the best work from London's emerging theatre scene, featuring new stories from ten playwrights.
Pieces are selected through a competition process, and included work by Emma Howlett, Otis Waby, Isabella Waldron, Cameron Spain, Emily Swettenham, Frazier Bailey, Mojola Akinyemi, India Harrison Peppe, David Donovan, El Blackwood and Philippa Lawford.
The debut MOSAIC night was in January 2026. The event was sold out and raised money for WarChild.
The Actors' Church 2026
CAST
Rihannon Bird
Arthur Campbell & Molly Marr-Johnson
Sadhbha Odufuwa-Bolger & Elliot Norman
Esmonde Cole & Gaia Mondadori
Liberty Blackwood
Gregor Roach & Joseph Loane
Elizabeth Connick, Jack Medlin & Farah Ashraf
Kishore Walker & Áine McNamara
Ben Lynn & Julia Bentley
Georgie Dettmer & Xavier Starr
CREATIVE TEAM
Directors - El Blackwood & Philippa Lawford
Lighting Design - John Smith
Composer - Adam Zolty
DEAN STREET
CO-WRITER
Pleasance Theatre, 2025
CAST
Kishore Thiagarajan
Marcus Harman
Adrian Paul Jeyasingham
CREATIVE TEAM
Co-writers - El Blackwood & John Livesey
Director - John Livesey
Verbatim Researcher - El Blackwood
Producer - El Blackwood
A PIECE OF VERBATIM THEATRE EXPLORING THE HISTORY OF 56 DEAN STREET.
56 Dean Street, a famous sexual health clinic in Soho, has been working to promote sexual health, particularly amongst gay and bisexual men, for almost 200 years. It is the largest clinic of its kind in the whole of Europe. This verbatim piece explores shame, sexual oppression, and changing social norms today.
AWARDS
Pleasance Charlie Hartill Award - FINALIST