Theatre show Confessions of a Grindr Addict explores modern age dating

• Lauren Mayberry
• 24 July 2012

This article is from 2012.

Sex is easy, dating difficult in 2012 edgy Edinburgh Fringe Festival show

What does a guy actually do on a date these days that doesn’t involve sex? This is the question posed by dark but comical one-man show Confessions of a Grindr Addict, written and performed by Australian Gavin Roach. Grindr, for anyone unfamiliar, is a smartphone app geared towards gay, bi and curious guys looking to meet people in their area, using ‘geolocation’ to see who is in your neighbourhood (and, potentially soon, in your pants).

‘We open on Felix, who is getting ready to go out for the night but freaking out because it’s the first time he’s gone on a date in over a year where he hasn’t met the guy using Grindr,’ Roach explains. Finding it hard to leave behind the safety of his trusted dating app, we see Felix weighing up the pros and cons of diving headfirst into the real dating world where you have to actually ‘meet’ and interact with non-pixilated people.

‘It’s unchartered territory for Felix, who is very overemotional, irrational and hyperactive, but also very loveable. I liken him to Peter Pan, if Pan grew up into a sassy gay man.’

Assembly Hall, 623 3030, 24–26 Aug (not 13), 9pm, £11–£12 (£10–£11). Previews 2 & 3 Aug, £8.