Confessions of a Grindr Addict is mis-sold as a comedy. It’s not one, but it does make for an engaging drama. Gavin Roach has written a good story about dating in the gay circuit, though it is very definitely aimed at a gay audience and has little to offer to people who don’t understand Grindr culture or the gay scene. It was engaging and adorable, but not funny. It was also filled with cultural references to Australia that were lost on the British audience.
There was an incredible sense of frustration amongst some members of the crowd as the show is packed with irritating stereotypes: the use of acronyms in spoken speech; a teddy bear wearing a leather biker jacket and short shorts drinking white wine - everything about this side of the show is annoying. It’s disappointing that LGBT theatre hasn’t come further than this. The show jumps from being not revealing enough to too much information in literally a scene - there are some things that should stay in the bedroom.
However, what is most irritating is that if you take away the LGBT element of this show, what you are left with is the overused one-man-talks-about-his-love-life scenario. It needs to be top of its game, interesting and funny to avoid slipping into the anonymous pool of one-man love life shows at Edinburgh. With a bit of tweaking, a rebranding and an awareness of where his audience have come from and what they know, this show will have everything it needs to climb to the top notch of its bedpost.
