Two Midsumma plays about Grindr

Picking up strangers at the bar and trolling Gaydar for dates is so last decade. In 2012, any gay guy who's serious about manhunting does it on Grindr, the mobile-device application that uses GPS to conduct casting calls for Mr Right Now.

Grindr has so revolutionised gay mating that it’s starring in two productions at Melbourne's 2012 Midsumma Festival: Gavin Roach's Confessions of a Grindr Addict, a one-man play about Grindr junkie Felix and his first off-Grindr date in one year, and Nath Valvo's Grindr: A Love Story?, a stand-up act about his Grindr obsession, which began two years ago after a brutal break up. "Grindr became this tool to start getting over my ex," Valvo says. "I'd jump on Grindr for validation, to make myself feel better in four minutes."

So far, 2.8 million guys in 197 countries are Grindr-ing for quick validation, at home, at work, at the Peel. "It seems like every time I go out, it's like a Grindr reunion," says Roach. "I look around the club, and I feel like I know everyone because we've spoken on Grindr." For Valvo, that makes the app both asset and liability: "Not only are you competing with hot guys on the dance floor, but now you're competing with Grindr!"

So what’s the biggest draw? Roach gets to be the guy he can’t be offline. "Felix is my alter ego, that brash, vulnerable, sexy side of me that comes out on Grindr." Meanwhile, Valvo unleashes "the cocky bastard" within, while avoiding the sting of being shot down in person. "Grindr takes the awkwardness out of being rejected face to face," he says. "There's this fake wall where nothing hurts that much. If you say something to a guy, and he's not into you, it doesn't really matter."

There's also plenty of material for his act, from previously taboo experiences (his first threesome, his first foursome) to weirdo encounters. "One guy asked me to come over and blow up balloons naked and not have sex," Valvo recalls. "He just wanted to watch me blow up balloons until they burst.”

Valvo declined. It didn't sound like the start of true romance, but then he is neither looking for love on Grindr nor ruling it out, hence the question mark in his show’s title. "I don't know if it's a love story yet," he says. "It's inconclusive. Research pending."

Confessions of a Grindr Addict, Revolt, 12 Elizabeth St, Kensington. 17-28 Jan. 9.30pm. $22.

Grindr: A Love Story?, Gasworks Arts Park, Cnr Graham & Pickles St, Albert Park. 2-4 Feb. 9pm. $18–22.

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