Writer: Connor O’Cuinn
Director: Tazy Harrison-Moore
The orange and blue chat bubbles and the distinctive message notification sound of Grindr, the app for gay men to find local hookups, have become a staple of theatre about the modern gay male experience.
In writer-performer Connor O’Cuinn’s one-man Looking for Fun? they form the backdrop to the story of one young user of the service. We first meet his unnamed character as he’s receiving a haircut from a barber he has the hots for – should he come out to him? Flirt with him? There’s an innocence in O’Cuinn’s portrayal and writing that immediately brings us onside to the young man (referred to in production details, but never on stage, only by his Grindr profile name “looking4fun”).
Gradually, we come to realise that looking4fun is into older men, rarely seeing the same one more than once, and quite often receiving payment for his services. O’Cuinn has a gift for theatrical monologue, especially during the barbershop scenes, where he effortlessly portrays two characters at once. It is a skill that more experienced performers, much less writers, are unable to accomplish.
That skill continues throughout the piece as looking4fun’s journey takes him to darker places. All the other characters he encounters are voices played in on recording, but O’Cuinn’s reaction and delivery remain undimmed. As looking4fun visits a sexual health clinic to re-up his prescription for PrEP medication, the answers he gives to the doctor’s questionnaire are supplemented by asides with the honest answer – nothing groundbreaking, perhaps, but with a rare sense of comedic timing. Some occasional interludes of interpretative dance work far less well than the monologuing. However, as soon as the performer moves back to the spoken word, the show returns to its best work.
O’Cuinn’s character yearns for a longer, deeper connection, reacting with boyish glee to a date with a lad his own age. But when he starts ignoring his flatmate’s voice notes, and a quest for fresh poppers leads him to meet up with someone who just wants to use and abuse him, the risks of a “sex first, questions later” approach become all too abundant.
The ways in which an assault and its consequences are dealt with are strikingly well told. There is a diversion into thriller territory, as his abuser starts to send him stalker-like messages, that threatens to undermine the larger point of the monologue; O’Cuinn’s work succeeds more effectively when focusing on the smaller, more inward and nuanced thoughts and feelings.
Looking4fun’s journey through his version of modern gay life may lack the power and heart of other shows, such as Jack Holden’s Cruise, that covered similar ground. But Looking For Fun? showcases a writer and performer who has a talent for writing, and performing, great monologues.
Continues until 24 January 2025