T-Boy on Grindr

T-Boy is a trans teen who navigates the conventions of the cis-gay community on the dating app Grindr. Confronted with a reality that often sees his body as not masculine, T-Boy embarks on a turbulent heroic journey with monologue, song and dance. At a time when trans bodies and realities of life are increasingly the subject of political debate and social negotiation, “T-Boy on Grindr” opens up spaces in which being trans is neither revelation nor problem, but a natural part of desire, intimacy and community — and asks what norms structure these processes. How can queer people create scope to rewrite heteronormative ideas of desire and body perception?

In his first solo, João d'Orey combines autofictional storytelling with music and dance in collaboration with actress Malaya Stern Takeda, who makes her directorial debut with “T-Boy on Grindr.” The show, which has already been shown in Bangkok, New York, Prague and Athens, ranges between digital intimacy and the question of how queer and trans bodies are perceived, desired and ostracized in a socio-political and medical context.

In English with German surtitles.