Edinburgh 2022: Review: WE ARE TRAFFIC: AN UBER ADVENTURE, Assembly Rooms - Drawing Room

After losing his marketing business, Jonathan Tipton Meyers started letting strangers into his car for money. Yes, he became a driver for Rideshare - what was Uber before it became Uber. This one man play about his experiences takes us on a literal and metaphorical journey through LA, his life, his passengers and how he met and lost the love of his life.

Through interesting photography and beautiful artwork we share a glimpse into how he moved from New York, ended up in a gay biker bar and continued his way to LA.

We learn about his passengers: who some of them were, how they affected him and how they evolved as Uber took over and the app became ubiquitous. In turn this reduced prices while Uber made huge profits (that didn't trickle down to the drivers). In the back of his car there are kids in the San Fernando Valley, cool fashionistas, drunk sorority girls and people desperate to get to LAX on time.

In amongst this is Jonathan's girlfriend. He loved her and she left him. As he tells us about her it feels raw, almost too raw; I wondered if this wasn't too much for him to act out at this point in his life.

There's also the uncomfortable metaphor and reality of needing to urinate. It's not easy when you're driving around all day. At the denoument we are invited to see a final release of tension as he sits in a Whole Foods bathroom and in a frenzy he spells out the main messages of his play. In some ways it is a fascinating look at what we hold onto as people and the stresses of modern life. In other ways it seemed jarring and frenetic and didn't easily fit with what had come before.

Overall, Jonathan is a great storyteller and We Are Traffic is a winding, entertaining odyssey of snapshots from his life on the road. The overriding themes are positive and remind us to not give up, even when it feels like we should. Jonathan wants us to have faith, the way he did. And that's a good lesson for us all.

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