Grindr: The Opera – Union Theatre

James Lowrie in Grindr the Opera at the Union Theatre, London. Picture: Brittain Photography

Grindr: The Opera continues at the Union Theatre London until 8 July 2023.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

This show had its UK premiere in 2018 as the first musical to take place at the new Above The Stag venue in the heart of Vauxhall. Following favourable reviews and a sell-out run, the show went on to win Best New Musical in the Off-West End awards, beating what has become the theatrical juggernaut Six.

This new staging at the Union, produced by the longtime artistic director of Above The Stag Peter Bull is stylish, entertaining and features some particularly strong vocals from its indefatigable cast. For the uninitiated, Grindr is a mobile geo-social dating app that allows gay men to hook up with ease. This technology was embraced by the gay community and paved the way for similar sites such as Tinder.

Erik Ransom’s grandly styled opera imagines Grindr as a fallen-angel, created to entice men to hedonistic distraction. No sooner is he brought to life, the gay male population become addicted, realising that they no longer have to be tied to their computers to hook up with guys. It’s this mobility that finally persuades Devon to get back in the saddle after a bad break up. Following several false starts he meets the young Tom and they hit it off immediately. Meanwhile across town, married businessman and confirmed closet-case Don meets up with promiscuous power-bottom Jack. When Don attempts erotic asphyxiation, Jack wises up and throws him out.

Weeks later and Devon and Tom have got engaged and taken the Grindr app off their phones. Although Tom can’t resist the occasional fling and following an argument, goes back online and hooks up with Jack. Don ends up testing positive for Hepatitis and his doctor – Devon – tells him to be careful with which guys he hooks up with, which doesn’t go down well with the indignant, closeted married man. It comes to a head when they all meet in a restaurant and the truth behind their sex lives delivers a tragi-comic finale.

While opera might be a tongue-in-cheek title, this through-sung musical fleshes out the pit-falls of promiscuity as seen through the prism of a larger-than-life ethereal being. The character of Grindr can be compared to Lucifer or Bacchus, a mythological being with a lust for stealing men’s souls. Played here by a mesmeric Christian Lunn, who originated the role, there is now a maturity to his menace. Lunn soaring vocals are extraordinary, lending gravitas to the storyline and more than a touch of leather-camp.

The mortal’s story unfolds in a gleefully operatic manner, with Ransom’s libretto musicalising several excplicit sexual acts to the soundtrack of Aaron Clingham’s rather lush orchestrations. Yet behind the sexual references there is still room for romance and vocalising self doubt. Grindr is an opera mainly because it tackles everyday emotions in a bold, expressive manner. It sets its own style and sticks with it all the way. William Spencer’s astute direction embraces this, with the addition of a startling movement and dance aesthetic that even further heightens the drama.

There are committed performances all round. James Lowrie is hilarious as the driven power-bottom Jack, while Billy J Vale (no relation) as Tom is surprisingly assertive, with a fine vocals for his ‘A Trick of the Mind’ solo. Dereck Walker, also returning from the ATS production delivers a far more nuanced performance as Don, a man trapped in a vicious circle of guilt and self loathing. Santino Zapico completes the quartet as the quietly spoken, sensitive doctor who is both saved and destroyed by Grindr.

Spencer’s production, with a set designed by David Shields, is confident, stylish and often very funny. It deserves to do great business during Pride month but see it for the direction, orchestrations and performances, not just out of solidarity.

Paul Vale