REVIEW: GRINDR THE OPERA! @ UNION THEATRE

🎭 Grindr The Opera!

📍 Union Theatre, Old Union Arches, 229 Union Street, London, SE1 0LR

🗓 Friday 26th June 2026

⭐️ 3 Stars

INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCES GHOSTED BY BAD LIGHTING

Good lord, it is scorching out there, isn't it? Walking down The Cut and into Southwark last night felt like marching directly into the blistering gaze of a vengeful sun. Honestly, the continuing London heatwave almost had me barricading myself indoors and taking an ice bath! But the lure of a parody musical about an app that practically all gay men know intimately well was enough to coax me out into the elements. Thankfully, my melted state was short-lived as the Union Theatre was lovely and beautifully cool as I finally sank into my seat.

For those unfamiliar with the premise, GRINDR THE OPERA! takes the digital hook-up culture we love to hate and elevates it into a grand, mythic tragedy. The app itself is personified as an ancient, power-hungry entity who manipulates the romantic and sexual destinies of four archetypal gay men - Devon the hopeless romantic, Tom the cynical realist, Jack the young twink, and Don the seasoned daddy. It is an entirely sung-through affair that shifts gears between baroque opera, pop power ballads, and contemporary musical theatre as these lives collide in the digital ether.

I want to start by talking about the three absolute strongest elements of this show - Christian Lunn, Patrick Barrett, and Kane Verrall.

Christian Lunn is the physical embodiment of Grindr itself, serving as a sort of mystical siren calling gay men to download the app. The sheer range of his vocals was incredible, and his soaring operatic falsetto was a real treat for the ears. He completely embodied the character, acting as a divine puppet master - literally manipulating the main quad of characters while thriving entirely on their lust, loneliness, and hook-ups!

Then we have Patrick Barrett and Kane Verrall, who play Devon and Tom. Their performances, and the beautifully complex relationship between their characters, form the true emotional heartbeat of the production. Vocally, both Barrett and Verrall were sensational, but it was the pure ecstasy of their voices when they harmonised that truly elevated the room. The raw emotion they brought to these roles made me really care about them both individually and as a couple. I have to admit, watching their relationship unfold in Act One felt incredibly close to home for me because I actually met my own husband on Grindr!

Unfortunately, the evening wasn't without its technical hitches. There seemed to be persistent sound issues throughout the performance, making it genuinely difficult to hear a lot of what was being sung by the other characters. This was especially true for the character of Jack. It was a real shame because he has something quite haunting and serious to deal with in his storyline, but I just couldn't really make out the lyrics to understand the full weight of it. There did seem to be a broader issue with the sound levels on the night sadly, with the live band frequently drowning out the cast's singing.

As for the material, the writing for the most part was good, although I’m personally not always a fan of basic conversations being sung. There were a couple of expositional songs where I wondered if the narrative would have been better served by a traditional, acted scene. That said, this is one of those musicals where the entire evening is sung through, and musically, the orchestrations themselves were absolutely beautiful.

Unsurprisingly, most of my favourite numbers of the night came from Tom and Devon, with "You Can Leave" and "Square One" being particularly enjoyable highlights. But my absolute favourite part of the night came later in Act Two when the various character arcs and messy digital connections are hilariously, chaotically revealed. The sprawling number "What Fresh Hell?" had me laughing out loud at the sheer comedy of errors.

Now, regular readers of mine will know that I love a good lighting design, but regrettably, I felt this aspect let the production down slightly. There were elements and saturated tones that worked really well, but there were far too many occasions when the person actively singing was left completely unlit. There was also a rather strange moment when the stage plunged into total darkness mid-song. I assume this was a practical choice to facilitate a character getting off a bed without being seen, but this sort of transition can be easily achieved with inventive, tight lighting rather than defaulting to a total blackout.

Despite these production issues, I did enjoy this musical. It is light-hearted but doesn't shy away from dealing with some very serious, real-world issues, making it deeply relatable for all the gay men in the audience. Finding humour in the familiar is the great strength of this show, and the creatives here really do know their audience!

As much as I did enjoy the evening, as an honest, unbiased reviewer, the technical issues on the night mean that I cannot give more than 3 stars to this show. I have every confidence, though, that getting these sound and lighting gremlins fixed would undoubtedly raise this rating, and I would definitely revisit the show in the future to see it firing on all cylinders.

GRINDR THE OPERA! continues performances at the Union Theatre until Sunday 19th July, before touring to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Nottingham. It's definitely worth checking out if you can. CLICK HERE to head to the show's website to book tickets.

Neill Kovacic-Clarke

All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair, and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one person.

My ticket for this performance of Grindr The Opera was gifted by KWPR, who invited me to watch the show in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given.

CAST LIST:

Patrick Barrett as Devon; Oliver Cartwright as Trogorium; Will Joel as Jack; Will Loader as Versipellis; Christian Lunn as Grindr; Kane Verrall as Tom; Dereck Walker as Don

RUNNING TIME (approx):

2 hours, including interval

CONTENT WARNINGS:

Explicit adult themes; Strong language; Depictions of casual sex; Implied nudity; Depictions of sexual harassment, non-consensual solicitation, and assault; Internalised homophobia; Derogatory language

AGE GUIDELINE:

18+

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