Grindr: The Opera is on at 53Two theatre in Manchester until August 29th, and from the opening antiphon to the closing last hurrah there isn’t a dull moment in it. It might not be opera in the classical sense, but it certainly hits the spot.
Grindr, for those who might not have heard of it before, is a “dating” app for gentlemen seeking other gentlemen. In the opera, Grindr is deified as a manipulator of us mere mortals via our mobiles. It’s an astonishing mirror of real life, where sometimes we simply can’t put our phones down.
The plot revolves around two couples: Devon and Tom (Patrick Barrett and Kane Verrall), who hook up via the app and end up attached, and Don and Jack (Dereck Walker and Will Joel) who also hook up but don’t take things much further. Both couples end up in each other’s lives, sometimes amusingly, sometimes tragically, and all is overseen magnificently by Grindr (Christian Lunn) and his two acolytes Trogorium and Versipellis (Oliver Cartwright and Will Loader).
All of this is backed up by an excellent band of four musicians (Aaron Clingham, Becky Hughes, Ruby Grace, and James Green)
The intimacy is handled well without being too explicit, and the singing (this is an opera after all) is fantastic, with some very high notes indeed, and nods to the Village People and Wagner. Saying any more would spoil things but you can find a taste of things Here.
The show continues in Manchester until the 29th of August (Tickets Here) before moving on to Birmingham’s Old Rep.
If you can bag a VIP table, do so.
Paul Schofield for Canal Street Online.