GRINDR THE OPERA Returns to London Ahead of UK Tour
Award-winning musical GRINDR THE OPERA sets for a UK tour following London revival
By: Stephi Wild Jan. 29, 2026
Peter Bull for Above The Stag Theatre Limited will present the return of Grindr: The Opera, Directed and Choreographed by William Spencer. Grindr: The Opera puts the most notorious gay hook-up app into the exaggerated world of opera.
With musical styles ranging from baroque to contemporary pop, Grindr: The Opera, with Book, Music & Lyrics by Erik Ransom, directed and choreographed by William Spencer, is a daring, humorous look at the changing landscape of gay relationships, and the greatest catalyst for the shift: Grindr.
Grindr, a mythical siren from remote antiquity, has been awoken from its millennial slumber by technology. Its power, which is derived from human lust, is exhibited as it manipulates its gay devotees in a soaring soprano...
Christian Lunn played Riff Raff in the European Tour of The Rocky Horror Show. He was in the original award-winning cast of Grindr the Opera in 2018 and the revival in 2023. He played ‘Little John' in Lionel Bart's Twang!! The Musical at the Union Theatre.
Dereck Walker returns to the role of Don from the original award-winning cast of Grindr The Opera! and the 2023 revival.
Creative team:
Book, Music & Lyrics by Erik Ransom
Director and Choreographer William Spencer
Designer David Shields
Casting by Daniel Lobo
Producer Peter Bull
Composer Erik Ransom said: “Class and crass were the elements I sought to blend in the creation of this show. It is right in the title: Grindr: The Opera. Opera brings to mind tuxedos, elegant gowns and pearl necklaces. Grindr: The Opera brings to mind bare torsos, leather harnesses and, well... pearl necklaces. This may not be opera in the traditional sense, but I would argue it fulfils the necessary prerequisites to be defined as such and, like all opera, it lives in a heightened world. I was interested in exploring and exaggerating themes that have become commonplace across the spectrum of queer culture in the Information Age, while paying occasional homage to iconic musical greats like Verdi, Wagner and, of course, The Village People. I hope you'll lose yourself in this eclectic musical world, which is frequently as frivolous as Figaro and at times as tragic as Tosca. I hope you'll take differing sides in the disputes between the characters, because in my view there are no heroes or villains in this story. Grindr is neither good nor bad. It is, like its trademarked sigil, a mask. A guise to be donned by myriad men for a plethora of purposes. However you receive Grindr: The Opera, may you find it at least as enjoyable as your most recent hook up!”
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