Review: Kinky Boots (London Coliseum)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s been more than seven years since Kinky Boots closed up shop in the West End after completing its acclaimed run at the Adelphi Theatre. In the years since, we have seen the show pop up in various iterations, including a concert at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, regional productions and multiple tours. After a successful tour all over the UK last year, the latest production of the show is strutting into London for a limited season at the Coliseum, but would it manage to capture the sole from the original, or would it all be a bit of a drag?

Based on the British movie from 2005, Kinky Boots received its world premiere at Chicago in 2012, transferring to Broadway the following year and crossing the pond for a homecoming in the West End in 2015. Set around Price & Son’s shoe factory in Northampton, Charlie Price discovers after inheriting the business that his father had kept quiet just how much it had been struggling. Reluctantly stepping into his shoes in an attempt to save the business, his life is changed when he meets Lola, a larger-than-life drag queen. It is through their interactions that inspire him to change the product to cater for a niche market, creating “Kinky boots”. Will it be enough to save the business and the family of people who work there, and what does he risk losing in the process?

Full disclosure time - Kinky Boots is one of my all-time favourite musicals, and has been since I sat at the first preview at the Adelphi Theatre back in 2015, amazed at what I was witnessing, and I was a regular fixture at the Adelphi Theatre until it closed in 2019. Because I hold this story so close to my heart, it does mean some choices non-replica productions make can prove hard to swallow, with a regional production I attended in Hornchurch several years ago making some questionable choices that went against the key themes of the show and resulted in a 2-star review from me. With the knowledge that this was a “rebooted” version of the show I held so dear, I went in with a sense of optimism but still cautious. Luckily, the creatives involved in this reboot knew exactly what they were doing and have given the musical a new lease of life.

Before mentioning the creatives involved in this latest model, it is only right to mention the geniuses responsible for bringing Kinky Boots to life originally. Harvey Fierstein’s book is a thing of beauty, weaving humour and heart to tell this true story with a mixture of grandness and sensitivity. Never undermining any of the themes, this is a story full of depth - from the challenges to avoid repeating the mistakes of your family and making a path for yourself, walking in your own shoes, to the key theme of compassion and understanding for those of you who are a bit different. Charlie and his co-workers had never encountered a character like Lola before, and while the arrival was met with initial reluctance and even a touch of bigotry, ultimately they found a way to work together and let each other live their lives, no matter whether they completely understood or not. It’s a serious theme, and one that obviously still carries a lot of weight today, given developments in the world in the years since Kinky Boots premiered. Crucially, it never feels preachy in its attempts to convey these themes, and that is part of the huge success and enduring appeal of this show. As the show proudly declares, “You change the world when you change the mind”, and the impact this message will have had on countless theatregoers over the last decade cannot be understated. We may go to the theatre for escapism, but if it can educate others and create empathy where there was none before, there is nothing more powerful than that.

The other person responsible for Kinky Boots is the legendary Cyndi Lauper, sharing her musical genius by creating songs that stand up to her own impressive catalogue. From opening earworm, ‘The Most Beautiful Thing’, to the camp nature of ‘Sex Is In The Heel’ and ‘The Land of Lola’, Kinky Boots has become an instant classic for its soundtrack, amongst other reasons, and Lauper’s genius is a big part of why. It is the trio of heart-wrenching ballads that rank as the show’s best, however, with the poignant ‘Not My Father’s Son’, powerful ‘Soul Of A Man’ and rousing ‘Hold Me In Your Heart’ up there with Lauper’s own classic ballads ‘Time After Time’ and ‘True Colours’ - three of the greatest musical theatre ballads there have ever been, in my own humble opinion, and songs that have stayed with me and followed me in the years since my first visit to Price & Son’s.

“You’ve got to take what you got” as an early musical number in Kinky Boots says, and this creative team have got a lot to go on. With such strong writing at their disposal, there is a great basis for any production of Kinky Boots, and the fact everyone involved understands and cares for the source material is clear to see, resulting in a production that doesn’t really put a foot wrong, unafraid to offer some new elements and tweaks to the material and presentation of it without completely rewriting the plot. Responsible for overseeing the Kinky Boots factory this time around is reliable director Nikolai Foster, whose impressive track record speaks for itself. He’s done it again this time around, breathing new life into the material in a production that is bigger than ever before. There is the risk by making the story bigger that the necessary intimacy at the heart of the story could be lost, but Foster has planned for all this, and even on the cast stage of the London Coliseum, the story and characters are still effortlessly easy to connect to.

Some of the new changes added for this production are incredibly smart, feeling as if they should have been in this show from the start. The children playing the younger versions of Charlie and Lola have more of a presence than previously seen, adding a real poignancy as they watch their grown-up selves stumble their way through the world, and arriving at a pivotal moment in the most emotional song in the show, tugging at the heartstrings. Another change comes from new arrangements of some of the songs, most notable on a deconstructed and rediscovered ‘Soul Of A Man’, allowing the lyrics to truly penetrate in a gorgeously stripped back beginning.

A standout element of this new production is Leah Hill’s choreography. Big and bold, every choice suits the show beautifully and allows moments such as ‘The Land Of Lola’ to, well, land perfectly. The details, such as adding extra angels into Lola’s group, give the production more scope to make these numbers explode, filling the stage with life and creativity, with Act One finale ‘Everybody Say Yeah’ even more feel-good and celebratory than it has ever been, thanks to both Hill’s inspired choreography and Foster’s direction. There is a lot of space to play with, thanks to Robert Jones glorious but sprawling set design, showcasing multiple levels of the stage. One minor criticism would be that certain moments now have extra pauses built in to account for the extra space on stage, only noticeable at the moments the characters descend the stage, leading to moments of silence, impacting the momentum ever so slightly and only for the briefest of times.

All the design elements are pretty spectacular in their own right, with a gorgeous use of lighting from Ben Cracknell, matching the grandeur of this new production, with one highlight seeing it bathe the stage in Pride colours. Adam Fisher’s sound design ensures every inch of the mighty Coliseum is filled with the highest quality, allowing every moment to be heard as crystal clear as the material calls for. However, if I am to single out one design element, it has to be Robert Jones & Tom Rogers for their jaw-dropping costume design. Phenomenally good in every respect, Kinky Boots needs some high fashion at the heart of it, and this production has no shortage of that. Even the finale with its relatively muted colours compared to the previous West End production feels slick and stylish - two words that sum up the strengths of this new version.

At a launch event for Kinky Boots, Johannes Radebe told the story of why he wanted to be attached to this show, with the production coming to fruition after a meeting with him. He may not have been the most obvious choice for the role, not being known for his acting or singing, but he more than rises to the challenge, impressing with his abilities throughout. It is his dancing that really wows, unsurprisingly, with the Strictly star showcasing why he has become such a firm favourite on that show with his impressive abilities. It should also be said that he always looks stunning, with every outfit he appears in as Lola never fails to wow. Radebe’s appearance is fierce, formidable and fabulous - he is at the heart of this production of Kinky Boots, and he certainly has an abundance of heart in his portrayal.

Charlie and Lola in this production, both have something in common, having both shot to fame on Saturday night TV shows, with The X Factor winner Matt Cardle following in the footsteps of many of his fellow winners by switching to musical theatre. This isn’t his first time he has done this, however, with solid performances in &Juliet and Memphis in the past. While his vocals are outstanding, particularly on a note-perfect ‘Soul Of A Man’, it is his acting that lets him down this time around, unfortunately. Cardle never quite gets in the swing of the character, disappointingly, with wooden delivery on certain lines, meaning his Charlie is never quite convincing enough. Though overall his performance is absolutely fine, Charlie in Kinky Boots needs to be a star performance, but he regularly finds himself eclipsed by many of his co-stars.

Speaking of, there are two standout performances in this production of Kinky Boots, and neither are the leading players. Courtney Bowman has played Lauren in the show before, but is better than ever this time around, balancing brilliant comic timing, incredible vocals and a natural warmth that ensures her big number ‘The History Of Wrong Guys’ is an easy standout. Scott Paige’s take on George is like nothing I have ever seen in any previous production, with a slightly beefed-up role allowing Paige to test his comic chops and bring the house down in doing so. A natural comedic performer, Paige delivers a masterclass performance in the role - I would say this is the first time I have ever left a performance of Kinky Boots thinking George was a standout, but Paige’s performance and the new changes to the character made sure this was an inevitability.

There have been a lot of changes in the world since Kinky Boots said a fond farewell to the West End, and this return can’t have come at a more fitting time, with the message of compassion and acceptance at the heart of the story one that some people need to hear. Told with all the sensitivity the story deserves, this Kinky Boots really is the best of both worlds - retaining the elements that made the original such a smash hit on both sides of the Atlantic, while being unafraid to try something new. While some of the changes can’t compete with the original, other aspects are improvements, bringing something extra to characters or moments in the show that had previously passed me by. A couple of minor quibbles mean this isn’t a perfect show, but any imperfections can be glossed over in a show audiences are sure to fall head over heels for. Could this be the most joyous show in London at the moment? Everybody say yeah!

Kinky Boots plays at London Coliseum until 11th July. Tickets from https://allthatdazzles.londontheatredirect.com/musical/kinky-boots-tickets

Photos by Matt Crockett