Kinky Boots
★★★★★ Fab-u-lous!
Playhouse: Tues 18 – Sat 22 Feb 2025
Review by Sophie Good
A brand new production of Kinky Boots the Musical is stepping out at the Edinburgh Playhouse this week courtesy of Made at Curve (Leicester) and featuring much-loved Strictly Come Dancing regular, Johannes Radebe.
Directed by the Curve’s Artistic Director Nikolai Foster with choreography by Leah Hill, it is a fine rendition of this extremely popular musical which has already won just about every major Best Musical award including three Oliviers, three WhatsOnStage Awards and six Tonys.
Dan Partridge as Charlie Price & Kara Lily Hayworth as Nicola in Kinky Boots. Pic: Johan Persson.
Based on the 2005 film by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth, Harvey Fierstein’s book tells of Charlie Price who, having begrudgingly inherited a failing shoe factory from his father, forms an unlikely partnership with cabaret performer and drag queen Lola to produce a line of high-heeled boots and save the business.
There is palpable anticipation for Johannes’ first appearance as Lola and he does not disappoint. Every bit as effervescent as his on screen persona in Strictly Come Dancing, he is all charisma, poise and flamboyance. His singing voice is enjoyable and charming, quite capable of hitting the notes of Cindi Lauper’s score.
necessary fun and tempo
Is it the most memorable and catchy of musical theatre scores going? Probably not. Does it provide the necessary fun and tempo to move the piece along? That it does, particularly with the energy and commitment of these performances which lift the piece throughout.
Cole Dunn, Johannes Radebe as Lola, Courtney Bowman as Lauren, Kaya Farrugia, Deena Kapadia & Cerys Burton in Kinky Boots. Pic: Pamela Raith
It is of course, the numbers that feature Lola as the front woman and her band of ‘Angels’ as backing singers and dancers that the show really comes alive. It’s all the sequins and sparkle that you could possibly wish for, and works in contrast with the Northampton factory setting where much of the action is based.
Robert Jones’ set is used well, as a mezzanine factory, with exposed brick and a dismal feel, but the iron girder frame is then lit spectacularly by Ben Cracknell to create a performance space fit for (drag) queens that makes great use of the space and transforms into a far more glamorous setting.
escapism
There is an escapism theme throughout, with our protagonists Lola and Charlie trying to escape from the expectations set out for them by their fathers as children. Along the way they form an unlikely bond and attempt to raise Charlie’s inherited shoe factory and it’s workforce out from the ruins via a design line of fabulous boots made specifically for drag queens and cross dressers.
Johannes Radebe as Lola (centre) & the Angles in Kinky Boots. Pic: Pamela Raith
The character turning points are what makes a story like Kinky Boots really compelling – you want to see the working class factory workers move from ignorant to enlightened, uncouth to stylish and cosmopolitan.
The character of Charlie himself is probably not as interesting as he could be – there’s a sense by showing his childhood self as a footballer that perhaps this was his true dream but this is not fully explored. He feels the pressure to provide an income to his inherited factory workers but it’s a part that always somehow feels like a vehicle for the rest of the plot.
vocals that soar
However Dan Partridge (a Leicester Curve regular) is a consummate musical theatre professional and really throws himself into his solos with vocals that soar into the factory space.
LtoR Dan Partridge as Charlie Price & Johannes Radebe as Lola in Kinky Boots. Pic: Johan Persson
One of the key pivotal moments is when Lola reveals himself as Simon from Clacton, wearing his male clothing and meets Charlie with honesty and bravery. It’s the only moment where Radebe has to peel back the layers and act rather than perform. He definitely rises to the challenge, with a quiet authenticity and restraint. His solo/duet with Charlie of I’m Not My Father’s Son is suitably moving although quiet in comparison to Partridge’s more classic musical theatre vocals.
satisfying
The most satisfying character transformation comes Joe Caffrey’s Don, a classic ‘real man’ (previously having been the dad in Billy Elliot and in a similar vein) who challenges Lola to a boxing match to prove their manhood.
The cast of Kinky Boots. Pic: Johan Persson
What a Woman Wants is one of the most uplifting numbers in the show, bringing together both the Angels and the factory worker ensemble into a single unifying topic and this is where Radebe really shines and brings the whole cast together. The change in Don, when is comes, is everything that this show is about and brings down the house with his final reveal of acceptance of who people really are.
walloping bigotry
This show is definitely for all ‘ladies, gentlemen and those who are yet to decide’ who enjoy an enduring tale of factory doldrums to Milan catwalk glamour with a fair walloping to bigotry on the way.
Altogether an enjoyable production, with enough glamour and sparkle to lift the spirits of the most dull of February blues.
Running time: Two hours and twenty minutes (including one interval).
Edinburgh Playhouse, 18 – 22 Greenside Place, EH1 3AA.
Tue 18 – Sat 22 Feb 2025
Evenings: 7.30pm, Mats: Wed*, Thurs*, Sat: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
*NB: Johannes Radebe will not be appearing at weekday matinees, when the role of Lola will be played by Newtion Matthews.
ENDS
