Kinky Boots

It was fantastic to see H.A.O.D.S. back at home onstage after the pandemic, but in a new home - Middleton Arena. Luckily H.A.O.D.S. are well used to a wide stage as the arena stage is a big space to fill , but fill it they did. The ensemble throughout were well spaced for both dialogue and musical numbers. Katie Fry (Choreographer) was able to showcase some great talent and her choreography was fresh, fast, exciting, very fitting and well executed right down to the ends of the fingertips .

The scenery was good, very fitting and well flown. I liked the use of doorways in the flats which were also used to move scenery and props quickly on and off the stage by the hard working stage crew and cast. This show is quite scenery and props heavy, there are a lot of extras to be placed on especially for the interior of the shoe factory, each time we revisited everything was perfectly back in place and the dialogue was able to flow. The lighting plot was sympathetic to the played scenes, there was one point on the stage which appeared to me to be in a little bit of too much cross shadow and unfortunately some of the actors kept stepping into this spot making it difficult for the audience to see full facial expressions, it could simply be them not being used to the arena stage and it’s specific light fall so it is just something to be aware of. 

The sound was a little unbalanced to begin with but soon settled with diction and projection good from all the cast. The costumes looked fabulous and definitely delivered the wow effect and contrast throughout the whole show. The Angels did an amazing job of, not only walking but, also dancing and staying upright in their towering footwear. Their choreography was fast paced, in sync and beautifully over the top - they all certainly seemed to enjoy strutting their stuff.

Nick Angus who played Lola/Simon gave us a very deep, open, empathetic performance - he had some good vocals, strong stage presence, projection was great and his portrayal of his hurt was touching it was a very good, solid all round characterisation and performance from start to finish. Jack Forrest (Charlie Price) also gave a good, solid performance. He portrayed his inner angst and turmoil about the future of the factory brilliantly.  Katie Perkins was an absolute joy to watch, she threw herself completely into her character Lauren and her delivery of the song “ The History of Wrong Guys” was a showstopper.  Alfie Chesney as Don was a perfect contrast to both Charlie and Lola, he didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve , he was a simple man but in the scene after the fight with Simon we saw glimpses of his inner change starting, his characterisation was strong and at times uncomfortable to watch - Well done, Alfie. 

The show was musically in the very capable hands of David Abendstern - he kept great pace, no one missed a note cue and he led the cast to a resounding finale of “Raise You Up/Just Be”. It was fantastic to see the audience joining in with the cast in these feel good numbers . It is such a physical show, but this cast kept the energy levels up right to the end. Well done! Thank you to H.A.O.D.S. for your fabulous hospitality, myself and my guest thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. See you all again very soon. 

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