Kinky Boots

This was a night of firsts for me – my first time visiting Studley Operatic Society as a NODA rep, and my first time seeing Kinky Boots.  Happily, it was clearly a case of first time lucky, as the team put on a great show to entertain both me and rest of the capacity audience.

Kinky Boots tells the tale of Charlie Price, who is whisked away from his plans for a life in London and thrown in at the deep end when he inherits the family shoe making business after the untimely death of his father.  When the company loses its main client, Charlie must find a way to keep the business going – fast.  Enter Lola, who convinces Charlie that women’s shoes for men are the future.  After a fair few ups and downs, the fate of the business rests upon the success of an appearance at a posh event in Milan.  Despite Charlie’s rather unpleasant behaviour, Lola and her Angels come good and all is well!

I must admit it all felt a bit odd at first, as the show opened with a big production number extolling the virtue of…shoes.  But I was very quickly won over as the whole cast threw themselves into the show with an energetic, infectious gusto.  Leading the way was Paul Mitchell as Charlie, a confident performance on which the show was built.  As his partner-in-boots Lola, Michael Bentley gave full commitment to the role (both in and out of drag), bringing out both the sassiness and the vulnerability in the character.  Their emotional duet ‘Not My Father’s Son’ was a highlight of the show. 

As the two women in Charlie’s life, Kelly Mitchell and Kirstie Boyden did well as Lauren and Nicola respectively.  Kelly showcased Lauren’s vivacious quirkiness, whilst Kirstie in some ways had the harder job as disgruntled Nicola, but she certainly made the most of her opportunity.  Rounding out the Principals were Matt Bridgewater as boorish alpha-male Don (until he is taught a life lesson by Lola in a very believable turnaround) and Keith Parish as the faithful retainer George – clearly having the time of his life! 

And of course, no review would be complete without mention of Lola’s Angels, who all clearly realised that the only thing to do here was to go for it – and they certainly did.  Well done to them all.  Well done also to the large supporting cast of factory workers, who all played their part in adding colour to the group numbers and keeping a busy atmosphere going in the factory.

The show was very well staged – the team working wonders to cram its factory set, including a tall, movable platform, into the relatively compact space of the Palace Theatre.  Well done to the backstage crew for marshalling the set changes effortlessly (and battling a slightly uncooperative curtain!)  Directors Alison and Kevin Hirons made good use of the space, and skilfully delivered set pieces such as a boxing match between Don and Lola.  However, I did wonder whether anything could have been done to soften Charlie’s third-act outburst against Lola, which rather turned me off the character, despite the subsequent – well acted – apology. 

Musical Director Edward Cain marshalled an eleven-strong band (including himself!) through Cyndi Lauper’s music and Debbie Mitchell added some very good choreography – especially for Lola’s Angels and during the ‘Everybody Say Yeah’ showstopper that closed the first half.  The show was well sung throughout, although the sound was a bit muffled or indistinct at times, which made it harder to hear all of the lyrics.  Nevertheless, the energy and brio of the cast carried us through! 

Costume was well dealt with – the drag queens in particular making their way through a series of very effective outfits.  And of course the all-important Kinky Boots were well produced to fit the bill!  This was also a show in which effective make-up was very important, and the Society certainly delivered on that front – well done to Natalija Webb and her team. 

Hearty congratulations to all at Studley Operatic for putting on a vivacious show, full of flourish and heart.  It was quite rightly greatly appreciated by the audience, who ended the night on their feet dancing along with the cast, before we all went smiling into the night.  My thanks for the warm welcome, and I look forward to seeing you again soon. 

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