Kinky Boots

This production combined strong singing and movement across the whole company with fine acting, thoughtful direction, striking choreography and very impressive sets. Above all there was great energy throughout, and the high standard was evident from the get-go, with the powerful opening scene of the show. The ‘wow’ factor was set straight away by the Price & Son Factory backdrop, the factory workers entering and punching their cards, and a nice switch from young Charlie to the older Charlie behind a shoe rack ‘screen’. A strong musical score for the first song, Beautiful Thing, provided the backing for energetic company singing and movement, and Charlie’s slightly nervous speech to the workers which followed demonstrated straight away the fine quality of acting that ran throughout the production.

The strength of the acting showed especially in the interactions and relationships between the characters, as in the scene after the boxing match in which Don reaches for a reconciliation with Lola, and the scene early on with Charlie and his friend Harry in The Nag’s Head where the relationship between the two friends really came through. Their duet song You’ve Got what You’ve Got also showcased their fine singing voices.

The energy, flow and power of the storytelling was created through the strong and imaginative Direction (Melanie Draper), Musical Direction (Lauren Good), Choreography (Becky Mather) and Lighting. The pace was maintained perfectly throughout and among many high points, the numbers The Sex Is In The Heel and Everybody Say Yeah were outstanding. The strength of the Direction was matched by the performances which were too many to list all of them here individually but which were exemplary across the board in both commitment and execution, from Harry, the factory workers and the Angels backing group to ‘old’ Mr Price and Nicola’s boss Richard Bailey.

Special mentions among the supporting cast go to Don, Nicola, George (who gave a wonderfully ‘low key’, understated and therefore very effective performance as the factory supervisor) and Lauren. Lauren’s singing and acting were excellent, as in the song ‘History Of Wrong Guys’ which displayed great depth and authenticity. There was also a delightful element of humour brought by the role and the device of Lauren using a real air-pump to blow up tyres on stage was a clever piece of business.

As the leads, Charlie and Lola/Simon were absolutely superb and displayed tremendous talent. Charlie’s singing was brilliant, as in Charlie’s Soliloquy/Step One and the song The Soul Of A Man, preceded by the powerful Charlie’s Sad Soliloquy, was one of the highlights of the show. Charlie’s acting was equally compelling, and the fact that the character’s costume consisted of the ‘not-so-striking’ traditional sweater and chinos meant that the acting was all the more impressive to have made the role so striking. Charlie’s acting when the character urges the factory hands to work harder to maintain high standards, and then argues with both Nicola and Lola/Simon, was a masterclass and helped to make the scene such a strong and memorable one.

Lola/Simon delivered a tour-de-force performance with amazing acting, singing and dancing. There was great subtlety, for example, in the way Lola acted feeling awkward when dressed in conventional male attire in the factory, and the songs The Land Of Lola, Not My Father’s Son and Hold Me In Your Heart were all stunning and highlights of the show.

That the production was such a resounding success was down to all the elements not only being strong in themselves but being blended so well together, and this was clearly thanks to brilliant teamwork. The set design (Melanie Draper) and construction (Tim Paul & team) were astonishing, including a swivelling rotunda and the very impressive appearance of The Angels towards the end of the show on a rolling ‘travelator’. The wardrobe and props departments had come up trumps and delivered ‘wow’ moments throughout and huge congratulations also go to the Stage Management (Lucy Hughes & team) for manouevering all the sets, props and cast around so smoothly and efficiently.

The ending of the show was particularly strong, with the fashion parade of boots and the stirring singing of Raise You Up/Just Be with its great choreography, and it had the audience clapping along with gusto. Indeed, the production which was of professional standard had had the audience totally engaged throughout, and sent them away singing. Congratulations to everyone involved on a brilliant show.

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