Kinky Boots
Theatre Royal Brighton
until Saturday 29th March 2025
A Foot-Stomping Musical with Fun To Boot
Exhilarating from start to finish, Kinky Boots is a celebration of love, identity and, not only acceptance of, but an embracement of human nature in all of its glorious forms.
At times I found myself with a cheek-to-cheek grin that made my face ache with joy, and at other times with a feeling of sadness and remorse at the sincerity of the messages being portrayed that reflected the less accepting parts of society.
And what an amazing place to witness this superb spectacle. The show was so warmly received from start to finish at the Theatre Royal in Brighton by an audience ready to party, and ready to be moved by a truly heartwarming journey.
Inspired by a true story, Kinky Boots follows the tale of our protagonist Charlie Price, who inherits his father’s financially failing shoe business. Ready to let the staff go and rid his father’s legacy, he discovers Lola and their group of drag artists in dire need of sexy feminine boots that can also hold more weight with the sturdiness of, well, typically male boots of the time. It is along this journey and the friendship of these two characters that we see Charlie transform from a closed-minded, more shallow character, to one of deep honesty, passion and life. Both characters open up about their struggles with their father’s expectations and their lack of acceptance either from their families or society, and we realise that these two contrasting personalities are exactly what the other one needs to help each other grow.
One of the outstanding features of this musical is Cyndi Lauper’s superb soundtrack, so many songs are catchy sing-a-long numbers that will have your legs twitching and your hands clapping without you realising, while not losing the sincerity of the lyrics and messages being portrayed. Raucous numbers such as ‘The Land of Lola’, ‘Sex is in The Heel’ and ‘Everybody Say Yeah’ get the adrenaline rushing while the more earnest tracks ‘I’m Not My Father’s Son’ and ‘Hold Me In Your Heart’ really pack a punch in the slower more reflective moments of the show.
Couple the music with an array of fabulous costume designs by Robert Jones, with plenty of dazzling boots to boot, and Leah Hill’s superb choreography, and this really is a show that ticks all of the right boxes, and then some, when it comes to what you want to experience in a trademark musical. The fantastic cast led by Dan Partridge as cheeky chappy Charlie Price, Newtion Matthews playing the sensational drag artist Lola and Courtney Bowman who plays the very sweet infatuated character of Lauren all deliver amazing performances, it was also wonderful to see the two child actors playing younger versions of the main characters too which was very grounding, and brought the protagonists back to their origins and childhood innocence as they developed themselves throughout the story.
If you love high-energy, saucy musicals such as Rocky Horror, or shows with sincere storytelling such as Billy Elliot, then you’re bound to love Kinky Boots. After all, there’s a lot that you can tell about a fella, by his shoe.
.5
Reviewer: Stephen Sheldrake