Heart, heels and honesty abound in the brand-new Made at Curve production of the Olivier, Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical (based on a real story) Kinky Boots The Musical, currently touring the UK and Ireland.
Dan Partridge (Grease) is Charlie Price, reluctant heir to failing shoe factory whose London v legacy turmoil and a chance encounter with ‘sequin freak’ pro boxer Lola (Strictly Come Dancing’s Johannes Radebe) sets in motion a daring mission to save faithful employees from the dole by creating two-and-a-half feet of irresistible tubular sex.
The two are not the sons their fathers wished for, as Charlie plots his escape into marketing in the far-away capital while Lola was disowned when turning up for a prize fight wearing a white cocktail dress. Six talented youngsters take their turn playing the young football-mad Charlie and stiletto-wearing child Simon.
Partridge’s voice is tremendous, but his second act temper tantrum swerve seems out of character given the lack of character development the pacy piece misses. Radebe is statuesquely fabulous, and any finesse his vocals may (or may not) lack is more than compensated by pure charisma and lissom moves choreographed by Leah Hill.
Courtney Bowman (Legally Blonde, EastEnders, Big Chef Little Chef) is convincing as ditzy, lovelorn Lauren, while Joe Caffrey (Billy Elliot) is spot-on as belligerent misogynist Don, a little man with a big lesson to learn.
As a great fan of the film, it is easy to be critical that somewhat pedestrian and forgettable songs (perhaps not Cyndi Lauper’s finest, though the poignant "Not My Father’s Son", the oh so true "The History of Wrong Guys" are of note, as is the six-piece band in the pit) are given more time than character study, throw-away lines are lost and poignant moments glossed over though Lola’s “the fags got him in the end” is show-stopping.
Kara Lily Hayworth (Cilla The Musical) is Nicola, keen to cash in her fiancé’s family business and leave lacklustre Northampton well behind; Kathryn Barnes (Guys & Dolls) plays stalwart Pat; Lucy Williamson (Fame!) is peevish as small-minded (mostly) Trish, Jonathan Dryden Taylor (Fiddler On The Roof) makes an austere Mr Price (and a wonderfully unexpected Angel); Scott Paige (I Should Be So Lucky) is affable, heel-bracing mastermind George, while Liam Doyle (Heathers) completes the shop floor characters as naïve Harry.
Newtion Matthews (X Factor, The Voice, The Frontline) is Simon Senior, a bullish father now feeble and lonely as well as a towering Angel while completing the line-up as superb, slinky, lascivious Angels, ensemble and mundane machine operators are Kofi Dennis (Hamlet), Ru Fisher (Something Rotten! Live In Concert), Ben Middleton (Grease), Ashley-Jordon Packer (A Chorus Line), Cerys Burton (The Odyssey), Cole Dunn (The Wizard Of Oz), Kaya Farrugia (There’s No Place Like Home), Jordan Isaac (Evita), Deena Kapadia (Grease), Tori McDougall (Billy Elliot) and Liam McEvoy (Legally Blonde).
The juxtaposition of drab, prim brogue-making shoe factory and the sexy, red-hot, sequined drag queen flamboyance is a challenge to any designer, but Robert Jones’s clever set encompasses both with the simple but masterful use of industrial steel beam box: dull and rusty in Northampton, neon and pulsating in London, unnoticeable in a Croydon nursing home and dazzling as the ultimate Milan catwalk—thanks to lighting design by Ben Cracknell.
And Jones’s costuming is on point from glamorous Lola-wear, through double denim, lumberjack shirts, overalls and suede skirt, Nicola’s hankered-after red heels and those unforgettably fabulous eponymous kinky boots.
Full-house standing ovations and sell-out performances are testament to the popularity of this feel-good and thought-provoking (despite its humour and flippancy) spectacular.