Kinky Boots the musical, like the film directed by Julian Jarrold in 2005 is an uplifting camp extravaganza of glitter, laugh out loud humour and dancing with very sexy knee-length boots.
The plot features Charlie Price struggling to decide between life in London working in advertising, or selling shoes from an inherited failed business in Northampton, England.
Kindness speaks volumes in this musical by Jerry Mitchell and Harvey Fierstein. Charlie meets Lola on a night out in London – a fabulous singer and outspoken drag queen, and a beautiful friendship unfolds between this two men, leading them to produce a new kind of shoe in the hope of reviving a failing business. A high-heel boot that is, for men, that dance and jump around on stage; sexy, daring and durable.
The duo goes on discovery as Lola becomes a designer creating sexy shoes whilst fighting bigotry in Northampton and Charlie establishes himself as a businessman taking over the catwalk in Milan. He is hoping to sell a new product for a niche-market in stylish Milan, but Charlie is out of place, uncomfortable, unable to walk on a catwalk and with no sense of style or fashion. He is the antithesis of fashion, in high-heels – it’s hilarious to see a northerner arriving at fashionable Milan.
The cast is fabulous, but my laughs get louder in the short confrontational scenes between the typical working-class factory bloke and the ever so beautiful and entertaining drag queens.
In my opinion, the musical strikes gold in all the ensemble numbers where music, dance, and humour come together to break boundaries and bring people closer to each other. Like the film, it is highly entertaining. I left the Theatre excited and ready to go off and find more drag queen dancing an singing on stage.