It’s just over ten years since Kinky Boots the stage musical made its debut on Broadway. Described in glowing terms over the years as warm, brassy, sentimental and big-hearted, it is based on the successful 2005 film of the same name. The book is by Tony award winning actor-writer Harvey Fierstein and the music and lyrics are by the singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper. This production under the direction of Rachael Rees at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham is by the Carlton Operatic Society, themselves no stranger to an award or two. With such impressive pedigree behind it, I am looking forward to an enjoyable evening as I slip on my own footwear of choice and head for town!
The evening’s narrative centres around the (astonishingly) true story of a Northampton shoe factory which finds itself struggling to make ends meet until it receives a makeover selling high quality ‘thigh high kinky boots’ for the use of drag queens. What’s not to love!
We first meet a young Charlie Price, superbly played here by James Breen. Price is the fourth-generation son in the family business “Price and Son”. We also meet another young boy, played equally superbly by Jacob Jacques-Phillips, who is also somewhat wrapped up with shoes, but for altogether other reasons. These two brilliant young performers set the scene, they shine on stage, and the audience immediately understands something of the background of both characters.
Fast forward a few years and we now meet a grown-up Charlie (Mark Coffey-Bainbridge) who longs to escape the family business to start a new life in London with his fiancée Nicola (Lizzie Fenner). Coffey-Bainbridge is an accomplished performer, and plays the part of Charlie perfectly, giving just enough pathos to encourage sympathy from the audience but not too much so as to make the character schmaltzy. We genuinely feel for him when his father dies leaving the ailing family business in his less than willing hands. Determined not to let the factory employees down, Charlie is desperate to find a way to make the business succeed. Coffey-Bainbridge has a powerful voice with excellent range. His second act ‘Soul of a Man’ is magnificent. Fenner gives Nicola poise and elegance and plays the impatience of the character splendidly.
A chance meeting with Lola (Steffi Moore), a small town boxer turned drag queen, and her ubiquitous sextet of wittily named angels (David Page, Connor Gough, Louis Barnes-Cupit, Mannie Gregg, Mason Hart and Sam Turpin) leads to the sparking of an unlikely alliance, so when factory worker Lauren (Cathy Hyde) tells Charlie that other shoe factories are diversifying to survive, he puts two and two together and an invitation is extended to Lola to come and help him save the factory. Hyde is quite simply brilliant as besotted Lauren – especially in ‘The History of Wrong Guys’ which is performed with such comedic skill that the audience are in stitches. The facial expressions are something to behold!
It is the character of Lola however, who drives this show and Moore brings gentle personality and charisma to the performance. This is a sensitive portrayal of the character – we get a real sense of the insecurity of Lola and Moore captures the still moments perfectly. The power ballad “Hold Me In Your Heart” is beautifully performed. The interplay between Moore and Coffey-Bainbridge is well crafted and their rendition of ‘Not My Father’s Son’ is very moving indeed.
Factory foreman Don (Cliff Hart) is unhappy about the new direction that the factory is taking and has some fairly brutal attitudes towards Lola. Hart has a difficult job here but imbues his character with a likeable charm even when there is a danger that he could be really quite an unsavoury person. The boxing scene in the second act is handled perfectly. Factory worker George (Bara Erhayiem) is marvellously portrayed with a strong moral compass and a twinkle in the eye.
The nine-piece orchestra under the direction of Chris Rees sound stunning and the balance between music and voices is perfect. I’m blown away by the choreography of Kristian Cunningham – all executed by a talented (and very large) ensemble working in high heels on a raked stage. Impressive!
If you are looking for a thought piece, Kinky Boots certainly explores important themes such as what it really means to be a man; the importance of being true to yourself; that you can change the world if you are prepared to change your mind. Perhaps more importantly, this show is a whole lot of fun. You should definitely go and see it – as far as Kinky Boots is concerned, there really is no business like shoe business!
