Bugger me, this show makes you want to go out and party. My boyfriend has mentioned having a drag inspired birthday shindig next year and at first I was very skeptical. I like my heels below six inches, cheers! But after seeing the latest musical to be plonked into the Adelphi, I cannot wait to look like my hometown’s worst nightmare. Topshop do size 9 right? Bring. It. On.
Following on from Harvey Fierstein’s multiple Tony award winning Broadway show, Kinky Boots has finally arrived in London and looks set to be the City’s most in-demand musical since another Stateside original, The Book of Mormon, sent everyone mental. With an original score by Cyndi Lauper and a recognisable cast, including Killian Donnelly (hot off the heels of a triumphant starring role in Memphis) and The Voice finalist, Matt Henry, the ingredients are there to create a potential smash. Is it worth the hype?
Jerry Mitchell’s Kinky Boots is a spectacle. The early moments of the first half feel as though the flashiness is everything; the cast try and keep up with it but at times it feels like it’s taken over. Camp is an understatement. Henry’s Lola is a complete cliché, strutting around the stage as the rightful owner of the universe. His switch from stage persona to “just a young lad from Clapton” in ‘Not My Father’s Son’ is the turning point that gives Kinky Boots depth, just as Act Two’s ‘Hold Me in Your Heart’ prolongs the sentiment. Whilst singing all the way through, this song is what really showcases his vocals.
David Rockwell’s set is easy to manipulate as it swings and spins, turning in on itself often. It’s glitzy and immense and of course, campilicious. Whilst Lola’s Angels – an array of insanely talented and spectacular looking drag queens – are exactly what you would expect, they, alongside Henry, carry the most aesthetically monstrous scenes perfectly. There’s high kicks, splits and backflips, IN HEELS. It’s just too much. Gregg Barnes’s costumes are just as extravagant, with the reveal of the sparkly red boot causing an actual catastrophe in the audience’s hearts and minds.
There’s some slight differences to the 2005 film. Charlie’s (Killian Donnelly) girlfriend, Nicola (Amy Ross) isn’t quite as vile, keeping her ignorant views about Transgender people firmly to herself, and factory worker and potential new love interest, Lauren (Amy Lennox) is, shall we say, less sensible? Her mad take on having very poor taste in men with ‘The History of Wrong Guys’ is cracking. Lennox’s comic timing is splendid and it feels as though this vibrant and unforgettable character comes out of nowhere. Donnelly’s initially timid and unsure Charlie belts out ‘Soul Of A Man’ with sincere pain and frustration and a not completely unsexy show closing sees him impress everyone with talents I’m sure he only ever shows off after several tequilas.
A tad shaky to begin with, Kinky Boots will win everyone of all ages over in an extravaganza of camp, sparkles and some serious talent. In terms of quantity, Lauper’s score is perhaps a little relentless, but the songs will, and especially in Act Two, have you bopping (and imaginary slut dropping) in your seat. The finale is poured into quickly, seeks incredible and finds it, though a few more minutes would have ensured it complete perfection.
Nobody can deny the power and importance of individualism and this will inspire you to ignore prejudices and give everybody a chance.
Kinky Boots is booking at the Adelphi theatre into 2016. For more information and tickets, see the Kinky Boots website. Photo by Matt Crocket.