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“The message is just so important”, beamed an opening-night audience member to her friend as she shuffled out to the chill of the Glasgow night, still soaring from the feel-good fumes pumped out by this high-heeled hit musical.
It feels apt that Kinky Boots visits Glasgow’s King’s Theatre during LGBT+ history month, as news bulletins and social media remind us there is still much yet to achieve in equality terms.
This irresistible, defiant Curve Leicester production brings the important message of acceptance to venues across the UK in 2025 – two decades on from the release of the 2005 film of the same name.
The musical follows Charlie Price (Dan Partridge) as he inherits his father’s doomed shoe factory. A chance encounter with drag sensation Lola (Johannes Radebe) changes the factory’s and its workers’ fate – as production turns to shoes for a particular buyer.
Pop royalty Cyndi Lauper pens original songs, forgettable with some exceptions, around Tim Firth and Geoff Dane’s heart-warming real-life story, even if the plot is a little drawn out in Act II.
This touring production is bursting with talent – Kara Lily Hayworth, Joe Caffrey, Scott Paige and Liam Doyle would each delight on their own. Together, this touring production is formidable in even the sum of its parts.
What would Kinky Boots be without Lola? Johannes Radebe embodies the fierce drag queen, boasting a stage presence like no other and real substance to this wonderful character. Many have bought tickets to see the Strictly star in action- and he won’t disappoint.
Stopping the show in its tracks, Courtney Bowman delivers an arresting – and hilarious – The History of Wrong Guys. Some years ago, Cynthia Erivo once belted the dust off the cherubs that adorn the King’s stage in Sister Act. Bowman ensures that those cherubs will remain dust-free this week.
Celebrating individuality is, as Lauper pens, The Most Beautiful Thing in the World. Challenging the prejudices of Price & Son’s most backward thinkers – and undoubtedly some in the audience – is done with love and care.
On the week another touring musical had to pause due to homophobic slurs, it feels more important than ever that LGBT+ stories are told with such bombast.
Glasgow audiences will leave their seats a little better than when they arrived, such is the cultural significance of this bright, brash and brilliant musical.
Kinky Boots at King’s Theatre, Glasgow until Saturday 15th February 2025, then touring
Next Scottish date – Edinburgh Playhouse – 18-22 February
Production images to follow
