Kinky Boots
From Wed 26 Nov
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The newly appointed manager of his late father’s shoe factory in Northampton, Charlie Price has got some tough decisions to make as he attempts to save the ailing business. After a chance meeting with drag queen Lola, Charlie identifies a potentially lucrative niche market: creating footwear to cater for men who like to dress as women...
A topical story about diversity and acceptance, Kinky Boots is based on the 2005 film of the same name and features music & lyrics by 80s pop star Cyndi Lauper.
Expect a feelgood evening of catchy tunes, fierce anthems and warm-hearted humour.
Strictly Come Dancing’s Johannes Radebe stars as Lola.
*Johannes Radebe will not perform at Wed 16 & Thu 17 April 2pm performances.
Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent
£15 upwards
Inspired by the true story of a failing Northamptonshire shoe factory, Kinky Boots The Musical stops off in Birmingham next month as part of a UK tour. Courtney Bowman will reprise the role of factory worker Lauren, while Strictly Come Dancing star Johannes Radebe will be donning thigh-high red boots to play drag queen Lola...
Three years ago, actor Courtney Bowman played the role of factory worker Lauren in a concert performance of the hit musical Kinky Boots. She loved the show and the part. So when she heard a new UK tour was in the planning, she was keen to reprise the role in the full show.
“We put the concert up in a week,” she recalls. “When I heard the show was touring again, I really wanted to be in it. I saw the original production in 2016 and loved it. I think the show is brilliant; it has so much heart.”
Helmed by Leicester Curve Artistic Director Nikolai Foster, the touring production features Strictly Come Dancing professional & choreographer Johannes Radebe as drag queen Lola and Dan Partridge as factory owner Charlie.
The show, which is based on a true story and a hit 2005 film, focuses on the character of Charlie Price, who inherits the family shoe factory but struggles to keep the business afloat. When he meets drag queen Lola and sees her kinky boots, he realises there may be an untouched shoe market...
Courtney believes that, beyond its sparkle, the show is about family and friendship.
“The story is so beautiful. There’s the father-son relationships, which can also easily translate to mother-daughter relationships, so it’s a universal story. Whatever people are exploring or are feeling challenged on, if you have a friend to help you, then you can get there.
“Its message is about love and acceptance and being open to change. Just being open is wonderful. Be as open as Lauren, be as strong, resilient and fabulous as Lola, and as understanding and caring as Charlie.”
For Courtney, Lauren’s strength is her willingness to welcome people as they are. “I love that when Lola comes into her life, Lauren just accepts her. She’s just ‘This is how it is, let’s go and enjoy this new world, which isn’t necessarily the factory in Northampton.’
“The boots are Charlie and Lola’s story, but everyone’s got their own boots, where they think ‘I had a problem, someone came along and they helped me.’ It’s so full of love, and a lot of love has been put into this production.”
With a score by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper and book by American actor & writer Harvey Fierstein, Kinky Boots opened in Chicago in 2012. It then transferred to Broadway, where it won six Tony Awards, and the London West End, where it picked up three Oliviers, including Best New Musical.
Courtney is no stranger to prize winning herself. Two years ago, she bagged the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Performer In A Musical, for her portrayal of Ellie Woods in Legally Blonde at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. She also originated the role of Fatimah in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, and played Anne Boleyn in Six.
“I’ve always loved musicals. I used to watch the video of Cats in the 1990s and wore that video out! I love to connect all three disciplines of singing, dancing and acting, and on top of that, comedy and improv.
“I love the stage. If you go wrong on a film or television take, you can do it again, but if something goes wrong on stage, you’ve got to fix it. I love being on my toes. If someone goes wrong, that’s my favourite thing because it’s nice to see how other actors can save things or if I can save things. So, for instance, there’s a line in Kinky Boots where Dan says ‘Why am I the only one that believes in you, and why am I the only one who cares?’ He swapped them round by accident one night. There was a split second, but then Jo went straight on, and it just worked. You see that and think ‘Now that is acting!’”
Kinky Boots will mark the first time Courtney has performed at Birmingham Hippodrome, although she did visit the city last year to see Here And Now - The Steps Musical at The Alexandra.
“I loved Steps - they were my religion as a child, and I really enjoyed the show. Now I’m looking forward to going to the Hippodrome. I’m from Boston in Lincolnshire, so Birmingham, Nottingham, the Midlands, is kind of my domain. I claim the whole of the Midlands, even though I’m from the corner of it by Skegness!
“It's very tiring touring, but it’s a rewarding kind of tiring. It’s fun, and I’m trying to experience the culture of each city. Responses from the audiences so far have been insane.”
After touring his own dance shows (Freedom, Freedom Unleashed and House Of Jojo), Johannes Radebe is stepping in a new direction with Kinky Boots - taking on a lead role in a musical. And having experienced bullying for being gay while growing up in a South African township, he can certainly relate to his character of Lola.
"She's insecure and scarred, like many of us - me included - but she's also very bold, confident and powerful,” he explains. “The premise of the show is about the acceptance of oneself and of others, and I can relate to that so much because it's been my personal fight. I hope with what I do in my career that I influence the world in a positive way, just by saying 'Yes, we are all different but we can live as one.'
“Kinky Boots has been a long-held dream of mine. I came across the movie first, and it spoke to my search for belonging as a young boy growing up in a township. I've always looked for spaces that could accommodate me or stories that resonate with me."
Johannes is also enjoying the experience of wearing such iconic boots.
"I'd worn heels in my house - without anybody witnessing it - for many years, and then Strictly gave me the platform to be fabulous and kinky in front of the world!”
That’s not to say the role hasn’t been without its challenges. "It's daunting and nerve-wracking, but at the same time, it's really exciting. I think I have been an actor in some way or other across my career because I'm a storyteller. Now I get to say and sing how I feel as well as expressing myself through movement and dance.
“This show is so inspirational, with a universal message in a story and songs that leave people feeling happy and joyful. Maybe their minds will be changed by it, too. I find that quite incredible.”
Kinky Boots The Musical shows at Birmingham Hippodrome from Tuesday 15 to Saturday 19 April
on Mon, 24 Feb 2025
What do you do when the family shoe-making business is on the rocks? You team up with a drag queen, of course, to save the day by fulfilling the demand for glamorous high-heeled footwear in larger sizes - the ‘kinky boots’ of the show’s title.
The result? A clash of cultures, punchy drama, misunderstandings and panic, all of which make for a boisterous tale of the brave attempt to save the jobs of working folk and let the factory live to fight another day.
Based on a true story, Kinky Boots The Musical has won both numerous showbiz awards and the hearts of thousands of audience members. And it’s not hard to see why. Nor is its enduring appeal a surprise. With music & lyrics by Cindy Lauper, the show is living proof that girls (and boys) just wanna have fun (in size 11 stilettos, naturally).
Fresh from acquiring status as the nation’s darling on Strictly Come Dancing, Johannes Radebe (Lola) struts onto the stage perched on perilously high heels. Lola’s over-the-top flamboyance and his vision for the boots are the perfect partner to Charlie Price’s (Dan Partridge) pragmatic desire to save both the firm he has inherited and the livelihoods of those who depend on it. Together, they are bound for success. With their two worlds colliding (is a drab shoe factory in Northampton really ready for an influx of drag queens from London?) heart-warming encounters and joyful moments ensue, as they learn to love each other’s differences. This truly is a tale of 21st-century understanding and acceptance.
Radebe and Partridge are outstanding. As Lola, Radebe commands the stage. He has perfected the hair-flick and the sashay which mark Lola out as a diva, and has the eyelashes and the wardrobe of outrageous frocks to match. In a couple of quieter, more thoughtful moments, Lola reveals a surprisingly delicate side to his character which allows him to connect with Charlie, as we learn that both are more than a little scarred by their past.
Dan Partridge is a perfect Charlie, full of ideas and full of beans as he races around the stage.
Lighthearted moments come courtesy of the excellent Don (Joe Caffrey), the factory worker struggling to accept the new reality, and the equally excellent George (Scott Paige), the old-style factory foreman (complete with brown overall and flat cap) whose loyal support is invaluable to Charlie.
Kinky Boots The Musical is a heart-warming tale of community spirit and of good things happening to good people. It certainly won over the audience at Birmingham Hippodrome last night - they greeted its stars with rapturous applause and ended the evening with a standing ovation. The music is a delight, the costumes a joy to behold, and the level of ostentation is off-the-scale. As musical theatre goes, it surely doesn’t get much better than this.
5 stars
Kinky Boots The Musical was reviewed by Rachel Smith on Tuesday 15 April at Birmingham Hippodrome, where it shows until Saturday 19 April.
5 Stars on Wed, 16 Apr 2025