Theatre review - Kinky Boots

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Based on the 2005 film of the same name, Kinky Boots is a fun, flamboyant and actually very moving stage show. The story follows a drag queen and the son of a shoe manufacturer who form an unlikely bond while trying to save the latter's shoe factory from closure.

When Charlie's father dies, leaving the ailing factory for him to run, it becomes clear that he needs to change the product or close the doors. Then he runs into Lola, a glamorous drag queen whose women's shoes just can't stand up to nightly performances and a man's weight. What follows is a couple of hours of brilliant songs, fantastic dancing and costumes, and a glimpse into what life is like in a small community when you're decidedly different from everyone else.

I would have really enjoyed the show anyway, had it just been about the two main characters and their colleagues/friends at the factory making the 'kinky boots', but the relationship between Charlie and Lola and the difficulties Lola in particular faces added extra depth to the story that made it really brilliant.

The audience was clapping along almost all the way through and the standing ovation was so long that the actors had to quieten everyone down in the end to let us know that they would be collecting for an AIDS charity at the doors (it was World AIDS Day) - if that's not a sign of a good show, I don't know what is. The whole cast was phenomenal.

I was very kindly given tickets for review purposes, and saw the show at the Adelphi Theatre in Covent Garden - it's a smallish theatre, so you get a good view of the actors on stage. I thoroughly recommend seeing the show and if you do go along, look out for the particularly hilarious actress who plays Lauren (who's quite brilliant - and also rather fancies her boss, Charlie), and be amazed by the FABULOUS drag queens being generally incredible the whole way through.

p.s. The show and some of the cast have also been nominated for a load of What's On Stage Awards for their troubles.