Kinky Boots the Musical Playhouse Theatre Edinburgh 18th February 2025 Review
Kinky Boots is at the Playhouse Theatre Edinburgh (Tue 18 to Sat 22 February) and, to prove just how popular this stage musical has become with audiences, tonight was a sell-out show.
This show has a bit of a meandering history though, as its story is based on a real life family-run Northamptonshire shoe factory that was featured in a one-off episode in the 1999 BBC2 documentary series “Trouble at the Top”. To stay in business, the firm had decided to produce men's “fetish footwear”. The story caught the attention of many people and in 2005 the very successful Kinky Boots film was released, followed in 2012 by the first performance of the stage show musical.
This new production of the show has retained all of the classic ingredients that have made it so successful and that includes the show book by writer Harvey Fierstein plus music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper. The production team behind this show is an impressive one, with many of musical theatre's top talents being involved in its creation.
Kinky Boots as a show will always live or die on one person, whoever is playing performer Lola the drag queen and, here, Johannes Radebe with his long background in dance and obvious stage presence makes him a perfect match for this role. As well as getting the opportunity to strut his stuff through some great song and dance routines, Johannes is also gifted here with a script of real quality. Here for once is a show that does not give us a camp “Lola”, but gives us all a real person with real depth and emotions to their background and we are left in no doubt that this Lola is an at times over the top, but always very strong character who is in fact the alter ego of a very shy Simon when he dresses in men’s clothing.
This show needs someone like Johannes Radebe who has the natural flamboyance to make Lola and the song and dance numbers sensational productions, but it also needs someone who can emote real emotions, real tenderness and fragility when required. If there is one song in this show that highlights all of these requirements, it is, for me “I’m Not My Father's Son”. This is not an easy song to sing, it requires very careful timing, phrasing and someone who understands exactly how to use short spaces of silence, and Johannes Radebe does a fine job here that totally contrasts with his exuberant performances on other songs, including “Raise You Up”.
Dan Partridge as Charlie, the young son who inherits this shoe factory that is in imminent danger of closing down, has both the ability to handle the song and dance numbers in this show, and also to give an emotionally sensitive performance of someone who is simply running out of options to save the family business and the jobs of everyone who works there too. There is also a good cross-section of characters in this show and every one of them has their own little background story to tell and there are no weak links in any of these performances from the rest of the cast.
A big part of this show's popularity is always Lola’s “Angels” and the real life drag queen performers who make up this team of dancers were a huge hit with this audience all evening.
Kinky Boots has pretty much everything that a good stage musical should have – strong and identifiable characters, great songs and well produced and choreographed dance routines, but at its heart it is a story of discovering exactly who you are as a person and having the courage to follow whatever dreams you have in your life, no matter how difficult the obstacles placed in your way might be. Also it celebrates the courage needed to have the strength to not only continue on your own path but, when needed, also stand up to many people's prejudices against you because you do not fit into their restrictive view of who you should be and how you should conduct yourself in your life.
Review by Tom King © 2025
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
This show has a bit of a meandering history though, as its story is based on a real life family-run Northamptonshire shoe factory that was featured in a one-off episode in the 1999 BBC2 documentary series “Trouble at the Top”. To stay in business, the firm had decided to produce men's “fetish footwear”. The story caught the attention of many people and in 2005 the very successful Kinky Boots film was released, followed in 2012 by the first performance of the stage show musical.
This new production of the show has retained all of the classic ingredients that have made it so successful and that includes the show book by writer Harvey Fierstein plus music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper. The production team behind this show is an impressive one, with many of musical theatre's top talents being involved in its creation.
Kinky Boots as a show will always live or die on one person, whoever is playing performer Lola the drag queen and, here, Johannes Radebe with his long background in dance and obvious stage presence makes him a perfect match for this role. As well as getting the opportunity to strut his stuff through some great song and dance routines, Johannes is also gifted here with a script of real quality. Here for once is a show that does not give us a camp “Lola”, but gives us all a real person with real depth and emotions to their background and we are left in no doubt that this Lola is an at times over the top, but always very strong character who is in fact the alter ego of a very shy Simon when he dresses in men’s clothing.
This show needs someone like Johannes Radebe who has the natural flamboyance to make Lola and the song and dance numbers sensational productions, but it also needs someone who can emote real emotions, real tenderness and fragility when required. If there is one song in this show that highlights all of these requirements, it is, for me “I’m Not My Father's Son”. This is not an easy song to sing, it requires very careful timing, phrasing and someone who understands exactly how to use short spaces of silence, and Johannes Radebe does a fine job here that totally contrasts with his exuberant performances on other songs, including “Raise You Up”.
Dan Partridge as Charlie, the young son who inherits this shoe factory that is in imminent danger of closing down, has both the ability to handle the song and dance numbers in this show, and also to give an emotionally sensitive performance of someone who is simply running out of options to save the family business and the jobs of everyone who works there too. There is also a good cross-section of characters in this show and every one of them has their own little background story to tell and there are no weak links in any of these performances from the rest of the cast.
A big part of this show's popularity is always Lola’s “Angels” and the real life drag queen performers who make up this team of dancers were a huge hit with this audience all evening.
Kinky Boots has pretty much everything that a good stage musical should have – strong and identifiable characters, great songs and well produced and choreographed dance routines, but at its heart it is a story of discovering exactly who you are as a person and having the courage to follow whatever dreams you have in your life, no matter how difficult the obstacles placed in your way might be. Also it celebrates the courage needed to have the strength to not only continue on your own path but, when needed, also stand up to many people's prejudices against you because you do not fit into their restrictive view of who you should be and how you should conduct yourself in your life.
Review by Tom King © 2025
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com