Amber Sinclair-Case’s revival runs until 18 May
It’s a sign of the times that Kinky Boots’s heels haven’t worn down in 2024. Despite originating in a two-decades-old film, its themes of gender and constraining definitions of masculinity remain as sharp and pointed as a stiletto. The snarl, “You could try dressing like a bloke for starters”, aimed at drag queen Lola, could’ve been spat out of the mouth of any present-day, right-wing reactionary.
In the show, it belongs to Don, one of the workforce at shoemakers Price and Sons – played by Roddy Lynch, as blunt and brusque as a cobbler’s hammer – under the management of Charlie who’s inspired to revitalise the ailing business’s health by making boots for drag queens. Charlie and Lola have to overcome both their resistance and the fashion world’s, in a society keen to keep its feet planted in the past, rather than march proudly into the future.
Like the young Lolas who come stumbling on in high heels in its opening sequence, this production doesn’t find its feet straightaway. Lola extols the qualities of the colour red, “passion and danger”, but they’re initially lacking in Duane-Lamonte O’Garro’s performance. O’Garro is quiet and timidly downtrodden, but this makes the sadness and pity too visible in the drag persona, not masked enough at the start. We get the pay-off by the end, however, when we’ve seen a reverse transition, gaining confidence – rescued by Charlie as much as she’s rescuing him.
Many of Cyndi Lauper’s songs are indistinguishable or sound dated, particularly the jarringly strained refrain of “London to Milan” in “Sex is in the Heel”. There’s little of the pop infectiousness of her flagship floorfiller, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”. But, like Lola, it’s behind the glitz and glamour where the most affecting substance lies. For her powerful solo, “Hold Me in Your Heart”, O’Garro emerges through smoke, almost charred, against a wall of orange spotlights, underscoring the brokenness and anguish of the song. “Not My Father’s Son” also begins slowly and builds into a brilliant ballad, heightened by the reveal that the song applies to Charlie as well – a solo becomes a duet.
The design also cycles through transitions. The tan workcoats and music for the Price and Sons factory scenes – the acoustic “practical, pragmatical” melody unpolished like the unvarnished wood blocks – transitions into rocky, electric guitar for Lola’s club with its ruby haze. Just as the O of the Price and Sons sign is overlaid with lights, shining for Lola, an oxidised metal archway implies the bridging and joining of two worlds. And the ensemble constantly multi-roles and multi-plays different instruments effortlessly.
The stage can get cramped and busy, but there are sharp designs such as a boxing ring for the fight between Lola and Lynch’s Don. Charly Dunford’s lighting snaps in and out of white spotlights that encase the characters in cage-like shafts, the violent threat of homophobia cutting through the neon and colour of Lola’s world.
Harvey Fierstein’s book could do with more wit, such as Lola’s remark about her father dying of lung cancer: “Fags got him in the end”. It’s also incredibly slapdash with the character of Charlie, giving him several unlikely changes of heart and very suddenly rewarding him with a new girlfriend who he propositions on a whim, and without exploring the breakdown of his original relationship. Danny Becker manages to pull it off with a misguided naivety and boyishness that suggests he’s always trying to throw off the son his conservative father raised.
Staging the final catwalk out in the theatre’s foyer is an ambitious idea, but so is maneuvering some 800 audience members without puncturing momentum. It’s too extreme a gearchange and aesthetic shift for it to accomplish seamlessly. Still, by the end, this show has whipped up its audience and sends them out with a strut in their step.
Sign Up to Our Newsletter for a chance to win 2 West End theatre tickets of your choice with a hotel stay included..
Comentarios