The Sheffield Lyceum gets Kinky this week with the iconic Red Boots, and sass galore graces its stage. Inspired by true events, Kinky Boots takes you from the anything but glamorous ‘Price and Son’ shoe factory in Northampton to the dazzling catwalks of Milan in this sassy, vivacious and heart warming tale of true British grit with catchy songs by Tony and Grammy Award winning eighties pop princess, Cyndi Lauper and a Book by Harvey Fierstein. With exceptional choreography on this tour by Leah Hill and pacey precise direction by Nikolai Foster adding to strong and full score under the Musical supervision of George Dyer, Kinky Boots both technically and in production is a touring tapestry of tease and tenderness. Set and costume Design by Robert Jones is in situ and avoids unnecessary scene changes as the desks in the Price and Son factory are converted to create all the needed scenery. The sound quality operated by Reece Lyons and Nathan Wooley and designed by Adam Fisher is on point at the Lyceum and the blend of vocal and orchestration well balanced. The Lighting, designed by Ben Cracknell, and operated by Connor Sullivan and Lilli Fisher matches the top-notch quality of the production with no glaring omissions and doing much to strengthen the ambience.
Charlie Price is struggling to live up to his father’s expectations to step into his ‘well made but boring brown shoes’ and take over the family factory. Escaping to London to begin a new future with upwardly mobile girlfriend Nicola, Charlie receives the dreaded call that Mr Price Senior has died. Forced back to Northampton Charlie’s sense of duty forces him to step into his father’s ‘shoes’. With the factory failing and more shoe orders returned than sold….. enter Drag Queen Lola aka Simon from Clacton and his Angels and cue the creation of the ‘sex is in the heel’ – the robust yet ravishing red thigh high boots. Charlie learns much more than just how to save his father’s legacy, this is a poignant awakening of acceptance and celebration in diversity that is very relevant in today’s society.
As expected, Johannes Radebe is breath taking in role as Lola and by far the best I have seen, even with the South African accent cropping up every now and again! Radebe has just the right amount of sensitivity and depth layered under the gloriously polished and fabulous drag queen exterior. The vocal is flawless, and the sass is mesmerising and ‘by eck’ don’t even mention the dance ability… off the scale! Radebe finds new layers to the character and gives the production a more balanced equilibrium between spectacle and subtlety. ‘Not my father’s son’ brings a tear to the eye.
The role of Charlie Price is played superbly by Dan Partridge, there were some lovely, much needed sincere moments from Partridge, yet he also gives this Charlie Price an impressively attractive confidence and strength that really works and gives the character much more reason for the audience to champion him. Partridge’s rendition of ‘Soul of a Man’ brought the house down to close the first act and his additional vocals in ‘Not my father’s Son’ alongside Radebe’s are exquisite. Courtney Bowman as the dorky, love-struck Lauren had great energy on stage and her singing hits the bullseye with her rendition of ‘History of Wrong guys’. I did feel however, some of the onstage chemistry between Charlie and herself is missing. Kara Lily Haworth gives a very convincing and solid performance as Nicola, Charlie’s ambitious girlfriend, and the chemistry between these two characters is much more tangible. Joe Caffrey, as the initially non accepting macho Don, leaves the comedy to Scott Paige as the factory foreman George, and this beautifully highlights the differing aspects of the typecast northern small town men – who were more than just a little confused by men dressed as women and deal with it in very different ways! Caffrey brings a dedicated depth to the role of Don and one that isn’t hated by an accepting audience, a wonderfully acted portrayal. Page’s George, on the other hand, milks the role for all it was worth and with great aplomb – a real crowd pleaser whenever he was on stage, either in or out of the action.
Alongside Radebe – the Angels – Ru Fisher, Kofi Dennis, Liam McEvoy, Ben Middleton, Asley-Jordan Packer and Newton Matthews were both saucy and sensational, allowing Radebe to centre on stage whilst they collectively filling every available space with sass! What these six drag queen Angels can do in 6-inch heels, mere mortals can only dream of! What was new in this production was the addition to the Angels of Jonathon Dryden Taylor (Mr Price before his early death in Act one) I really liked this touch and gave a new dimension to the stereotypical Drag Queen norm. ‘Everybody say Yeah’, the scene that once used conveyor belts (West End) at the end of act one, was still as jaw dropping and whole production and technical team alongside the cast and musicians must be congratulated on this complex feat they made look easy. The finale number ‘Raise you up/Just Be’ has the audience whooping and clapping, stood on their feet and giving a new meaning to a standing ovation.. the applause was rapturous!
Whilst the UK tour does have very minor changes to the former West End version of the show, these do not detract in any way from the spectacle of this production. This heart warming, tongue in cheek, saucy and glitzy production of Kinky Boots takes you to head spinning dizzy heights and leaves you 6 inches above the ground, feeling fabulous and a more than a little bit exhilarated. Put on those heels, your best foot forward and sass on down to see Kinky Boots at Sheffield’s Lyceum Theatre until 28th June 2025!
Reviewer: Tracey Bell
Reviewed: 25th June 2025
North West End UK Rating: