REVIEW - Kinky Boots fills your heart with pure joy and is a game changer for lovers of musicals!

On Tuesday, we were invited to the Palace Theatre in Manchester to watch Kinky Boots. Our reviewer Abi Holden loved the show. Read what she had to say about this amazing production...


Kinky Boots has strutted its way into the Palace Theatre and has everything from dancing divas to boxing matches and gives you the ride of a lifetime. Before seeing this show, I am embarrassed to admit that all I knew about it was that it was centred in a shoe factory and featured drag queens. It is all of that and so much more. The audience was electric as we waited for the show to begin and we were not disappointed.

Kinky Boots tells the tale of Charlie (Dan Partridge; Grease, Hairspray). He has just moved to London with his fiancee, Nicola (Kara Lily Hayworth; Cabaret, Moulin Rouge!), to start a new life when he learns of his father’s death and has to go back to Northampton to take over the family business of a shoe factory, only to find that the business is failing from George (Scott Paige; The Great British Bake Off, The Addams Family) and he has to come up with a way to keep the factory open. After selling all of the leftover stock to his old friend, Harry (Liam Doyle; Wicked, Heathers), he fights a group of men attacking who he thinks is a vulnerable woman. That woman turns out to be not vulnerable at all and is in fact the fabulous drag queen Lola (Johannes Radebe; Strictly Come Dancing). She complains about her awful shoes breaking, after making sure Charlie is alright, and Charlie finds the niche market he needs to save the factory from having to close. The pair team up, with Lola as the designer and Charlie as the head of the company, with the help of newly promoted Lauren (Courtney Bowman; Six, Legally Blonde), to make shoes for drag queens - heels that will hold the weight of a man and not break easily.

Along the way, Lola faces trouble with one of the factory workers, Don (Joe Caffrey; The Girls, St George and the Dragon), when he turns up to the factory for work in men’s clothing and confides in Charlie about his troubled relationship with his father and Charlie can relate to the tale of not living up to expectations. Simon (Lola) being destined to become a prize boxer and Charlie being destined to take over the family business and run the factory. Later on, Don confronts Lola for turning up to work at the factory in drag and Lola says that she will do whatever Don wants her to ‘prove’ she’s a man, if Don agrees to do what she then asks. Not knowing Lola’s boxing background, Don challenges her to a boxing match, which she lets Don win. Lola’s challenge to Don is to then accept someone for who they are but reiterates that it doesn’t have to be her. Whilst preparing to showcase their new line of shoes in Milan, Charlie becomes obsessed with his work, his fiancee feels abandoned and leaves him and he takes it out on the factory workers, who all walk out. He especially upsets Lola, who also walks out. Don, who has promised to accept someone for who they are, convinces the other workers to come back to the factory and to donate their latest paychecks so that Charlie and the team can get to Milan. Lola performs at the care home, where her father is living, and they come to a sort of understanding. The team all prepare for Milan without Lola but Charlie calls her and begs for forgiveness and for her and her angels (fellow drag queens) to show up. At the fashion show, Charlie is prepared to showcase the shoes himself but the day is saved when Lola and her angels show up and the Kinky Boots they have produced are showcased properly.|

One of my absolute favourite things about the show was the inclusion of young Charlie (Joshua Beswick; A Christmas Carol) and young Lola/Simon (Lawrence Ndola-Myers; professional debut). They tied the narrative and the feelings of adult Charlie and Lola together so perfectly and the young actors were exceptional. Another of my favourite things about the whole show was the set. It always looked like a factory but was transformed into Lola’s nightclub seamlessly, with the addition of dress rails and desks to look like a dressing room. The whole show was absolutely mesmerising and I couldn’t stop smiling. The dancing was incredible and the vocals were beautiful.

Dan Partridge as Charlie was a marvel. As an ever-present character and someone who was barely off stage, his stamina really made the show run smoothly. His vocals were brilliant and he gave me chills when singing his ballad in the second half. The emotion he poured into it was heartbreaking. Johannes Radebe as Lola was beyond description. I was in love with the characterization and the uniqueness that he brought to the role. Being known as a dancer, I was pleasantly surprised by his vocal talents. His sass as Lola and his vulnerability as Simon was stunning. His dancing, live, was a sight to behold.

Courtney Bowman as the bubbly Lauren was just perfect in the role. She was so funny as she sang about her boy troubles and fancying Charlie. Her presence on stage was so natural. Her comic timing, accompanied with her insane vocals, really made the ‘girl who always misses out on the boy’ character one of my favourite things about the show. And I loved that she finally got the boy, in the end. Kara Lily Hayworth as Nicola was brilliant. I loved how she embodied the character that was trying to drag Charlie away from the factory. Joe Caffrey as the homophobic Don really made the audience dislike him, until he rallied the other workers to get Charlie to Milan. Scott Paige as George was hilarious. I have seen him in a few productions now and he never fails to have me in stitches. A few special mentions go to Kathryn Barnes (Guys & Dolls, Me and My Girl) as Pat, Lucy Williamson (Chicago, Saturday Night Fever) as Trish and Jonathan Dryden Taylor (As You Like It, The Wizard of Oz) as Mr Price. Barnes as Pat was brilliant in her dancing with Johannes. I loved them as a pair. Williamson was funny and bolshy as Trish. And Dryden Taylor set the story up for Charlie perfectly as Mr Price and was just brilliant as a drag queen, later on. The ensemble were all so talented, too, and their presence as factory workers and drag queens really brought the narrative to life.

The whole show was just perfect. I seriously cannot pick an absolute favourite moment. It has become one of my favourite musicals in one night and it seems I was not alone. The whole audience was alive with their love of the show and it added that extra bit of magic as the audiences’ reactions fueled the actors on the stage. You could tell, as an audience member, that the whole cast loved what they were doing and it really made it thrive. I cannot remember the last time I smiled so much, throughout a show. My cheeks ached still as I was leaving and I was talking about it all the way back to the car. And I will be telling anyone who will listen about it too, whether they want to hear about it or not.

Kinky Boots is at the Palace Theatre until Saturday 8th Feb. I implore you to book tickets as soon as possible. It will fill your hearts with pure joy. It is a must-see and gamechanger for lovers of musicals. I give it five stars and don’t doubt that you would too.

WE SCORE KINKY BOOTS...




Kinky Boots is on at the Palace Theatre, Manchester until Saturday 8th February 2025


BUY TICKETS TO SEE KINKY BOOTS