The
stage production of 'Kinky Boots' is set in the town of Northampton in the middle
of England. Northampton was one of the main shoe making centers of the UK and
was caught out, as many other manufacturing industries were, by the rise of
cheaper imports from foreign manufactures in the 1980’s.
With
a shrinking market and stiff competition, the factories had to modernise,
diversify or die.
The
film and stage show are based on a true story of a factory owner, Steve Pateman
struggling with possible closure of his company, W.J. Brooks Ltd, and in 1999
diversified the product to produce a fetish line of shoes under the ‘Devine’
brand name after being contacted by fetish shop owner looking for someone who
could make shoes to order after her supplier let her down.
The
transition from making Brogues to Fetish Shoes was captured in a BBC
documentary at the time and coined the name ‘the Kinky Boots factory’
The
business was built on exports to German and European markets, with the shoes
being presented at the Frankfurt shoe exhibition to launch the brand.
Sadly
this all came to an end after 7 years and the factory finally closed its doors
in 2006 after over 100 yrs as a family owned business.
A
film was made in 2005 based on the BBC documentary and employed a little poetic
license to enhance the story, which included the introduction of Lola, a drag
queen who becomes the main focus of the film as the inspiration for the new
product and the co-opted designer of the boots and shoes, with deadline to
launch them at shoe show in Milan.
Following
on from the film, the Stage Production of ‘Kinky Boots’ was launched in 2012 in
Chicago it moved to Broadway in 2013 and also started touring in the US the
following year.
The
production gained acclaim, wining several ‘Tony’ awards including best musical
and best musical score for Cindy Lauper.
In 2015 the production set
foot in the UK for the first time and opened in the London West End at the
Adelphi theater.
So – what about the show I hear you ask…
I
saw the show in London in November 2015 with a full house and lots of
enthusiastic theater-goers.
The
fabulous stage sets and fast moving storyline keep the audience engrossed in
the action. The energetic performances and belting songs with great one-liners and
quips were very entertaining and created lots of ‘laugh out loud’ moments.
On
stage location transitions were managed very well with a multi purpose central
unit that became a factory, night club and fashion runway before your very
eyes!
One
or two lines were a little uncomfortable, particularly where Lola tries to
explain the differences between Drag, Cross-Dressing and Transgender. I thought
that her comments could have been much better scripted in her definitions, as
they seemed to be very out of date.
However
on the whole it seemed to be able to put a positive message across re-enforcing
the pro diversity and acceptance message.
The
cast was excellent with Lola being played by Matt Henry who was runner up in
‘the Voice’ - a BBC television competition, and seasoned thespian Killian
Donnelly in the lead role as Charlie Price.
Over
all I enjoyed the production and it raked well next to Pricilla, Queen of the
Desert, and the 1986 production of Le Cage aux Folles.
The
songs were all unfamiliar to me, but all stood up well with in the context of
the show, however I would like to hear them again away from the stage to
reflect on their depth. I am a great fan of Cindy Lauper and felt that her
style of writing would bring something fresh to the stage in a period, which is
dominated with the traditional musical format. However in my opinion this was
not the case as I felt the music and songs were following the ‘musical format’
to a degree.
Yes
I would recommend it, Yes it had a good TG message and content and Yes I
enjoyed it. I would go to see it again if it came to a theater more local
rather than travel up to London and pay London ticket prices.
So,
‘Ladies and Gentlemen, and those who have yet to make up your mind’, go
and see it -- I’m sure that you'll enjoy the show.
Dawn Wyvern
November 2015
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