There are probably very few footwear puns left to describe the infectious feel-good and fabulousness of Kinky Boots that haven’t already been worn down to their soles. A smash hit success both critically and with audiences both here and across the pond, scooping up pretty much every ‘Best New Musical’ gong you could imagine, Boots is now lacing up to strut its stuff across the Nation on its first ever UK tour. 

Judging from its arrival at the Wolverhampton Grand this week, only the second stop on the brand new tour after Northampton (where the show is set), it’s clear to see it’s a show still riding high atop of those six inch heels of se… sorry, joy.

No, it isn’t a particularly subtle or nuanced affair, even more so than the 2005 film from which it has been adapted, and the broad strokes of acceptance and affirmation that run through it are writ large in sparkling neon letters from the offset. But it fizzes with feel-good in abundance; a sparkling tonic of fabulousness that brings a warm-hearted message to the stage with sumptuous production values, sharp and vibrant choreography and a selection of funny, fabulous characters that win the audience over pretty much from the off.

Charlie Price (a superb Joel Harper-Jackson) is thrown into a crisis of conscience when he inherits his late father’s failing shoe factory. The store rooms are bursting with unsold stock, former professional partnerships have fallen through, and the tight-knit community of factory staff facing redundancy are more akin to family than employees.

What’s a guy to do?

Partner up with a professionally-trained boxer-turned-drag queen to help carve a new niche market, of course.

Enter Lola, one of musical theatre’s most irresistible revelations of recent years; a tour-de-force comedic whirlwind of sass, class and plenty of ass. Watch in awe as she navigates perilous heels to dominate every scene she struts through, which is, blissfully, the majority. Stepping in for regular tour Lola Callum Francis, Kayi Ushe commanded the stage from the off, really sinking into and relishing the sardonic wit and dry put-downs of Lola in particular. Bar the occasional coasting into Jerry Mitchell’s sexy, vigorous choreography, it was an exquisite turn that posits Ushe as a real talent to watch, and a turn that once again proved getting an understudy or standby never has to equal a downgrade in experience (often quite the contrary, in fact).

That being said, the show’s principle Charlie, Joel Harper-Jackson, ticks all the boxes of what you could hope for from Lola’s co-lead, and brings a powerhouse, West End-worthy performance to the tour. With gorgeous, roof-raising vocals and a cheeky, boyish interpretation of the role that mines plenty of humour from the more ‘straight’ role of the two leads, Harper-Jackson is the best Charlie this particular fan of the show has seen yet, and ensures his Charlie never fades into the sidelines by the charismatic cross-dressers he shares the stage with.

Elsewhere, Coronation Street’s Paula Lane once more showcases her fantastic comedy chops with her quirky, slightly bonkers take on unlucky-in-love factory worker Lauren, Catherine Millsom hoovers up the few moments she gets to shine with her powerful voice and fantastic stage presence, Demitri Lampra and Adam Price give great supporting turns as factory bigot Don and reliable right-hand man George respectively, and every single one of Lola’s ‘Angels’ (Connor Collins, John J. Dempsey, Damon Gould, Joshua Lovell, Chileshé Mondelle & Toyan Thomas-Browne… because they each deserve to be named) dazzle with stunning harmonies and even more flabbergasting high-kicks, drop-splits and all-round ‘Shantay you all stay’ fabulousness.

Luckily, they all get some great tunes to flip, flick and strut out to. Cyndi Lauper’s music is just as upbeat, kinetic and infectious as the characters who bring it to life, and whilst a couple of the soul-searching numbers threaten to become a touch de rigour (with the exception of the beautiful ‘Not My Father’s Son’), everything else is sizzling, poppy stuff, which again isn’t particularly subtle or profound, but is gloriously upbeat and affirming nevertheless. It’s also buoyed by another wonderful example of how ambitious and audacious touring productions can be with their staging and audio-visual design, with David Rockwell and Kenneth Posner’s work here hardly diluted down at all in the transition from the West End to Wolverhampton and beyond.

A worthy successor to the inclusive, feel-good romp of shows such as Hairspray and Priscilla, a dazzling technical achievement that retains almost all of the West End production’s fizz, sparkle and glamour (important shout out to Gregg Barnes’ amazing wardrobe), and an impressive cast following suit, if you’ve yet to catch yourself in a pair of Kinky Boots, then not only are you missing out on one of the most joyous, camp and irrepressibly feel-good shows of the past decade, but now they are strutting proudly across the Nation, you’ve absolutely no excuse to miss out.

Grab yourself a pair (of both tickets and boots!), and go catch Lola and her Angels at the earliest possible opportunity - any Autumnal/Back to School/Brexit blues will be gone quicker than you can say ‘RED!’.

★★★★​★​

Runs 16th - 27th October

Tickets: 01902 42 92 12

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