Kinky Boots The Musical

London Coliseum • 6th April - 11th July 2026

Having already confessed in an interview with theatre director Nikolai Foster, (available in the Spring Edition of Jack The Lad magazine, available here), that I had yet to see a production of Kinky Boots, (even though the musical first appeared in the UK in 2015 following a successful Broadway debut three years before that), I was more than happy to be taking my seat for this new ‘non-replica’ production with nothing to refer back too, meaning that instead of comparing and contrasting my way through this 2 hour and 20 min (including interval) show, I could completely immerse myself in this latest London Coliseum run. As such, it soon became clear that this production meant business as the first song erupts onto the stage, delivering an opening number over the first seven minutes that grows to be as loud and as proud as many a big-finale from any number of other shows I have seen. It’s an action packed whistle-stop scene-setter giving the musical a surprisingly detailed backstory yet with minimal exposition. It certainly brought this press night audience on-side straight out of the gate, the only question on my mind being where the show had left itself to go, as surely such bold musical statements couldn’t be sustainable throughout.

For anyone who doesn’t know the true story behind the musical, and the 2005 film on which the musical is based, Kinky Boots tells the story of Charlie Price, (Matt Cardle), who inherits a once successful, but now struggling family shoe factory in Northampton, that finds itself having to compete in a world that favours low cost product over high quality footwear. To save the business from bankruptcy Charlie forms an unlikely partnership with Lola, (Johannes Radebe), a fabulous drag queen who inspires him to shift the companies manufacturing output towards creating boots able to cope with the punishing demands of any drag queen, and with his sights set on a Milan debut for his ‘Kinky Boots’ there are only weeks to get the samples fashion-show ready!

Ironically, for a story that follows a rich tradition of tales told against the backdrop of the industrial north, like Billy Elliot, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Standing At The Sky’s Edge and Pride, (the latter getting it’s own musical makeover this summer), it would take two high profile Americans, (Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper) to realise the potential of this particular story as a musical. It was therefore something of a homecoming for this revival to return to the UK for a tour in early 2025, and for it to have ended it’s journey in the West End’s largest theatre, the London Coliseum, seems like a fitting conclusion for a production with such incredible ambition. It’s actually hard to imagine how this particular version of the show could be performed anywhere smaller.

The large scale setting is not the only key to this productions success, not that size alone could guarantee that given I have previously seen such a large canvas all too often become the achilles heal for many a less well realised production. It’s more in Robert Jones versatile set design and Ben Cracknell’s lighting that allow the director the incredible ability to resize everything to a much smaller scale when required by the shows more intimate moments, only to then effortlessly recalibrate back to the glorious full size stage once again, never failing to elevate the show to greater heights each and every time it does so. For this proiduction, the visuals definitely prove to be just as big an asset as the incredible performances on display.

And it’s a sizeable cast, with some particularly impressive supporting performances, (more of which later), but the undeniable star of the show is Johannes Radebe as Lola. As a professional dancer he has found fame as a now veteran of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, having first appeared on the show in 2018. Kinky Boots heralds his West End debut, and whilst I was perfectly prepared for him to have the choreography down to a tee, I wasn’t quite as prepared for the impressive power and rich tone of his singing voice. Apparently it’s been quite a journey for him to get vocally match-fit for this production, but you’d think he’d been singing professionally for as many years as he has been dancing, such is the quality of the performance he completely knocks out of the park. If a cast recording of this production hasn’t yet been discussed then I certainly hope it’s on the cards as it’s a performance definitely worth capturing for posterity, along with the strong vocal performance from other cast members including X factor alumni (and now musical theatre veteran) Matt Cardle, and Courtney Bowman as Lauren, the Price & Son factory worker with a crush on her boss.

Needless to say, such a voice would be wasted if the songs hadn’t been up to scratch, and whilst a 1980’s Cyndi Lauper had never really found herself being included on any of my mid to late eighties mixtapes, (yes, they were a thing kids!), her 2008 album Bring Ya To The Brink quickly became one of my all-time favourite albums, (give it a listen if you’ve never heard it), and whilst she has clearly tailored her sound to lean a lot more into the language of musical theatre, it’s an impressive turnout from the songstress who has been quoted as saying, “Too much is never enough”, Kinky Boots receiving a well deserved Tony Award for Best Original Score in the process.

If you read my review of Glorious you’ll have seen me commenting on the current trend, intentional or otherwise, for scene stealing performances from deceptively insignificant side characters, and Scott Paige as George certainly slips neatly into that category, his hilarious take on the shop-floor foreman a delight to watch every time he has ‘business’ to do. With so many moving parts (quite literally at times), both director Nikolai Foster and choreographer Leah Hill do a near perfect job in getting the best out of their cast while keeping everything under tight control, pacing the unfolding action in a way that the show constantly finds itself going to ever greater heights all, on the performance that I attended, to the euphoric delight of the audience!

With words like ‘sensation’ and ‘spectacular’ all too often bandied around in theatre reviews, Kinky Boots is not only spectacular by any theatrical benchmark, but Johannes Radebbe has proved himself to be a musical theatre sensation., and I look forward to seeing what comes next in what I am sure is going to be a immensely successful ‘second’ career! “Keeeeeeeeeep singing!!’

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Kinky Boots The Musical is on at the London Coliseum from 6th April to 11th July. Tickets available here

review: Simon J. Webb

photographs: Matt Crockett