Kinky Boots - London Coliseum ★★★★

Unless you’ve been on a desert island for the past 20 years, you’ve likely heard of Kinky Boots. But, for anyone yet to have the pleasure, it’s inspired by the true story of a struggling Northampton shoe factory, whose owner saved it from collapse by abandoning traditional brogues and embracing a new market: steel-reinforced high-heeled boots for drag performers.

First featured in the 1999 BBC documentary “The Kinky Boot Factory” (part of the Trouble at the Top strand), the story became a fictionalised film in 2005, which in turn inspired Broadway producer-choreographer Jerry Mitchell (who has form for this, with hits like Legally Blonde The Musical and Pretty Woman The Musical under his belt) to develop a stage version. Written by Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song Trilogy, La Cage aux Folles), with music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper (the Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winning, New Wave icon, behind era-defining hits such as Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Time After Time), it premiered in Chicago in 2012 before strutting into London in 2015 and winning three Olivier Awards.

And now, after a seven-year break, it’s back! Bigger than before, and with more hype than an Italian fashion show. No pressure then!

The story opens by introducing us to Charlie Price, who unexpectedly inherits his family’s struggling Northampton shoe factory after his father’s death. As he wrestles with whether to sell the business and pursue a new life in London with his fiancée, he crosses paths with Lola, a flamboyant drag performer, whose high‑heeled boots keep breaking. Spotting an untapped market for sturdy but stylish footwear strong enough to support male drag artists, Charlie invites Lola to Northampton to help design a new line of steel-reinforced “Kinky Boots”.

As they race to present their new line at the Milan Fashion Show, Charlie and Lola clash, reconcile, and ultimately discover they have far more in common than they imagined. Their partnership challenges the conservative workforce, exposes prejudices and, ultimately, becomes a celebration of acceptance, reinvention, and the courage to change your mind about someone.

The star of the show is undoubtedly Strictly Come Dancing pro Johannes (Jo Jo) Radebe as Lola. His charisma, charm and sheer physical joy fit the persona of Lola perfectly, as she struts, shimmies and commands the stage with irresistible confidence. And Jo Jo can sing. Rather well, as it turns out! However, he’s surprisingly muted as Simon, the man behind the drag. That may be a deliberate choice: a way of heightening the contrast between the two personas or of showing how years of paternal bullying have hollowed out Simon’s self-belief. Or it may simply be because Jo Jo’s rendition of Lola is so gloriously OTT that everything else feels underdone. Whatever the reason, the gap between the alter egos is so pronounced that it shifts the spotlight away from the factory’s rescue and onto Lola’s magnificence. Lola is, of course, utterly magnificent – but that’s not meant to be the story’s central point.

Matt Cardle (who beat One Direction to win The X Factor in 2010) makes a perfectly serviceable Charlie: affable, earnest, and very much the bloke-next-door. His acting sometimes feels like it’s waiting politely for the next song, but once he starts singing, the audience remembers why he’s there. And there’s something genuinely endearing about his ordinariness.

The rest of the cast play their supporting parts well. The women in Charlie’s life (Billie-Kay as girlfriend Nicola and Courtney Bowman as colleague and would-be girlfriend, Lauren, who’s not subtle about her crush) draw their contrasting characters with clarity. And the rest of the factory crew chip in precisely when needed to propel the story forward. Special mention to Billy Roberts as Don, the “real man” who takes a stand against Lola at the start but ultimately rises to the challenge of accepting people for who they are. And extra special mention to Scott Paige as George, the loyal factory manager who, inspired by Lola, gleefully uncovers his more feminine side to delightfully comedic effect!

Framing it all is a convincingly lived-in Northampton shoe factory, designed by Robert Jones (Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, Glyndebourne, among others). He’s incorporated clever spaces for the manager’s office, a London flat and even a gents’ loo, allowing the quieter dialogue scenes to unfold without any loss of momentum. The set transforms neatly into the Milan Fashion Show but, for some reason, struggles to double as the London drag club, leaving the drag show looking suspiciously like it’s taking place in… a Northampton shoe factory!

But that’s a minor gripe when compared to the sound and, at times, the lighting.

The sound is often too thin, with both spoken and sung voices sounding tinny and echoey, making the words hard to catch. In a venue designed for music, this feels like a deliberate mixing choice, rather than a one-off glitch, which is a pity, given how strong the principal voices are. As for the lighting, there were a few moments of near-blinding excess, particularly at the fashion show where the house lights blazed so the audience could “join” the preparations. These are mercifully brief interludes in an otherwise nicely lit production.

In terms of pace, it’s slow to get going, but when Team Factory and Team Drag (aka Lola’s Angels) unite for the big production numbers, the production starts to come alive, particularly “Sex is in the Heel”, “Everybody Say Yeah” and “Raise You Up / Just Be”. The choreography by Leah Hill (Wicked, films 1 & 2) is sharp, clean and, most importantly, gives Jo Jo the space he needs to deliver the dance moments the audience came for. It just lacks a catchy earworm to take home as a souvenir.

Director Nickolai Foster (Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium, Grease at the Dominion Theatre) has pulled all these various strands together into an upbeat crowd-pleaser that many will enjoy. However, it just feels like there’s a magic ingredient missing. As if someone forgot to salt the potatoes!