Review: Kinky Boots Newcastle Musical Theatre Company
Kinky Boots – Newcastle Musical Theatre Company
25th July 2023
Ever since Newcastle Musical Theatre Company (NMTC) announced that they were taking on the production of ‘Kinky Boots’, I have been looking forward to it. Following their superb ‘Grease’ last year, I was sure that the audience were in for something special with this feel-good story from the pen of Tim Firth – and I was not in the least disappointed.
The story tells the tale of Charlie Price who is thrust into the running and ownership of his family’s shoe business – Price and Co following the unexpected death of his father. Unbeknown to him, the company is not doing well and a chance meeting with a drag queen, Lola, puts the seed of an idea in Charlie’s mind about how he may revive the company’s fortunes and save the jobs of the workers thereof.
Jack Hawkins and Gram Cumming are outstanding in the roles of Charlie Price and Lola aka Simon and they both sing the roles with heart, honesty, and warmth. The nuances that they bring to the roles is not to be underestimated. This takes significant acting skill. Charlie battles his own demons and Hawkins captures this sensitively with his acting and singing performances that certainly brought a tear to my eye more than once. It is very easy to overdo the role of Lola down to the cross-dressing element – and to play it for laughs. Cumming brings the sassy, comedic warmth to the character while maintaining the sense of torment and resentment Simon carries with him from the rejection he got from his father as a younger man.
Sandra Laidler, as director draws on her immense talent as a choreographer to bring the story to the audience and the showstopping dance numbers are superb. Land of Lola and the finale of act one are as accomplished as any professional production that I have seen.
The set, costumes and props are all appropriate and would not look out of place in a touring production. The sound, provided by Tyne Audio, was a crisp as a bell. The lighting is glitzy and glamourous as it should be when appropriate although I would suggest that the glitter balls are omitted during ‘Not My Father’s Son’ which, for me, requires a more subtle feel.
There is not a weak link in this performance from the two boys who played the younger incarnations of Charlie (Jude Gore) and Simon (Fletcher Gore) alongside Mr Price Sr (Ken Allen) and Simon’s Dad (Steve Tawse) through all the magnificent angels including Assistant Director Carl Luke and all the factory workers. Particular praise goes to Stu Liddle who performed the unenviable role of roughty toughty straight man, Don, and Helen Cash in her role as the equally unlikeable Nicola. One final shout out goes to Helen’s husband and father of Alexander who plays Young Lola in the alternate cast of kids, who stepped in a short notice to cameo as his wife’s own boss at this evening’s performance.
The performance would not be complete without the superb orchestra who were outstanding and brilliantly directed by Malcolm Moffat.
I have run out of superlatives for this production so I will draw it to a close and recommend that everyone gets along to see this tour-worthy production before it sashays out of The Theatre Royal on Saturday 29th July.
– Stephen Stokoe