‘Kinky Boots’ is the iconic Broadway and West End award-winning musical that tells the story of Charlie Price, a kind-natured shoe factory owner who forms an unlikely friendship with Drag Queen Lola to produce a line of high-heeled boots. This year Bare Productions bring this musical to the Edinburgh Fringe for the first time, running at The Sanctuary in Paradise Green till 13th August.
Mark Wilson is outstanding as Charlie; he truly delivers a portrayal that gives Killian Donnelly a run for his money. The naturalism in the emotion, comedy and joy is brilliant to watch on such an intimate stage. Throughout the production you are rooting for Charlie thanks to how lovable Mark makes him, however, when Charlie spirals into a place of darkness, there is a moment of isolation from the audience and the other characters. This is even more powerful than other actors have made it, and it works brilliantly. Mark’s vocals are sublime, during ‘Soul of a Man’, the audience are in awe of the talent showcased, it’s staggering. This is a fantastic performance from a very talented performer.
Frazer Beckles brings us a fierce and defiant Lola/Simon. Frazer does well to embrace Lola’s drag persona, giving us the camp and glamourous fashionista that Lola is. However, there were moments where you questioned Frazer’s confidence in the role, where dialogue was stumbled upon and key numbers were lacking the pizazz you expect. However, there are moments where Frazer outdoes the previous holders of this much-loved role and undoubtedly one of those moments is ‘Not My Father’s Son’, the raw emotion that Frazer portrays through his vocals is utterly stunning. With more confidence, Frazer could be an incredible Lola.
Rachael Anderson is hilarious as Lauren. Rachael brings her own spin on this brilliant character, and it really pays off, she is the perfect match to Mark’s Charlie. ‘The History of Wrong Guys’ is performed with such brilliant humour and energy; Rachael leaves the audience in stitches. This is a delightful portrayal from this great actress.
Lea Niven-Smith as Nicola provides the polar opposite to Lauren, as Charlie’s stern girlfriend. Lea does well to help the audience resonate with Nicola and see her frustrations clearly, therefore the conflict between her and Charlie is understood on both sides for the audience.
Russell Coid is brilliant as Don, he radiates humour as the no-nonsense hardman. This is the best performance of this character I’ve seen, there’s such humanity and depth to Don that you understand his hard exterior and thanks to the dynamics with the rest of the cast, his evolution is clear. Also, Russell strutting his stuff in the finale is an utter joy, he looks great in the boots!
This production features a really fun ensemble who put so much energy and love into this show, the ensemble of this production are; Geoff Morrison (George), Greg McCafferty-Thomson (Harry), Ciara McBrien (Pat), Shona Smith (Trish), Dominic Hoar (Mr. Price), David Bartholomew (Richard Bailey), Laura Green (Maggie), Charmain Leitch (Marge) & Mhairi Goodwin (Bernice).
Notable mention needs to go to the fabulously stunning band of Angels which absolutely slay the numbers they’re featured within, they are as follows; Bernardo Jr. Caimoy, Andrew Gardiner, Neil Robertson, Liam Bradbury, Kenneith Yong & Rory McKeon.
Dominic Lewis’ direction for this production embraces the glitz and glam of ‘Kinky Boots’ and also the joy that is so present within this musical. It really pays off and it’s clear the cast are very passionate about this musical. This is a stripped back production but you barely notice that thanks to the fast-paced transitions and smart blocking from Dom. There is only one small criticism from myself, which is a bit of a nitpick, however after ‘Hold Me in Your Heart’, I wish there was a stand in for Lola to address that line to, all the emotion in that number would pay off for that interaction rather than playing it to the audience. Apart from that, Dominic has beautifully directed this production of ‘Kinky Boots’.
Felicity Halfpenny’s choreography for this musical is superb. The musical numbers are lifted brilliantly with energetic dance routines which work perfectly for the characters. A notable mention has to be the alternative choreography for ‘Everybody Say Yeah’, it’s ingenious and really delivers, Felicity proves you don’t need running machines to make this musical number spectacular.
Finlay Turnball is the musical director for this production, he makes Cyndi Lauper’s original music sound fabulous, with notable highlights in the form of ‘Step One’, ‘Take What You Got’ and ‘The History of Wrong Guys’. Some of the numbers do lack energy from the band, such as ‘Sex is in The Heel’ seeming quite lackluster compared to other productions where this is a high-energy showstopper, the band sounds fantastic but it slows down at points which usually burst with energy. If they cranked the volume and timing up a notch it would match the energy supplied on stage by the cast. However, ‘Raise You Up/Just Be’ shows Finlay’s ability to produce a showstopper that blows the audience away.
Bare Production’s ‘Kinky Boots’ is a fabulous musical, bursting with colour and life-affirming messages. The cast in this production are superb with a well-thought-out creative vision. With a few tweaks, this will be a stonking hit.
‘Kinky Boots’ is sold out, however an hour before each show, some tickets are released, get those tickets here:
Theatre Scotland 
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