Kinky Boots

Charlie inherits his late father's family shoe business only to find it is in financial difficulties. A chance encounter with Lola, a drag queen, inspires Charlie to make a desperate bid to save the business by producing versions of Lola's 'kinky' boots.

'Kinky Boots' is enjoying a successful run in Australia replicating similarly successful long runs on Broadway and in the West End and, no doubt, elsewhere. Almost without exception my friends who saw the show ahead of me praised it as one of the best, if not the best, musical they had experienced.

I'm on the outer here. I think the show is overrated. Yes, it is energetically performed and staged. Yes, the dance sequences are enjoyable and the show has its moments. However, it is very noisy. With one exception, I found the songs unremarkable and not at all memorable. The powerful amplification of the voices left much of the lyrics undecipherable. The plot is thin and a love story sub-plot is even thinner.

What saves the show and provides most of its entertainment is the character of Lola performed here by Callum Francis. Lola has all the best lines and Callum Francis, a performer with a terrific personality and loads of charisma, lifts the show at every appearance. He has the luck to deliver the one quiet song in the musical and that number provides one of its best moments.

The other main character, Charlie, is a thankless role for its performer, Toby Francis (no relation to Callum). Toby works hard but his Charlie has no chance against the exuberant Lola. Where Lola is full of colour, life, sympathy and humour, Charlie is bland, unsympathetic, uncaring and self centred.

It is not Charlie's fault. The show's characterisations gives Lola everything and leaves nothing for Charlie. The support cast throw themselves into their roles tirelessly. I can't blame any of the cast for my disappointment. It is the structure of the book, music and lyrics and elements of the production that left me unimpressed.

My overall rating would be lower but for Callum Francis' performance.

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