As a brand-new tour of Kinky Boots struts its way around the UK and Ireland, Johannes Radebe is making his acting debut as drag queen Lola. “It’s daunting and nerve-wracking,” admits the Strictly Come Dancing pro extraordinaire and the star of his own dance shows Freedom and Freedom Unleashed, “but at the same time it’s really exciting. I think I have been an actor in some way or other across my career, because I’m a storyteller. Now I get to say and sing how I feel as well as expressing myself through movement and dance.”
The high heels are no problem. “I’d worn heels in my house without anybody witnessing it for many years until Strictly gave me the platform to be fabulous and kinky in front of the world,” Johannes grins.
The singing has proven to be a bigger challenge but one that he’s risen to. “I was quite discouraged as a child with my singing,” Johannes laughs. “My friends and family would say ‘Please shut up, you sound like a sheep!’ But when I heard that this show was a possibility I started taking lessons and it’s been a beautiful thing to do.”
With a score by Cyndi Lauper and a book by Harvey Fierstein, Kinky Boots is based on the 2005 film of the same name (which was in turn inspired by a true story). After a pre-Broadway run in Chicago, it opened on Broadway in 2013 and in the West End in 2015. The Tony, Olivier and Grammy-winning show has also been performed in Canada, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, and has toured the US and the UK.
Produced by ROYO and Curve, the new Made at Curve production is touring the UK and Ireland until late July and is directed by Nikolai Foster. The story revolves around Charlie Price, whose life is proving hard and whose relationship is on the rocks after he inherits his family’s failing shoe factory in Northampton. Then he meets drag queen Lola, whose sparkle, sass and unsteady heels might just hold the answer for saving Charlie’s struggling business.
To paraphrase one of the show’s songs, it’s a musical that raises people up and celebrates everyone’s individuality, with Johannes noting: “It’s so inspirational, with a universal message in a story and songs that leave people feeling happy and joyful. Maybe their minds will be changed by it too. I find that quite incredible.”
Asked to describe Lola, he beams: “Nikolai said to me during rehearsals ‘What you have to remember is that Lola is a matriarch’ and there’s no better way to describe her. She’s a loving and nurturing character, which is really up my street because that’s my language.”
Having spoken candidly in interviews about the bullying he suffered as a child for being gay in the South African township of Zamdela, Johannes adds: “She’s insecure and scarred, like many of us – me included – but she’s also very bold, confident and powerful. The premise of the show is about the acceptance of oneself and of others and I can relate to that so, so much because it’s been my personal fight. I hope with what I do in my career that I influence the world in a positive way, just by saying ‘Yes, we are all different but we can live as one’.”
He didn’t hesitate to say yes to Kinky Boots. “It’s been a long-held dream of mine. I came across the movie first and it spoke to my search for belonging as a young boy growing up in a township. I’ve always looked for spaces that could accommodate me or stories that resonate with me.”
Dan Partridge plays Charlie Price and says of the show: “The main thing that drew me to it was the exploration and unpacking of masculine identities. It’s something that I’m personally quite passionate about – the way that men communicate with one another and the way that men identify in a community.”
In the story Charlie is a working class guy whose eyes are opened up to a wider world when he bumps into Lola, sees her perform in a London club and stumbles on the idea of a niche market for high heels specifically made for drag queens. “So you have these two polar opposite characters,” Dan continues, “and you see how those worlds can cross and how they, and indeed we, can learn from one another.”
The actor has worked with Nikolai before, when he played Magaldi in Evita and Danny Zuko in Grease, and he sings the director’s praises. “Working with him was another drawing point for me. He allows you to collaborate as an actor, as opposed to a lot of directors who will just tell you what to do. It’s very much like we are creating something together and he really allows you to have a voice.”
As for the character of Charlie, Partridge days: “He’s complicated. When we meet him he doesn’t think very highly of himself, then throughout the show he finds his confidence. He’s small- town-minded but he learns to open his mind and his heart. Once he meets Lola, his world is turned upside down and he’s a brilliant character to play because there’s so much to him.”
Dan’s other credits include Cats and Hairspray on tour and Mamma Mia! in the West End, so he’s no stranger to musical theatre. Asked what makes Kinky Boots special, he smiles: “As Cyndi herself described the show to me, it’s like a happy pill that makes people want to come back for more. You see the ugly side of bigotry and prejudice, then you see that actually everyone has a right to identify how they want. That journey is really beautiful.”
Factory worker Lauren, who’s been unlucky in love and has a crush on Charlie, is played by Courtney Bowman. “She’s really relatable to a lot of people,” Courtney says of the character, “especially if they’ve had tragic times in their love lives. She’s such a fun working class girl, so it’s kind of like holding up a mirror to myself, and that also makes her great fun to play. She’s a bit weird at times, awkward and quirky.”
The winner of a WhatsOnStage Award for Best Performer in a Musical for Legally Blonde has also starred in Pretty Woman, Six and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. She played Lauren in a concert version of Kinky Boots and laughs: “That was a bit crazy because we only had a week to put the show together. Then when we performed it I was running off into the wings and looking at the script before running back on again. Getting to spend more time with Lauren now is great because I can really sink my teeth into it.”
What does Bowman think makes Kinky Boots such a great piece of musical theatre? “For one thing, there’s Cyndi’s fantastic music and lyrics. Then there’s Harvey’s book, which has so much heart and grit. I love how Nikolai has stripped it all back to focus on the core of the story. Everyone will leave feeling moved and uplifted.”
The themes, she feels, are universal. “It tackles prejudice and homophobia, but’s also about family and acceptance. Everyone’s got a pair of boots that they’re dealing with, whether literally or metaphorically. The message of tolerance and self-belief is delivered brilliantly by Cyndi’s music and Harvey’s dialogue.”
Those are the things that appealed to choreographer Leah Hill. “The story, the music and the message all drew me to it,” she says. “It’s really clever in how it challenges audiences to talk more about certain things, whether it’s to do with sexuality, identity, gender, race, different communities and cultures. The beautiful thing about theatre is that it’s a platform to start conversations.”
Hill triumphed at the Black British Theatre Awards for her choreographic debut with the Hope Mill Theatre’s revival of The Wiz. Her other credits include Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and Fiery Angel, and she was assistant choreographer on the smash hit films Wicked and Aladdin.
The challenge with Kinky Boots is: “In the original production it was so beautifully done that it makes you wonder ‘What could I possibly add?’ But I get to make it bespoke for the actors I’m working with and in some ways Nikolai’s approach is more visceral. This version is a new take, so we’re creating different languages for these different communities of people.”
The music, she adds, is priceless. “It’s gorgeous and it’s really exciting. It is such a feel-good show and what we’re doing within that is trying to get people to really listen to the lyrics. I feel like I can contribute to that with movement, by heightening certain things.”
The show is set in the mid-2000s, before RuPaul’s Drag Race came along and drag was less mainstream. “And it wasn’t as polished per se as it is now,” Leah points out, “so that’s something which has been really interesting to dig into. The stakes for drag performers back then were higher, it was perhaps a bit more dangerous for those communities to perform, and I want to pay homage to that. It’s beautiful where drag has landed, but it’s important to show where it started.”
