By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN? Thursday 19 March, opens 29 March and runs through 11 July 2026 RUNTIME: 140 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Condragtulations to Strictly professional dancer Radebe who makes the transition to West End leading man with perfect poise and in fine voice.

• Read on for reasons including how this is Radebe’s musical theatre debut and he’s the perfect fit for this show

He’s big shoes to fill because his predecessor as drag queen Lola in this musical co-written by Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein – Matt Henry (The Devil Wears Prada, Dominion) – won the Olivier for Best Actor In A Musical for it.

Our big worry going in was that the show’s best number – the Whitney Houston-esque 11pm showstopper Hold Me In Your Heart – requires a strong vocal we weren’t sure Radebe possessed but he pulled it out of the bag here.

What Radebe brings to this musical is the ability to look incredibly statuesque in heels but also to move with a dancer’s fluidity while sashaying away as sparky drag queen Lola whose unlikely friendship with the heir to a shoe firm sees it saved by the titular Kinky Boots.

Unbelievably, it’s based on a true story set in Northampton and we 1st saw the Broadway transfer twice a decade ago on its original West End run at the Adelphi.

Former X Factor winner Matt Cardle plays the heir to Price and Sons shoe firm and impresses with some big vocals of his own in 1 of the show’s highlights Soul Of A Man (see what they did there?).

But it’s Courtney Bowman (Legally Blonde, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) with the quirky and very Cyndi Lauper-esque The History Of Wrong Guys who has the show’s funniest song.

Radebe and Bowman have been in this touring production for a while and we’re loving how this spring stop in London is attracting a crowd to a prestigious mainstream venue catering for the popularity of drag for a predominantly female audience whooping with glee at how good Radebe is.

The world’s a bit tougher now for the LGBTQ community than a decade ago but musicals like this celebrate it well and Radebe is a perfect addition to the West End.

We’ve even read that Cyndi Lauper has said there were plans to turn the musical into a film and we couldn’t wait to see it.

Kinky Boots is Radebe’s musical theatre debut and he’s the perfect fit for this show.

• Main pictures via Facebook and Matt Crockett courtesy Kinky Boots Tickets
• Have you seen Kinky Boots before and what did you think of it? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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