Now for something completely different! In January I joined two new groups, one writing-related (of which more later) and one for Bristol Bloggers which last night took me to the current Bristol Hippodrome production of the musical Kinky Boots. It proved to be not just a great night out but also a fascinating insight into a big show on tour.
For those who don’t know (and I didn’t until recently when I got to know the music in a zumba class!) Kinky Boots won the Olivier Awards best new musical in 2016 and continues to be hugely popular. It’s based on a true story and the songs are by Cindy Lauper The Hippodrome production is part of the national tour and in Bristol until March 9th. If you’re tempted tickets are from ATG.
Our evening started with a chat to some of the cast who are ‘swing’ characters i.e. understudies for a number of smaller roles – sometimes up to eleven parts have to be learned! The girls told us more about the show, their careers so far and how they were fitted for their very own boots. Then it was on to the back stage tour, incorporating costumes (boots all custom-made at £2000 per pair), travelators and replica sewing machines: a mixture of old-school theatricality and 21st century technology. We saw the set taking shape just before curtain-up and got to look out on the theatre from the stage.
“Old-school theatricality meets 21st century technology”
I admit I had never realised what a huge undertaking it is to tour a big show with most of the stage crew and all the musicians travelling with the cast. And if things felt a bit cramped back stage, Bristol Hippo is apparently is one of the more spacious venues!
And the show? The entire thing was as slick and professional as could be (which we appreciated all the more having seen the complications of the stage sets) and the cast were all terrific, with a special mention for Kayi Ushe in the role of Lola who encompasses comedy, tragedy and triumph. His singing was fabulous and stage presence mesmerising. Lola is a huge role and this portrayal left nothing wanting.
The rest of the cast, especially Demitri Lampra as the unreconstructed Don and Paula Lane as Lauren, all backed him up in great style and the ensemble of dancers were brilliant. My companion also reminded me to mention the band – yes, they were great too!
I’m a fairly recent convert to musical theatre but this is a great night out I can definitely recommend and when I found time to look through the programme there’s also an interesting history of the female impersonation tradition in theatre.
Many thanks to Bristol Hippodrome and the Kinky Boots Tour for providing tickets in return for an unbiased review. In Bristol until March 9th, tickets: https://www.atgtickets.com/bristol
Ali Bacon, Author 