Review Round-Up: KINKY BOOTS at the London Coliseum

Kinky Boots, inspired by a true story, follows Charlie Price, a Northampton shoe factory owner who saves his family business by collaborating with a drag queen, Lola, to create a line of boots for drag queens. Originating as a 2005 film, the musical features a book by Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by pop icon Cyndi Lauper, is directed by Nikolai Foster, and stars Strictly Come Dancing's Johannes Radebe as Lola and X-Factor's Matt Cardle as Charlie.

What are critics saying about Kinky Boots?

The Stage

“Unapologetic firecracker energy”

★★★★

Reviewer: Paul Vale

"X Factor alumnus Matt Cardle brings an earthiness to Charlie, who has inherited the family business and struggles to see its future. Cardle leans into Charlie’s big musical numbers with ease, but ultimately, it’s his relationship with the unlikely muse Lola that shapes this musical. The Clacton-born drag queen Lola is given a new lease of life in the shape of Strictly Come Dancing star Johannes Radebe. In Foster’s production, Lola is a goddess of defiance and rebellion. Radebe amps up the dance and doubles down on fabulous. That could imbalance the piece, but it actually brings cohesion to a musical that’s always struggled with its own identity."

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London Box Office

"A jolly good time"

★★★★

Reviewer: Stuart King

"Everyone learns lessons about becoming less judgemental and adopting a more accepting approach to others and there are several rousing, colourful and sassy dance numbers. The songs are fairly forgettable, but who doesn't love a bit of wow factor on a big stage? Radebe is effervescent and engaging in the lead although I struggled with his South African accent on a few occasions. Aside from a few wobbly follow-spots the set transition from dowdy factory to glam runway holds up very well and everyone gives their absolute all to ensure the audience have a jolly good time. What's not to like?"

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WhatsOnStage

"Rebooted and rambunctious"

★★★

Reviewer: Alun Hood

"Kinky Boots sanitises and glosses up its setting and characters, turning personal and professional struggles into palatable popular entertainment, but its huge heart is undeniable and the message regarding accepting people as they are will never not be relevant. Foster’s production is more workmanlike than inspired but Radebe’s star power, Cardle’s warm magnetism and Bowman’s comic joie de vivre keep it buoyantly watchable."

Read the review here.

Johannes Radebe in KINKY BOOTS. Photo by Matt Crockett.

The Guardian

"Johannes Radebe is a perfect fit"

★★★

Reviewer: Lyndsey Winship

"Director Nikolai Foster has everyone do and say the right things, but the show does not have enough moments that lift beyond the literal. When that does happen – for example, when Lola and blokeish antagonist Don (Billy Roberts) are about to duke it out in a boxing match, but first launch into a brief, sizzlingly confrontational pasodoble, the stage lights up. Radebe isn’t a trained actor, and although he has a rich tone to his voice, singing doesn’t come as naturally to him as dancing. But the stratospheric charisma he has when he’s moving is rare: full beam at the audience, his face animates every moment, and he throws some Latin flair into Leah Hill’s upfront and versatile choreography. In contrast, Radebe delivers a moving rendition of Not My Father’s Son in almost stillness, eyes closed, and it’s a heartfelt moment."

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The Telegraph

"Radebe brings panache to Kinky Boots"

★★★

Reviewer: Tim Robey

"Strictly’s statuesque Johannes Radebe doesn’t just walk off with the whole shebang but twirls, struts and all but stomps the stage to smithereens in the role of drag queen Lola. This is a sensational West End debut from the South African dancer extraordinaire, who turns out to be a more than passable singer, too. But when Matt Cardle, the 2010 X Factor champ with a heap of musical theatre experience, is moping about as the cobbler Charlie Price, the ragged stitches of a so-so show are there for all to see. Cyndi Lauper’s score certainly has its moments. Sure, the 1980s songstress, inspiring some wacky denim outfits for the queens, gives us nothing on the level of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun – that’s too tall an order. She still serves up a clutch of glitter-strewn power ballads you can click your fingers to, amid some obvious filler."

Read the review here.

The Times

"Johannes Radebe makes for a winning drag queen"

★★★

Reviewer: Clive Davis

"As you’d expect, the physically imposing Radebe nails all the moves in Leah Hill’s high-energy choreography and brings a winning vulnerability to a character who has had to come to terms with being an outsider. Cyndi Lauper’s songs have stood the test of time. What a Woman Wants, with its echoes of Gotan Project techno beats, delivers crisp tango flourishes. Radebe’s voice is a little exposed on the soul-baring Act II number Hold Me in Your Heart but there’s compensation in the presence of the fiery Courtney Bowman as the lovelorn assembly line worker Lauren. Bowman, who made an indelible impression in the Regent’s Park version of Legally Blonde, blasts a path through her confessional number The History of Wrong Guys and remains a bubbly comic presence throughout. Matt Cardle wins our affection too as Charlie Price, the factory owner who ends up taking his fancy new wares to the Milan catwalk."

Read the review here.

The Evening Standard

"Johannes Radebe is the saving grace of this mediocre show"

★★

Reviewer: Nick Curtis

"Lauper’s songs are tuneful enough but too many rely on bog-standard “feed the fire/take you higher/light you up like a livewire” rhymes and there’s no standout number. Fierstein’s book is packed with awkward gorblimey English-isms and quite a lot of old-fashioned language about “transvestites” and “nancy boys”. Perhaps the author of Torch Song Trilogy thought Kinky Boots should still represent the attitudes of its original period. But the show looks antiquated in light of the changes in gender politics and in the popularity of drag in the last 14 years."

Read the review here.

Did you love Kinky Boots? Keen to see what other new shows are coming to London this month? Check out our list of the 8 Best New London Theatre Openings in April 2026. And if you want to stay up to date with all the exciting news and gossip in the West End, tune into our monthly round up of This Month in the West End so you never miss a thing. 

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