For regular visitors to this website and readers of our reviews, you would have seen that my esteemed colleague Chris Omaweng reviewed this very show just fourteen days ago, so why am I back there reviewing it again? Well there’s a twist as this isn’t really a theatre review but a food one! Colonel Saab, an Indian fine dining restaurant just a two-minute walk from the Coliseum (even in high-heeled boots), has come up with a Kinky Boots-inspired menu, so I’ve channelled my inner Grace Dent and here are my thoughts.
The menu states: Each course has been thoughtfully crafted to reflect the essence of the show. From playful beginnings to indulgent finales, the menu unfolds like a performance where every dish plays its part. The beginning is, in fact, a whisky-based cocktail with the words Kinky Boots dusted over it. We then had an amuse bouche (my mouth was indeed amused), which was a delicious Guava cone heel, red raspberry sauce, tamarind chutney, spiced cream and crisp noodles. This is followed by a choice of two starters, one chicken, one beetroot, with titles such as Land Of Lola – I had a taste of both, and they were both excellent, quite delicate in flavour and not too spicy. The mains included a beef dish, Everybody Say Yeah and Hold Me In Your Heart – a tangy baby aubergine curry. There was also a chicken dish, but I didn’t make a note of what song title it was named after. Like the starters, the mains were all very tasty and surprisingly (well for my palate) not that spicy. The piece de resistance was the dessert called Raise You Up (it did me anyway), featuring Rabri Chantilly cream and pineapple jalebi, pistachio kulfi, crisp tuile, and pistachio-infused oil. It was all served by welcoming and informative staff in a very interesting and quirky restaurant – no flocked wallpaper here.
As for the show, I’ve seen Kinky Boots a couple of times, the last time in 2017, and I really enjoyed it both times. I loved the story and the balance between the brashness of the big numbers and the pathos of the story of two boys and their relationship with their fathers. Now, in the enormous space of the Coliseum (the biggest stage in London), the set is amazing and reaches up into the rafters, but I felt it had lost some of the pathos and the gentleness. It doesn’t help that the band was so loud, and some of the lyrics are lost at times. Also, on such a big set, a lot of the quieter moments are staged at the back of the stage, and a lot of the intimacy is lost, which is a shame. I think one of the reasons is that this production is all about television star power – Johannes Radebe, who plays Lola, made his name on Strictly Come Dancing, and Matt Cardle, who plays Charlie, won The X Factor a few years ago, so there’s lots of whooping and hollering when they take the stage. Also as stars they play “a boy from Clacton and a boy from Northamptonshire” as boys from South Africa and London respectively – I guess that’s star power for you. I suggest you read Chris’s review for an overview of the whole production.
All in all, I enjoyed my Kinky Boots experience both at Colonel Saab and the show itself – you can’t help but enjoy the excellent songs and the sheer joy and exuberance of the cast, even if I think this production has its flaws. As a word of warning, it’s not a cheap night out. With stalls tickets for the show averaging well over £100 and the meal £75 per head, you’ll need to dig deep, but if you fancy a big night out to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary, then why not – as a song from the show and one of the dishes in the meal cry out: Everybody Say Yeah.
Review by Alan Fitter
To celebrate the brand new production of the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award winning musical, fans can step up their pre-theatre dining at the opulent Trafalgar Square restaurant, Colonel Saab, with a £75 four-course menu, including cocktail and amuse bouche.
It’s a one-minute stride from your dining table to the London Coliseum to fall head over heels with Strictly Come Dancing’s Johannes Radebe and Matt Cardle, in this joyous story about a struggling shoe factory owner who partners with drag queen, Lola to save the business.
The experience starts with the KINKY BOOTS whisky-based cocktail, with elderflower, pomegranate, and raspberry.
This is followed by the Sex is in the Heel amuse bouche, featuring Guava cone heels, red raspberry sauce, tamarind chutney, spiced cream and crisp noodles.
Choose between two starters, including the Land of Lola – Jimikand and Beetroot Tikki – and two mains, like the Everybody Say Yeah (Beef Pepper Fry) and Hold Me In Your Heart, a tangy baby aubergine curry.
The edible story concludes with Raise You Up, a sweet finish of Rabri Chantilly cream and pineapple jalebi, pistachio kulfi, crisp tuile, and pistachio-infused oil.
Lola – Johannes Radebe
Charlie Price – Matt Cardle
Alternate Lola – Tosh Wanogho-Maud
Lauren – Courtney Bowman
Nicola – Billie-Kay
Don – Billy Roberts
Pat – Rachel Izen
Trish – Jessica Daley
Mr Price / Angel – Jonathan Dryden Taylor
George – Scott Paige
Harry – Liam Doyle
Simon Sr and Angel – Nay-Nay
Ensemble and Resident Director – Andy Barke
Angel and Ensemble – Keith Alexander, Nathan Daly, Kofi Dennis, Ru Fisher, Darnell Mathew-James, Ashley-Jordon Packer
Angel, Ensemble and Dance Captain – Liam McEvoy
Ensemble – Kathryn Barnes, Cerys Burton, Kaya Farrugia
On-Stage Swing and Fight Captain – Cole Dunn
On-Stage Swing – Annell Odartey
Off-Stage Swing, Associate Choreographer and Fight Captain – Jordan Isaac
Off-Stage Swing – Tori McDougall
Young Charlie – Archie John Allen, Joshua Beswick, Louis Cohen, Callum George
Young Lola – Sean Garcia Madiba, Noah Ronkainen Phillips, Rio-Blake Power
Book by Harvey Fierstein
Music and Lyrics by Cyndi Lauper
Original Broadway Arrangements and Orchestrations by Stephen Oremus
Direction by Nikolai Foster
Choreography by Leah Hill
Set Design by Robert Jones
Lighting Design by Ben Cracknell
Sound Design by Adam Fisher
Costume Design by Robert Jones and Tom Rogers
Musical Supervision by George Dyer
Casting by Harry Blumeanu CDG
Wigs, Hair and Make Up Design by Campbell Young Associates
Associate Direction by Michaela Powell
KINKY BOOTS THE MUSICAL
London Coliseum
17 March to 11 July 2026
Click here to book for the Kinky Boots Dining Experience
