Tamworth Kinky Boots production frocking fabulous

Kinky Boots is the latest impressive undertaking from Tamworth Musical Society - and boy/girl/undecided, is it a cracker.

This reviewer went in with an idea of the plot and no idea of the score (a nice impartiality sometimes) but was quickly taken with our local production.

It tells the story of a shoe factory boss and a drag queen, but with themes of struggling under familial and societal expectations, and the challenge to walk a mile in someone else's shoes, it's easy to see reflections in all of our lives.

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The cast all work hard in this very physical show, directed by Stephen Carter and choreographed by Sequoya Oldman.

They're led ably by Luke Stevenson as reluctant factory heir Charlie and Ryan Kenyon as the beautifully extravagant but vulnerable Lola/Simon.

After learning his late father's business is in deep straits and he will have to fire his staff - many childhood friends - Charlie tries to intervene when he comes upon some London thugs giving drag queen Lola a hard time in the street.

So starts an unlikely friendship and a lightbulb moment on how to save the factory: designing and producing a line of women's shoes for men.

Kenyon and Stevenson have some really nice chemistry, leading to some truly touching moments of connection (Not My Father's Son).

The latter especially shines in a one-sided phone call near the climax of the show, when he comes to a couple of epiphanies about who his new friend really is and what he represents.

Kenyon strikes a delectable balance of camp masculinity, played to perfection in the number What a Woman Wants.

And although it could be said the singing, dancing and acting talent is fairly evenly distributed across the cast, quite a lot is asked of Kenyon and he delivers.

His energy is admirable, as he backs up a couple of times during the show with two numbers in quick succession.

There's a well-crafted performance as the intolerant factory foreman Don from Ben Sutton, who rocks a beard, authentic accent and memorable change of heart.

There is an adorably quirky performance by Tiana Varcoe as Lauren, who inconveniently finds herself falling for her boss (The History of Wrong Guys).

A good supporting cast including Adam Petronaitis, Kristie Rabbitt, Ann Walsh, Tina Dawson, Natalie Creighton play their roles with just the right amount of flair, and bounce off other actors really well.

And those Angels - phew. No doubt they were the envy of many a woman in the audience with those pins, pipes and dance moves. I'm told each had his own dresser backstage, and looking at those astounding boots alone, I'm not surprised. Special mention to Ethan Crosby-Wolfe for a rocking turn as an impromptu boxing match referee.

The award-winning score by pop icon Cyndi Lauper is damn catchy, and delivered with so much life-affirming joy by this hardworking and bubbly cast, you will find it bouncing around in your head for days.

The synth-disco number The Sex Is In The Heel is a standout earworm. And it's all backed by an amazingly versatile band, led by musical director Tim Godden.

Let your fingers do the walking to the online box office and strut on down to the Capitol asap for a fun and joyful night at Kinky Boots. Just don't wear burgundy boots, like I did. Trust me on this.

Kinky Boots continues with performances on Sunday, Wednesday, Friday and closing night Saturday.