I was over the moon when I was invited to Edinburgh Playhouse in December to review the musical Kinky Boots which was there over the festive season. It’s still there this weekend with some tickets still on offer if you want to check it out, or you can find out when it is in a theatre near you: http://www.kinkybootsthemusical.co.uk.

This was my first experience of Kinky Boots, having never seen the stage production or movie before, and I have to say that I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I’m a big fan of musicals, though, so I was filled with anticipation as I sat impatiently on my delayed train to Edinburgh.

Let me get this out of the way now – Kinky Boots is an absolutely brilliant production and I caught myself smiling ridiculously through much of the first half.

So what is the story of Kinky Boots?

Charlie Price is the son of a famous English shoemaker has absolutely no interest in making shoes, despite his Dad’s dream’s that he will one day take over the family business. Not long after eloping to London with his girlfriend his father passes away and Charlie is forced to go home and take care of business. He comes to realise that the factory is failing, but for all of the workers this business has become their way of life. He reckons there’s nothing he can do except hand people their P45…that is until a bump in the head from drag queen Lola. His encounter and ensuing friendship with Lola leads him and the factory staff on the adventure of a lifetime to save the factory – can they really go from making old man shoes to making heels for men?

Of course, it’s much more than just a story about shoes, there’s a whole lot of self discovery along the way from various characters.

So as soon as I say drag queens you probably realise that this might not be your granny’s musical, but the thing is that while it tastefully opens the audience to drag culture it is not overwhelmingly crude (which I’m sure many of us know drag can be). Naturally there are some homophobic characters who get some pretty big epiphanies as the show goes on – it’s just a whole lot of heartwarming to be honest.

Oh yeah – and it’s all based on a true story!

There are laughs, there are tears, there are moments that kind of take your breath away – as somebody who is privileged enough to have seen many musicals on stage I can honestly say that for me it ticked all of the boxes.

Now of course, the truly make or break aspect of a musical is…the music!

Here are my two favourite songs from the soundtrack (which I have been listening to on repeat, of course) but the reality is that almost every song is one of my favourite songs, it’s THAT kind of soundtrack…

I thoroughly recommend a listen to the soundtrack, even if you haven’t seen the show!

So in summary, I would say that this show is a good mix of fun, heart warming and heart break and I am desperately hoping that I get the opportunity to see it again when it comes to Aberdeen later in the year! It might even now be one of my favourite musicals – it really is that good, I still smile when I think about it!

*The tickets for this review were gifted but all opinions are my own. Thank you very much to Edinburgh Playhouse and Kinky Boots UK for making this amazing opportunity possible!*