Kinky Boots

Site visit - May 14, 2018

Throughout my childhood, I spent my time in performance arts programs – theatre, music, and dance. I have been to many Broadway shows in New York and wanted to experience one here in London. When my flat mates and I tried to decide a show, we were between Kinky Boots and Mamma Mia!. Ultimately, we all decided that Kinky Boots was the better choice because Mamma Mia! is available on DVD and Kinky Boots is set in Britain. We ended up buying lower priced tickets, but still got great seats. For our 30 pounds, we could see the entire stage and were not too far away. The theatre was packed – I did not see any open seats – but I also could not see the upper balcony.

I was lucky growing up in the sense that I never had to witness much discrimination for any group, whether it be sexuality, race, economics, or gender. Perhaps this is because I grew up as a minority and being a part of both a very open family and an inclusive school district, but nonetheless, I am glad that I have never had to experience discrimination first hand. However, Kinky Boots shows one of the types of discrimination that occurred in Britain. The musical shows how those in the suburbs do not view drag queens as men, even though they really are. The men in the shoe factory treat Lola poorly, constantly saying crass remarks. In my mind, I had believed the 90s to already start to include others who did not necessarily fit into the “normal” idea of a man or woman. The part of the musical based in London show that Lola is mainly accepted, but I suppose that since Northampton is a suburb, it is still adapting as there were no crossdressers in the town before. This does remind me of some towns near me. I believe I lived close enough to New York City where this was not as large of a problem, but as I travel further north at home, away from the city, towns do tend to be less diverse and more prejudiced. I think that this idea is paralleled all around the world – large cities, such as London and New York City, are more inclusive and have modernist views whereas suburban and rural areas are often more traditionalist and biased.

An extremely important point made in the show is the similarities between Charlie and Lola. Both men had complicated relationships with their fathers due to their different wants. Charlie never had much interest in shoes, while his father loved them and considered them “the most beautiful thing in the world.” Lola’s father was a professional boxer who wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. However, after showing up in drag to a match, Lola’s father disowned him. While not everyone has complicated relationships with their parents, this section of the musical shows that all people have something in common and are not as different than they believe. I think this is an extremely important point that is made because if people everywhere were to realize this, there would be much less conflict in the world. Conflict in my mind is normally caused by differences and fearing these differences; by knowing everyone has something in common with everyone there would be less conflict. This also contributes to the scene where Lola and male workers who had harassed her enter a “better man” challenge. While the male worker challenged Lola to a boxing match to prove his manliness, Lola challenged him to accept someone for who they are. This is an important quality for a man or a woman. Acceptance is also key in solving conflicts since oppressing or trying to change someone will only cause them to lash out and become angry. Acceptance creates a loving atmosphere, which, therefore, creates a loving world. Kinky Boots teaches many lessons on how to interact with others while being an interesting and upbeat show. I was not expecting these lessons to arise in the show before watching. I originally believed most of the show would be drag dancing, however, I was pleasantly surprised. I am glad the musical delved much deeper into the ideas of diversity and acceptance – since it has become such a world-renowned show, many people are receiving these messages. I believe that if everyone that watched the show took these messages to heart and spread them to at least one other person, the world would be a much more loving place.