Johannes Radebe to make West End musical debut in KINKY BOOTS at London Coliseum
Photo credit: Charlie Flint
Following a record-breaking UK, Ireland and European tour, it has been announced Johannes Radebe will make his West End debut, reprising the role of Lola, in the brand-new production of the Olivier, Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning KINKY BOOTS The Musical, which will strut into the spectacular London Coliseum from 17 March-11 July 2026, with a week of previews at Curve, Leicester from 3 March.
KINKY BOOTS The Musical features a book by Harvey Fierstein and a score by Cyndi Lauper, and is directed by Curve’s Artistic Director Nikolai Foster.
When Charlie Price inherits his family’s failing shoe factory, saving the company – and his love life – feels like an impossibly tall order. Until, that is, he meets Lola, the sparkling, larger-than-life drag queen with the unlikeliest of answers. Can they work together to reboot the business and save the day? Perhaps they just need to help each other – and everyone around them – to stand a little taller…
Johannes Radebe said: “I left my township in Zamdela at the age of 21 to dance in the ensemble on a cruise ship. Every night we did ABBA. That was my dream come true. Never then, nor since then, was it in my wildest dreams that I would have the opportunity to star in a musical in London’s West End. And not just any musical - my favourite musical. Kinky Boots. My involvement in Kinky Boots has been six years in the making, and Lola was the only role I ever wanted to play. Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper have written a show about accepting people for who they are, and the love our production has received across the UK has been overwhelming, beautiful and life changing. The theatre community has welcomed me, and I am having the time of my life. It is the greatest honour and responsibility to bring this show to the world famous, iconic London Coliseum. I’ll be walking in the footsteps of theatre and entertainment giants who have performed on that stage, and I’ll be doing it in my own sequined pair of red leather Kinky Boots. I cannot wait! Thank you and see you next year.”
KINKY BOOTS features choreography by Leah Hill, set and costume design by Robert Jones, Lola and the Angels’ costume design by Tom Rogers, musical supervision by George Dyer, lighting by Ben Cracknell, sound by Adam Fisher, casting by Harry Blumenau CDG CDA, and wigs, hair and make-up design by Campbell Young Associates.
Tickets for KINKY BOOTS will go on sale on 15 July, with further info here.
