A Kinky Boots ‘to remember’ – Newtion Matthews on new revival

Newtion Matthews always had an inkling that he might get the chance to play Lola someday.

“I put it out in the ether, and I manifested,” he says while we’re catching up in rehearsals for the new Made at Curve revival of Kinky Boots.

As the alternate Lola (primarily played by Johannes Radebe making his musical theatre debut), Matthews joins a long and inspiring line of performers to play the drag queen seemingly sent by angels to help save a local factory and its workers.

“I watched every YouTube clip that I could of Billy Porter playing the role on Broadway, then my brother in the industry, Matt Henry, blessed us all in the West End,” Matthews says.

“For me, the songs I love talk to fatherhood and family,” the self-confessed “mummy’s boy” Matthews admits: “I love my family, but they don’t really love my queerness.”

In that regard, the musical has had a healing effect on the performer. He recalls: “When I first heard Matt sing ‘My Father’s Son’, I cried like it was therapy.”

It isn’t the only number in the Cyndi Lauper-Harvey Fierstein musical that makes an impact: “I love ‘Hold Me in Your Heart’, the sentiment of wanting to be a family member, even when your family doesn’t always appreciate what you’re offering them in love is what resonates for me the most.” He says, openly and honestly. At this point, our talk takes an unexpected, but welcome, emotive turn, and we pause for a moment to share a hug and some comfort. Hearing what this musical and responsibility means to the performer is a true privilege.

“We’re all in a process of unlearning from childhood. I grew up super religious and I still find those rhetorics coming up in certain places in this masculine world. And when those ideologies come forward, I have to remind myself that some of the most fabulously strong women have really masculine tendencies, and some of the most fabulous men have really feminine qualities. Now, you blend that all up in a gorgeous Lola palooza. Well, that’s what Kinky Boots is about.”

During our time together, Matthews talks about RuPaul’s idea of chosen family within the queer community, excitedly paying respects to fellow company members, including Dan Partridge and Courtney Bowman, and how they’ve become a “pocket of safety” for one another.

“On a happier note,” he says, “living as an angel and doing ‘Sex is in the Heel’ and ‘Land of Lola’ is such joy, such unapologetica, as I call it.”

Earlier, I saw Matthews rehearse his Angel part, Trinni Ann Tobago, and it was the most fun. Director Nikolai Foster has encouraged each of the Angels to imagine a story and bring themselves to the roles. But on the flip side, Matthews additionally plays Lola’s unaccepting and bitter father. The character is more heavy work boot than a kinky red heel.

“I think we can all relate to having to work through the prejudices we see represented by Simon Senior,” he starts, “I certainly have. As a queer person, I’ve had to be on top of in the past when the gaytriarchy was not always as encouraging as it should be about our trans and non-binary siblings. And as I’ve stepped into my nonspecific gender identity, I’ve really wanted to make sure that I champion and take responsibility for that.”

Confessing to living life “out loud and fabulously,” he says, “that’s the part of me that is very much Lola, darling.”

“And I have a responsibility in that regard because somewhere out there is a young queer child and little Black boy and little Black girl who need an uncle or an auntie, or an unctie.”

Matthews explains: “There are so many disparate energies trying to convince us that children are in danger. That there’s an agenda to make everyone queer, gay, trans, non-binary, which there isn’t. The gay agenda is for everyone just to have equal rights. Equal rights doesn’t take away from anyone else’s rights. It just means we all live on an equal playing field.”

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For the performer, Kinky Boots needs to be seen on stage now and there’s no better time to take the piece to every corner of the UK.

“With all that’s being spewed on social media and government, we have to be presenting stories, truths that cut through the BS, and that tell particular stories. And I feel like there is a responsibility in the room to tell the truth of it,” he says, “It would be very easy for us to be like we’re a bunch of queens doing drag queen things. But the reality of the situation is when it comes to real life, our trans, non-binary, gender nonspecific siblings, they are in danger. They get attacked. I’ve been attacked. Like it’s that thing where you go, ‘Whoa. People really do believe they have a right to grab at you and tell you what you can and can’t be.’”

Director Foster, confides: “We haven’t made any radical changes to the script. We haven’t attempted to soften or dilute any of that language. There are characters in the play who are prejudiced, who are racist, who are homophobic, and it’s really important that is presented in the play because I think it would be completely disingenuous and unrealistic to pretend those things aren’t present in society.”

He continues: “What is really great about Harvey and Cindi’s story is that those characters in the play who have grown up in a community which has supported and reinforced their prejudice, is that by the end they are learning and they are changing.

“If we want to hopefully get to a place in our culture where there is truly a level playing field and we don’t have to face discrimination or hatred or any of that sort of prejudice, then we have to enable a space where people can learn and change, and I guess apologise for many of the things they’ve got wrong or done wrong.”

This Kinky Boots plans to offer that safe space to open up for those conversations. In the rehearsal room, there is industrial scaffolding, there are work tables on wheels and steel steps. But it feels warm, welcoming, and important.

“It’s going to be a Kinky Boots to remember,” Matthews smiles.