Lights, Camera, Action: UON students deliver glam for opening night of Kinky Boots

It was curtain call for the opening performance of Kinky Boots at Royal and Derngate earlier this week, where a team of University of Northampton’s students were waiting in the wings to deliver the show’s iconic looks.

Hair, MakeUp and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen students, Ojas Kaur and Maria Brown were tasked with creating the striking look for lead character Lola, while Lola’s Angels were glammed up by students Tia Bush, Chucky Hunt Murphy, Rebecca Cassettari, Chloe Howard, Tegan Burt-Davies and Kelsey Henson.

With the third-year students pairing with first-year students to each focus on one actor, they are all on hand to create the make-up looks for each evening performance of Kinky Boots this week (24-28 October).

On her experience, Ojas Kaur said: “It’s a real buzz to work behind the scenes of Kinky Boots and get a unique glimpse into the backstage world of theatre productions.

“This is the industry I want to work in when I graduate from university, so it’s important to build both my industry portfolio and practical experience.

“I jumped at the chance to work on this local production, as it gives me the chance to create a different kind of look on stage, and work with different challenges that I’m not used to. Seeing our final looks come together on opening night was great, and I’m really enjoying being part of the show.”

University of Northampton’s Deputy Head of Subject: Culture – Media, Film and Special Effects, Anthony Stepniak reflected on the opening night show: “I’m incredibly proud of our students for the looks they created, and the professionalism with which they delivered these to the performers.

“It’s important for students to gain industry experience like this, and to gain it before graduation to ensure they’re entering their professions with as much practical hands-on experience as possible.

“The nature of this industry requires artistic professionals from across the board – including make-up, hair and costume design – to work collaboratively to achieve final goal. Behind the scenes of Kinky Boots, our students have had the opportunity to experience this, and build on their professional skills in the workplace.

The challenges they faced in creating the looks for Kinky Boots is what this course is all about, and opportunities such as this will shape them into high-level working professionals of the future.”

A limited number of tickets are still available to purchase for Kinky Boots, which is running until Saturday 28 October. These can be purchased from the Royal and Derngate website.

Find out more about studying Hair, MakeUp and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen at the University of Northampton.