By Trudi-Rose Edwards
★ ★ ★
Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures production of Edward Scissorhands, the contemporary dance adaptation of the 1990 film of the same name, has been entertaining audiences at London’s Sandler’s Wells Theatre this winter, managing to mix ballet-cum-contemporary choreography and a whimsical score with the emotion and eccentricity of the original Tim Burton film.
Edward Scissorhands, which was last seen in London in a 2014 revival, follows Edward, a gothic, Frankenstein’s monster-type boy as he attempts to adapt to suburban life whilst sporting only scissors for hands. The plot is largely the same as the film, with the most notable difference being that the action occurs during the 1950s rather than the 80s.
Everything takes place in the quintessentially American town of Hope Springs, which comes complete with white picket fences and a mayor and his wife who were channelling the Peróns so much that I half expected a rendition of Don’t Cry for Me Argentina. Nonetheless, the set design is gorgeous and blends suburban America with typical Burtonesque gothic beautifully.
The titular character is played wonderfully by Liam Mower, (imagine a Timothee Chalamet who can dance) who does an excellent job of capturing both Edward’s innocence and playfulness through dance, all whilst sporting an enormous pair of scissor-hands, lest we forget. Katrina Lyndon plays his love interest, Kim, and brings some classical ballet poise to the numbers which largely consist of contemporary routines that manage to remain light-of-foot in contrast to the rather stompy affairs often seen in contemporary dance pieces.
As for the supporting cast, they play an array of Hope Springs residents. You have an austere Bible wielding couple, supported by their moody goth daughter (played by Lyra Treglown who, by the way, is really captivating on stage but is, sadly, largely a background feature). Then there’s the gang of “cool” kids who strut the stage in their letterman jackets, and of course, it wouldn’t be 1950s America without an openly gay couple and their adopted child, would it? (Does this anachronism bother me? Yes. Did it detract from the show? No.) It’s all a little broad, but the dancers do such a good job at conveying the various stereotypes and remain entertaining.
One of the highlights is Terry Davies’ score. Heavily inspired by Danny Elfman’s original film version and played live by the New Adventures Orchestra, it has a wonderful cinematic feel and complements the period-appropriate jiving and jitterbugging on stage. The orchestra really is wonderful and are often as captivating to watch as the dancers on stage (provided you have a view of course). I was lucky enough to witness a double bass-bass guitar switcheroo mid-way through a number that was so seamlessly executed I thought I might have over-indulged at the bar in the interval.
The talent on stage is never in question, each number is executed to perfection by the cast and the characterisation of each individual is wonderful to watch. Somehow, despite the dancers’ talent and storytelling, the live music, and the wonderful production design, there’s something missing from this production – it lacks a real “big moment” to blow audiences away. As good as the dance is, there’s no real showstopper to bring the house down, the closest moment being the full ensemble performance at the Christmas ball in Act 2 (which still doesn’t quite hit the mark). Perhaps this is down to the ultimately thin script – which means several sequences run on a little longer than necessary resulting in a fair bit of filler.
Entertaining filler, but filler just doesn’t cut it.
Edward Scissorhands, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures is at Sadler’s Wells until Jan 20, then on tour nationwide – details here
Photos by Johan Persson