Matthew Bourne is known for radical interpretations of classic works. It seems entirely logical his version of the fantasy gothic romance Edward Scissorhands has the tone of a bright sitcom rather than a moody love story.
Caroline Thompson, who wrote the original film screenplay, has co-adapted the ballet so the plot remains close to that of the movie. Edward, the son of The Inventor (Glenn Graham), is electrocuted when playing with scissors in a thunderstorm. Deranged by grief and fixated upon the cause of his son’s death, The Inventor creates a replacement child initially with blades instead of fingers. Before he can replace the scissor hands, The Inventor suffers a heart attack when a Halloween stunt organised by the over-privileged Jim Upton (Ben Brown) goes wrong.
In the nearby town of Hope Springs, housewife Peg Boggs (Kerry Biggin returning to the production after playing daughter Kim in the original) takes pity on Edward Scissorhands (Liam Mower) after finding him rummaging in dustbins for food and, in full maternal overload, makes him part of her family. The community welcomes Edward, and his skill with scissors makes him a local celebrity, but Peg’s daughter Kim (Katrina Lyndon) is slow to warm to the newcomer until Edward’s idealised perception of her boosts her self-esteem. As Kim’s boyfriend is the loutish Jim, conflict is, however, inevitable.
This is a lush production stuffed with visual gems. The costumes and set by Lez Brotherston suggest an idealised 1950s / 60s American suburban neighbourhood pulled out of Archie comics. The appearance of a same-sex couple seems anachronistic in such a setting, but there is a superbly realised evangelical family with parents who have stepped out of the portrait "American Gothic" and children from The Addams Family.
Bourne’s choreography involves a series of exaggerated movements and expansive gestures as members of the community respond to the newcomer with gossipy asides and shocked reactions. The neighbours include such well-worn soap opera characters as a cuckolded husband and a predatory wife who admires the length of Edward’s blades. The seduction scene between her and Edward is played as broad comedy with a bed literally dropping out of the sky.
There is so much going on in the production, it is some time—until the teens take over the stage for a riotous shindig—before the ballet features any formal dancing rather than stylised movement. More significantly, in the first act, the relationship between Edward and Kim feels underdeveloped; only in the second act, with Katrina Lyndon dancing alongside a gorgeous ice statue, does Kim’s self-worth rise to the extent she can appreciate Edward’s sensitive approach.
Matthew Bourne pays tribute to the Frankenstein myth and movies. The birth of Edward Scissorhands features rumbling thunder and a deranged scientist, and Liam Mower’s curious fish-out-of-water stance is very much a stranger in a strange land. Yet the ballet remains more romantic than gothic. Edward’s creation of a topiary of figures has potential to be sinister but becomes instead an enchanting fairy-tale backdrop for a duet between Lyndon and Mower. The production is optimistic in outlook: Hope Springs may appear conventional, even conservative, but the community still welcomes a stranger.
Edward Scissorhands is shamelessly manipulative; Matthew Bourne uses every trick in the book to tug on heartstrings, including a final stunt as the cast take their bows that will melt the coldest heart, making the show an ideal festive entertainment.