Edward Scissorhands review, Sadler's Wells, London

Liam Mower as Edward: a 'sweet, poignant' performance

(Image credit: Sadler's Wells)

published 4 January 2024

Matthew Bourne's tender yet sharply comic dance adaptation of "Edward Scissorhands" premiered in 2005 and was last staged in 2014, said Sarah Crompton in The Observer. Now, a revival is touring the UK – and it is an "utter treat". Bourne is a "canny operator" when it comes to developing titles with popular appeal, said Lyndsey Winship in The Guardian. But his decision to stage Tim Burton's beloved 1990 film, about a lonely synthetic boy, whose scientist creator has left him with lethal blades in place of hands, was not just "shrewd marketing". The material, with its outsider protagonist, peculiar setting in the suburbs of 1950s America, and "comic book-style exaggeration of plot and characters" perfectly matches Bourne's sensibilities as a choreographer – and it makes a warmly entertaining yet "bittersweet" show.

This "magical dance reimagining" tugs your heartstrings "almost to breaking point", said Debra Craine in The Times. Brilliantly performed by a cast of 25, Bourne's choreography combines "comedy and pathos, with droll mime and jaunty social dances" and some big set pieces (a summer barbecue; the town's Christmas ball). There's also "swooning romance" in the tender moments (real and imagined) between Edward and love interest Kim. At the performance I saw, Liam Mower was a wonderfully "sweet, poignant" Edward, and Katrina Lyndon was "adorable" as Kim. But the "whole cast sparkles" – as do designer Lez Brotherston's clever, sumptuous sets.

The production brims with "wit, whimsy and mischief", said Marianka Swain in The Daily Telegraph – and is full of the "kooky comic details" that help make Bourne's work so joyful. "Posters come to life, as does the topiary." And to top it all, there is glorious live music, said David Jays in the Evening Standard. Danny Elfman's "signature romantic spookery" from the film score has been "gorgeously extended" by composer Terry Davies. Full of honeyed chimes, circling voices and soulful strings, it's the icing on a very "plush" cake.