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 EDWARD SCISSORHANDS is an iconic figure of the screen and pin-up for fans of film director Tim Burton’s macabre fairytales – but does Edward cut it on stage? SEANNA VAN HELTEN reviews UK choreographer MATTHEW BOURNE’s blockbuster dance-theatre adaptation.
For a strictly limited season within a whirlwind Australian tour, British choreographer Matthew Bourne brings his critically-acclaimed adaption of Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (which starred Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder), to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. Bourne is the Steven Spielberg of the dance-theatre world – his productions are youthful, large-scale, always on trend and always become long-running hits. Here, he casts his choreographer’s eye on the 1990 cult film, and it will no doubt become another blockbuster.
Up in the hills overlooking the suburban paradise of Hope Springs lives an inventor and his Frankenstein-esque creation. A homage to a child lost in a family tragedy, Edward Scissorhands (played on opening night by Matthew Malthouse) resembles ordinary human beings in every way but one: his hands. One Halloween, after some Hope Springs teens spook the old inventor to death, Edward heads down into the suburbs where he is kindly taken in by the Boggs family. The locals are soon smitten with the charmingly hapless but sweet-natured Edward, and pleased to discover he’s handy with those scissor-hands of his (topiary is a particular skill). Less easy to impress, much to Edward’s heartbreaking dismay, is the Boggs’ teenage daughter, Kim (Noi Tolmer).
Will Edward make friends with the cool kids? Does he get the girl? Fans of the Tim Burton film should relish choreographer Matthew Bourne’s obvious affection for the original story and characters. Edward’s warmth and charisma carries the show (as it does the film), and the satire of Burton’s fable about ‘fitting in’ is boosted. Bourne’s enjoyable and entertaining choreography – rock & roll jive meets contemporary dance with cartoonish impact – is a fine conduit for the highly-stylised Burton aesthetic. A choreographic highlight is The Suburban Ballet – Family Values in Act One: a montage enacted by twenty-four dancers playing all-American average happy families. Bourne is supported in style by scenic designer Lez Brotherston, who has created a vivid suburban playground of candy-coloured McMansions and pink sunset wallpaper, offset by lighting designer Howard Harrison’s magnificent dark scrims that instantaneously overlayed the sets with contrasting mood and energy.
Bourne is certainly to be credited with making ballet fun. Last year QPAC hosted his hugely successful production of dance classic Swan Lake, revitalised by a fantastic corps of male swans. In both Swan Lake and Edward Scissorhands, Bourne demonstrates an ability to engage his audiences with clever pop references, filmic motifs, and comic kicks. His talented dancers – not your average prima ballerinas – are strong, versatile, and obviously experienced, expressive performers. The ensemble contends with staged pantomime and some marathon group dance sequences – big showy numbers where the story gets somewhat sidelined.
In fact, so indulgent is the spectacle that even as the final act draws to a close I find myself unconcerned about the relationship with Edward and Winona, er, Kim. Dancers Malthouse and Tolmer share some visually awesome moments, waltzing through Ed’s hedge and ice sculptures. But emotionally, the choreography fails to engage. Broken into enjoyable but almost self-contained ‘snippets’, the story loses its pace and its heart. Bourne’s hybrid dance-theatre style is witty and entertaining in bursts, but occasionally the literalness of the choreography-drama means that the movement’s poetry is lost.
For all this, the production is wholly impressive, and I have no doubt it will be a crowd-pleaser. Unfortunately, for this reviewer, Edward Scissorhands the stage spectacular was a bit blunt.
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS played for a limited season at the Lyric Theatre, QPAC, from June 18 – 22. For information on the Australian tour visit www.edwardscissorhands.com.au
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