We take a look at what is being said about Matthew Bourne’s ballet take of Tim Burton’s classic film….
The Guardian: **** “Matthew Bourne is a canny operator when it comes to choosing titles and concepts with instant appeal, but his stage version of Tim Burton’s film isn’t just shrewd marketing – it is a perfect fit with his own sensibilities as a choreographer. There’s the outsider status of the central figure, the pastel-perfect (or is it?) 1950s suburban setting, the comic book-style exaggeration of plot and characters. It’s a warmly entertaining watch with a bittersweet thread running through.”
Evening Standard: **** “The tale of an outsider cast out by a mean-spirited community makes for a plush evening of storytelling, all the way to the magnificently kitsch curtain call.”
The Observer: **** “Bourne does all this with dance of sharp comic precision that raises a smile even as it touches the heart. It is never sentimental, but waltzes along the edge of feeling. First seen in 2005, and last revived in 2014, Scissorhands feels more vital than ever.”
The Telegraph: **** “Beautifully conceived, designed and danced, this is a production that brims with wit, whimsy and mischief.”
The Stage: **** “Matthew Bourne’s warm, witty take on the tale of a blade-fingered hero is an unexpected festive treat.”
London Theatre Reviews.co.uk: ***** “Altogether, it is truly beautiful and moving, and captures the complicated tension between tragedy and love story that the film showed so well. I hope Johnny and Winona Ryder, and you, get to see this brilliant production.”
Bachtrack.com: **** “Bourne is a master storyteller (no need for programme notes) but he is also supported by a team of outstanding collaborators. Lez Brotherston’s sets and costumes, as always, are a talking point and serve to enhance every aspect of the production. Danny Elfman’s original film score has been skilfully adapted, with new music, by Terry Davies and as one would expect, carries the story effectively. Lighting (Howard Harrison) and sound (Paul Groothuis) are a joyful bonus.”
Broadway World: *** “A Bourne production is probably a sure-fire hit anytime of the year, let alone during the festive period, and this 2005 work offers what one usually finds: buckets of atmosphere and undeniably vivid sets and costumes thanks to Bourne’s long-time, successful collaboration with Lez Brotherston. Brotherston is in full throttle Gothic Americana manner with his usual, depth of perspective sets adding to the narrative layers.”
The Jewish Chronicle: **** “Bourne takes this modern fairy tale and offers his own unique interpretation, combining dance, spectacular special effects and a dose of laughter thrown in to lighten the rather dark romance. Here we are on the side of the outsider, forced to imagine what it is like to be shunned or bullied for being different.”
The Upcoming: **** “Edward Scissorhands is a sumptuously gothic, playfully staged and magnificently danced incarnation of Burton’s quirky film that explores how we can both fetishise and ostracise those who don’t fit into conventional society rather than accept them for who they are, a transporting festive delight not to be missed.”
The Culture Whisper: *** “With Duncan McLean’s video and projection designs adding magic to the whole, particularly in the dreamy snowfall that brings the story to its end, visually Edward Scissorhands is a treat, and though not one of Matthew Bourne’s meatier works, it offers a lively alternative to the usual Christmas fare.”
The FT: *** “The characterisation is as clear-cut as the storytelling, but remains wafer-thin and uninvolving despite the best efforts of the cast. Hope Springs is peopled entirely by stereotypes — the glad-handing politician; the strait-laced God-botherer; the sex-starved housewife — and even the central love triangle of Edward, Kerry and boyfriend lacks the ambiguity and nuance that gave Bourne’s The Car Man such depth.”
Edward Scissorhands continues to play at Sadler’s Wells until the 20th January 2024 before embarking on a UK tour.