Edward Scissorhands review: Matthew Bourne’s stylish take on Tim Burton’s wintry fairytale

With its wintry and fairytale elements, Matthew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands makes a good fit for Christmas. This dance adaptation of Tim Burton’s 1990 film lacks the emotional depth of Bourne’s finest work, but has plenty of spectacle: from candy-coloured Americana to giddily dancing topiary.

Like the movie, the production is a fantasy romance. An inventor creates a boy, but dies before he can give him human hands. Discovered and taken in by a kindly suburban family, Edward is first welcomed and then shunned.

I can see why Bourne was drawn to Burton’s story, with its pastel suburb and gothic hero. From his early works through to huge hits like his Swan Lake with male swans, Bourne has a gift for revealing character through social detail – often having fun with nostalgic design. And his stories, like Edward’s, often feature people who yearn for touch they cannot have.

Lez Brotherston’s brilliant sets and costumes conjure up the small-town world, while Bourne shows brisk economy in sketching in a whole neighbourhood of characters. But the people are seen from the outside. They’re too complacent for the repressions and desperate yearnings that Bourne explores elsewhere.

Working with Caroline Thompson, who wrote the original movie screenplay, Bourne’s 2005 staging adds new elements. The inventor’s death is now caused by the mean pranks of local teenagers, while Bourne streamlines the events that turn the town against Edward. Both tend to flatten the suburbanites, making them more one-note.

Liam Mower is a touching Edward, with expansive dancing and deft handling of his scissored hands, but the character remains very passive. He looks longingly at Katrina Lyndon’s bright-eyed Kim, but Bourne does little to explore any inner conflict. The sweetest scene is when Kim’s mother, danced by Kerry Biggin, first discovers him and takes him home: they’re both spooked, and both compassionate.

Bourne and his team remain stylish and inventive. The story opens out for bigger dance numbers: a topiary ballet, a Christmas dance with swirling 1950s social dances. Terry Davies’ music builds on the swooping themes from Danny Elfman’s film score. And Bourne’s New Adventures company make the most of their broad-brush characters.

Some of the brightest jokes come when they lose themselves in hobbies: eagerly joining the queue to have one of Edward’s fashionable new haircuts, or putting on quaint sportswear for weird exercise routines. For this revival, Bourne has added a same sex-couple to the neighbourhood, wittily danced by Edwin Ray and James Lovell. Nicole Kabera brings a hungry energy to the sexpot neighbour, soaking up attention like a flower turning to the sun. 

Sadler’s Wells until 20 January, then touring until 25 May