A Gothic fantasy came to Norwich last night in the form of Matthew Bourne's revival of Edward Scissorhands, the tale of the ultimate outsider who falls in love but who will never be fully accepted.
The production, adapted from the 1990 movie starring Johnny Depp, was first seen in 2005 and is a visual feast. Bourne is so good at the art of storytelling through dance. We were transported to middle class America in the 1950s with some amusing, energetic and enchanting dance sequences – the latter most notably being with Scissorhands (Dominic North) and Kim (Ashley Shaw) running through moving hedges and in the snow.
The detail is there not only in the dance steps but the costumes, the innovative sets, the props and the music and there are some fast, slick and gruelling dance routines.
North, in the starring role, cleverly makes you empathise with his character; his facial expressions are excellent as well as his fancy footwork.
But – this is a love story and I would have liked to have seen more evidence of this; the scenes between the two protagonists were enjoyable but I would have liked to have seen more of them dancing together.
Look out for former Taverham school pupil Alex Sturman making his debut on his hometown stage.
• Edward Scissorhands is at the Theatre Royal until Saturday at 7.30pm nightly with matinees at 2.30pm on Thursday and Saturday.
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