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Synopsis In the gothic fairy tale, an eccentric inventor dies before completing his latest creation, a boy who, left with only scissors for hands, must find his own way in a strange suburban world. A new adaptation of the classic Tim Burton motion picture.
Dates: Opens 30 November 2005. Tue-Sat 19:30 (except Dec 24,31), Sat Mat 14:30. Sun 16:00. Feb 5 Mat 14:30. Wed Mat 14:30 (from Dec 7 - Feb 1 - except Dec 28). Thu 1, Tue 27, Thu 29 Dec and Tue 3 Jan Mats 14:30
Enjoyed It and it was a good night out but was not as good as I expected it to be. The actor who played Edward was fantastic though. - 80.1.224.8)
01 Feb 06
I really enjoyed this show, the props, the costumes, the dancing, and the music were all marvelous. I really liked the fact that it wasn't just dance but acting as well. - 195.188.152.12)
28 Jan 06
Not Matthew Bourne's best work, but enough wit, style and colour to keep you amused for a couple of hours. - 81.158.157.148)
12 Jan 06
Enjoyed this for it's colour, magic and Xmassy feel. However, it does feel a bit like a musical that they've forgotten to write songs for. The storytelling isn't clear, and there is alot of wandering about rather than dancing...although the big set pieces are up to Bourne's usual standard. The Elfman score raises the hair at the back of the neck but the rest of the music is pedestrian. Sam Archer was a touching ES and Hannah Vassilo was great as his beloved Kim: their final pax de deux made me howl, as did the final snow effect. worth seeing but hardly a knockout. It looks and sounds great but something's missing. - 195.82.123.181)
05 Jan 06
I have neither seen the film Edward Scissorhands nor claim to be an expert on dance, and readers who have and/or are may wish to take account of this when assessing my comments on Matthew Bourne's superb new piece of dance theatre. The fact that everyone else in a very varied Sadler's Wells audience clearly enjoyed the show just as much as I did, however, makes me hope my views are not too misleading, and I freely confess that, from the very moment of Edward's creation (by an inventor who makes him from pieces of old leather and brings him to life to replace the son killed by lightening whilst playing with scissors in a storm) it held me completely under its spell.
Lez Brotherston's stunning designs caught the feeling of 1950's small-town America perfectly. The inhabitants of Hope Springs (even the name is a telling one) live in pastel-coloured one-storey houses and include a mayor running for re-election, a bible-wielding minister, the town vamp and the local slob, each appropriately dressed themselves and accompanied by suitable partners and two children (a son and a daughter). Cheerleaders and trick-or-treaters are also in evidence and the whole town comes together for events such as a communal barbecue and a Christmas ball.
Left alone in the inventor's gothic castle when his creator dies, Edward goes to Hope Springs, where he is found by the kind Peg Boggs, who adopts him as one of her family. Eventually, he reveals himself to be an adept topiarist and hairdresser and is accepted by the other townspeople, but he also falls in love with Peg's daughter, Kim, an event which arouses the jealousy of her boyfriend James and leads ultimately to his rejection by the community which has previously made him welcome.
As Edward, Sam Archer caught the development of the character perfectly, his movements stiff and sometimes robot-like at first, and his use of the tailor's shears that formed his hands as unconfident as might have been expected from someone having to learn to manipulate such unwieldy tools. By the time of the Christmas ball, however, Edward has "found" both his hands - having given many of the local inhabitants more modern hairstyles and improved the neighbourhood with some distinctive topiary - and his feet, joining in the dancing with a will, and very skilfully at first. That he then loses control of his hands, with consequences which eventually trigger the story's sad and very moving denouement, is due not to his own clumsiness but to his having been plied with alcohol.
The rest of the cast also showed great skill in characterisation, making the inhabitants of Hope Springs as individual in their personalities as they were distinctive in their dress, and displayed great enthusiasm for, and enjoyment in, their task.
This is a truly wonderful production, with an extra moment of magic held over for the curtain calls. Even if you "don't do dance", I urge you to catch it if you can!
- 194.75.129.200)
29 Dec 05
A dazzling night out which deserved the five minute standing ovation on the night I saw it.
Forget the film, leave your expectations at the door and just open your mind.
If you don't like whats going on on stage, you can always close your eyes and listen to Danny Elfman's enchanting score. - 84.9.128.175)
03 Dec 05
Second viewing within a week - this time fantastic dancing by Sam Archer as Scissorhands. I feel Sam is much suited for the role because he looks the part - a very sad Scissorhands. Saw a lot of other details that I missed on the first viewing and would certainly go again because Matthew Bourne's work is simply magical. - 86.129.182.102)
03 Dec 05
Well what can I say about Edward Scissorhands - BIG BIG MISSED OPPORTUNITY!! What a disapointment. It was unengaging and there was a complete lack of choreography in most parts. The sets were great but they couldn't disguise the fact that Matthew Bourne had run out of ideas of what to do. I was so looking forward to this having loved the film and the music from the film (plus being a fan of Bourne's work on Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Play what I wrote and Mary Poppins), but it just didn't work for me. The audience were quite flat and unexcited as well. - 217.36.96.101)
01 Dec 05
AMAZING SHOW - 194.216.254.81)
01 Dec 05
It's ok. At the end of the first act I was left feeling - there's very little dance, there's beautiful music, there's the seen-it-all-before-yawn-yawn-desperate-housewives Americana and oddly a female love-interest who you have very little-interest in whatsoever. The end of act one has the dancing green topiary which made a change to 9ft high white picket fencing. Does anyone have 9ft high picket fencing? Or is it just an unimaginative set? All the voices around me were saying how wonderful it was. But really it wasn't. The second act is much more fulfilling affair. Great dancing, more rich and beautiful music, memorable scenes and a dreamy pas de deux with scissorsy hands. And snow. It's good but not brilliant. - 84.13.9.139)
Closed 23 June 96 to October 98 for a £48million refurbishment. On 3 Jun 1683 a Mr Sadler opened a pleasure garden at a country spring, this became known as Sadler's Wells. A wooden stage, later enclosed, there was known as Miles' Musik House. Theatre started in 1753. In 1765 a new theatre was opened. For a period it was the Aquatic Theatre with a floodable tank on stage, reverting to its current name in 1844. Closed in 1878 (had been a skating rink and a boxing ring). Re-opened 1879. Closed in 1906. Lilian Baylis opened a theatre there in 1931. Lilian Baylis was the niece of Emma Cons, the first woman member of the LCC and the freeholder of the Royal Victoria Hall and Coffee Tavern (now the Old Vic). Became a solely ballet and opera venue in 1934. Sadler's Wells was the original home of the Royal Ballet (then the Sadler's Wells Ballet) and the opera company from here moved on to the Coliseum. 1500 seats. Now has its own well back in use for the cooling system and bottled water. Very major refurbishment completed in 1998. Society of London Theatre member.
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