Scissorhandz
Southwark Playhouse Elephant • 23 January - 29 March
Imagine if you could take an iconic movie, stuff it full of your favourite songs, queer the f**k out of it and stage it in a way that lets the audiences imagination soar! That’s just what writer/director Bradley Bredeweg has done with his musical Scissorhandz. Assuming that the Tim Burton original film about a synthetic man with scissors for hands will be on many peoples favourite movie lists, (if not… why not?), I also guarantee that a good proportion of the songs Bredeweg populates his musical with are just as likely to appear on many peoples party playlists. For some, this construction of a musical around tried and trusted songs may seem like a shrewd move, but the prospect initially made me more than a little hesitant, mostly because, a) I absolutely loved the original film, along with it’s magical Danny Elfman score, b) having seen Matthew Bourne’s contemporary dance adaptation at Sadlers Wells when it debuted in 2005, I wondered if there was even room for a third adaptation… and c) jukebox musicals have a tendency to leave me disappointed, their paper-thin storylines often being constructed with the sole purpose of linking one random song to the next. Of course, the difference here is that it’s the songs that would somehow have to fit the original pre-existing story which, I am relieved to say, for the most part they did… the inclusion of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ and Tom Jones’s ‘With These Hands’ understandably making perfect sense, and where the music’s connection with the story felt a little more tenuous, the outstanding quality of the performances from the cast, as well as Gregory Nabours arrangements of songs like I’m Every Woman, Best Day Of My Life and Bleeding Love meant that it just didn’t seem to matter. The concept had already proved itself to be a good one, and I was more than ready to sign up for the ride. To be honest, I was slightly less enthusiastic about being dragged back to Christmas in late January, having already consigned ‘the season to be jolly’ to the dim and distant past. (If you’ve booked tickets to see this production in March be prepared to have your festive cheer extended far beyond 12th night).
That little bit of ‘Silent Night’ aside, what I definitely wasn’t expecting was just how much I, and no doubt many in the audience, not only wanted, but actually needed a production like Scissorhandz right now. Between getting a sneaky preview at a press launch held at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, and seeing the full production at Southwark Playhouse Elephant, Donald Trump had been inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States. Suddenly Bredeweg’s creative decision to present us with a non-binary Scissorhandz felt all the more prescient, making the small minded town-folk’s vilification of a strange outsider for their differences resonate just that little bit deeper. Bredeweg’s vision deftly enhances the original story to further encourage the celebration of everything that makes someone different and unique rather than to fear, ridicule or attack, and as such it was just the sort of musical this theatre reviewer needed to see during the dark dawn of a new Trump era. This show’s alternative ending and celebration of the relationship between a non-binary Scissorhandz and Kim was clearly a resounding success with the approving audience on the night given the sheer volume of the cheers and applause.
Politics aside, and to put things into significantly simpler terms, Scissorhandz just rocks, both figuratively and musically, which is no mean feet given just how iconic the original Tim Burton movie was… and still is. (Could it really be 35 years ago that the film was released!) and despite the promotional blurb’s declaration that this is a ‘musical reinvented’, there is much that will be recognisably familiar for anyone that both knows and loves the movie. Jordan Kai Burnett, who reprises the role of Scissorhandz they originated for the musical’s American debut, has more than a hint of Johnny Depp about them, and Lauren Jones’s portrayal of Kim is uncannily Winona Ryder-esque. 4-time Olivier Award nominee Emma Williams gives the film’s incredible Dianne Wiest a run for her money in the role of Peg, leaving the biggest departure in casting to the gender-flipped Inventor, Dionne Gipson taking on the part originally played by the legendary Vincent Price. To say Emma and Dionne are both blessed with the most incredible voices would be to undersell the powerful performances they give, and are totally deserving of every one of the rounds of euphoric applause they received. Add to the mix Annabelle Terry’s performance as the god-fearing Esmeralda which could have easily stollen every scene were it not for the rest of the quality cast matching her beat-for-beat, including Tricia Adele-Turner’s larger than life comic portrayal of busy-body neighbour Joyce Vanderpump,
Despite the film already being Tim Burton at his imaginative best, his $20 million budget allowing him to create some lavish set pieces, Bredeweg’s production more than makes up for it’s budgetary constraints with it’s highly inventive staging that manages to enhance rather than detract from the overall experience. James Pearse Connelly’s combination of imaginative set and projection design is immediately impressive, both as a reverential nod to Burton’s world as well as bringing its own unique style to Bredeweg’s musical. Its versatility is further enhanced by Adam Kings lighting design, at times deliciously dramatic and at others both as vivid and colourful as the characters it illuminates. Add to this heady brew Bredeweg’s own self-assured, high-octane direction and you’re left with a production that more than makes a mark on its own merits and is a worthy retelling of the Scissorhands story… or should that be Scissorhandz!
★★★★★
Scissorhandz is on at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant until 29th March. Tickets available here
review: Simon J. Webb
photography: Danny Kaan