Edward Scissorhands is a ballet – but a modern ballet. It tells the story of a young man, called Edward, who has scissors as hands. It’s a surprisingly sweet and moving story. Here’s my Edward Scissorhands Theatre Review.
Overview of Edward Scissorhands
Edward Scissorhands, the ballet on stage, is based on the same story as the 1990 film called Edward Scissorhands starring Johnny Depp. If you’ve seen the film, my Edward Scissorhands theatre review won’t give any spoilers! But even if you haven’t seen the film – it’s often useful to know a bit about the plot of a ballet before going to see one, as it can be difficult to follow the plot in a ballet.
Edward Scissorhands tells the story of a young man called Edward. He’s been ‘created’ in a tower by a scientist, but sadly the scientist dies before he can finish creating Edward. So Edward is left with scissors for hands.
Edward ends up walking into the nearby town. There, a kind family take him in and look after him as one of their own children. Edward struggles at first to adapt to living in a family home, as he’s never experienced anything like it before. But over time, he adapts and starts to make friends in the neighbourhood and put his scissor hands to good use. He also falls in love with the family’s teenage daughter. At first, she is wary of him and stays with her ‘cool’ boyfriend, but over time she develops more affection for him.
However, some small incidents show that Edward struggles to live with people. He accidentally injures someone with his scissor hands, and struggles to cope with the bullies. The show has a bittersweet ending – Edward ends up going back to live in the tower, but there are still happy memories and a lot of affection for him.
What I liked about Edward Scissorhands
I really enjoyed watching Edward Scissorhands on stage. I really like the story. It’s a slightly unusual story, almost a bit like Frankenstein, with a not-quite-human figure struggling to fit in. But I find the story really sweet and heart-warming, with a sad but bittersweet ending. I thought the production on stage did well conveying the story and all the main plot points, maintaining the sweetness I’d felt from watching the film.
Although Edward Scissorhands is a ballet, it’s not a traditional ballet like The Nutcracker or Swan Lake. The dancers aren’t the tall, elegant ballet dancers who dance on their tiptoes and wear little skirts. Instead, the cast and costumes are ‘normal’ – just what people living in that town would normally look like and wear. And the dancing is slightly ballet-like, but also some musical theatre style of dance. They definitely weren’t professional ballet dancers – just people who dance in musical theatre shows. But the whole story is told through dance – the actors/dancers don’t talk at all, and the music doesn’t have any words. So in that sense, it is a ballet.
I thought the dancing from most of the cast was good, especially Edward who I thought was brilliant, and I enjoyed the music. I thought the story was quite easy to follow, despite there not being any words. But I did know the story from watching the film so that probably helped. If you didn’t know the story of Edward Scissorhands at all, I think you might struggle to follow what was happening a bit. But I thought it was well told.
The costumes and set were good as well – I especially liked the colourful houses and the special effects used to make it ‘snow’. And there were two lovely dances between Edward and his love interest. I love a soppy moment in any show, so I really enjoyed both of these more romantic dances.
What I wasn’t so sure about
There wasn’t actually much I didn’t like about Edward Scissorhands as a ballet. I thought it was a nice production, and it was nice to see a more modern version of a ballet. If you’re expecting a proper Swan Lake type of ballet you might be disappointed, as there definitely wasn’t anywhere near as much ballet technique and expertise. To be honest, some of the dancing was a bit too ‘normal’ – especially from the girl who plays Edward’s love interest. She was an ok dancer, but she did look a bit more just like a normal girl doing some dancing, rather than an impressive professional dancer. But if you’re going just expecting some nice dancing without anything being too technical, then you should enjoy it.
Would I recommend Edward Scissorhands on stage
I’d definitely recommend going to see Edward Scissorhands as a ballet on stage. I really liked the story, and found it really sweet even though it’s a bit sad too. And I found it really enjoyable and relaxing to watch. You could just sit back and enjoy the dancing and music, without having to think too much. Overall, my Edward Scissorhands theatre review is really positive so I’d definitely recommend it.