AS chance would have it, immediately before attending Tuesday evening’s press performance of this revival of Matthew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands, I had the opportunity to speak with a man I admire immensely – Professor Cornel West.
The occasion was the fifth of the excellent Gifford Lectures being given at the University of Edinburgh by the great African American philosopher, political activist and US presidential candidate.
In the short time we had to speak together, Professor West (below) and I discussed a number of topics, including our mutual admiration for the work of the late American musical theatre artist Stephen Sondheim. We agreed that Sondheim has, historically, been under-appreciated in some quarters because his work is seen as falling between two stools.
That is to say that, whilst shows like Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods and Assassins don’t fall into the Western classical-operatic tradition, nor do they fit comfortably into a Broadway musical scene that is often shallow and commercial. Sondheim is, the professor and I agreed, a profound artist, and his work is popular without being populist.
All of which connects with Edward Scissorhands in ways that are unexpected, perhaps, but illuminating. It seems to me that both Bourne (the choreographer of this staging of Edward Scissorhands) and Tim Burton (the filmmaker upon whose 1990 movie the stage show is based) are artists in the Sondheim mould.
Like Sondheim, neither is a “high-art” classicist. Like Sondheim, Bourne and Burton have created highly distinctive and highly inventive oeuvres of their own. And like the musical theatre master, the choreographer and the film director have managed to be spectacularly popular while maintaining their artistic integrity.
It is 19 years since Bourne premiered his take on the story that was co-created by Burton and writer Caroline Thompson. Its subject, Edward, is a humanoid boy with scissors for hands. He is the unfinished creation of an eccentric inventor – a Dr Frankenstein meets Geppetto-type figure – who met an untimely death.
READ MORE: 'They’re nobody’s fool': Children's author on why kids should learn about rewilding
For all that the tale has roots in English Gothic literature and Italian folklore, it is also an all-American story in which Edward finds himself both embraced by and resented within the neatly named suburban community of Hope Springs. Treasured for his skills as a topiarist and hairdresser, Edward’s strangeness and fame are also a source of suspicion and jealousy.
Bourne captures all of this marvellously in a fabulously Technicolor production that boasts a comically cartoonish set and gloriously garish costumes (all designed by the superb Lez Brotherston). Terry Davies’s lively and diverse musical score (which draws upon Danny Elfman’s music for the movie) is similarly suited to Bourne’s aesthetics.
The universally excellent cast depicts Bourne’s American archetypes with equal measures of skill and humour. Nicole Kabera gives a particularly vivid performance as the dangerously vain Joyce Monroe, while the virtuosic Liam Mower’s Edward is wonderfully sympathetic.
Typically of Bourne, the production bristles with clever, funny and touching ideas. On this showing, this ballet is as fresh now as it was back in 2005.
At Theatre Royal, Glasgow, May 21-25: atgtickets.com
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here