Edward Scissorhands review: Matthew Bourne’s stylish take on Tim Burton’s wintry fairytale

Although it lacks the emotional depth of his best work, Matthew Bourne’s dance adaptation of the 1990 film looks gorgeous, full of candy-coloured Americana and giddily dancing topiary

Katrina Lyndon (Kim Boggs) and Liam Mower (Edward) in Matthew Bourne’s ‘Edward Scissorhands' (Johan Persson)

With its wintry and fairytale elements, Matthew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands makes a good fit for Christmas. This dance adaptation of Tim Burton’s 1990 film lacks the emotional depth of Bourne’s finest work, but has plenty of spectacle: from candy-coloured Americana to giddily dancing topiary.

Like the movie, the production is a fantasy romance. An inventor creates a boy, but dies before he can give him human hands. Discovered and taken in by a kindly suburban family, Edward is first welcomed and then shunned.

I can see why Bourne was drawn to Burton’s story, with its pastel suburb and gothic hero. From his early works through to huge hits like his Swan Lake with male swans, Bourne has a gift for revealing character through social detail – often having fun with nostalgic design. And his stories, like Edward’s, often feature people who yearn for touch they cannot have.