Modern classic films are being subjected to a bumpy ride in the theatre in the uncompromising month of January. First came Titaníque, a camp musical parody of Titanic and its songstress Céline Dion, and now comes this markedly less appealing spin on Tim Burton’s cherished 1990 picture Edward Scissorhands. This is a self-proclaimed “pop-musical parody extravaganza” whose target audience is “the gals, guys, gays and theys (and everyone in between)” and not for nothing is Drag Race’s Michelle Visage one of the co-producers.
The problem is that this show wants to have its cake and eat it: by sending up the original while simultaneously reiterating vigorously its moral of not being afraid of people who do not look like us. I think we can safely say that should Donald Trump find himself with a spare night in Elephant and Castle, this would not be his entertainment of choice.
Writer/director Bradley Bredeweg’s conceit is to furnish the story – sadly lacking almost all of the soft beauty and subtlety of the original – with innovative arrangements (credit to music director Gregory Nabours) of myriad pop songs. An early number, just as we are becoming acquainted with inventor’s unfinished creation Scissorhandz (Jordan Kai Burnett) and his very sharp fingers, is the Cranberries’ “Zombie”; at a key moment of arms-bearing we get Brian Eno and David Bowie’s “I’m Afraid of Americans”. The songs are cleverly interlaced but cannot compensate for the story’s lack of depth in this retelling.
Kindly Avon Lady Peg (Emma Williams) comes across our hero/heroine – whose pronouns are now “they/them” – in the creepy house on the hill and welcomes them into her family, to the consternation of the neighbours. Three wheel-on house facades emphasise the conformity of suburban dwellings, not to mention minds, although the line “I want you to trim my bush” said with much sexual suggestiveness may not be one that either Johnny Depp or Winona Ryder recall from the film.
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Read MoreBurnett, in a tight-fitting black leather catsuit bedecked with studs, has a look of suitably wide-eyed ethereality and an air of tenderness, although not the strongest singing voice. Williams and Lauren Jones, as Peg’s teenage daughter Kim, lead the vocal charge, as well as the motif of spirited women saddled with useless men. Annabelle Terry has fun as hyper-religious neighbour Esmeralda, belting out the Belinda Carlisle number “Heaven is a Place on Earth” in between ranting about deviancy.
Nonetheless the core issue remains stubbornly unresolved. Who is this show for? Tim Burton afficionados will have conniptions, yet a familiarity with the film is a necessity. As the Pat Benatar song has it, “Beautiful Weirdos” seems to be the demographic it’s aiming for.
To 29 March, Southwark Playhouse, London (scissorhandzthemusical.com)
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