As we enter the auditorium, Susie Quatro’s ‘Devil Gate Drive’ with its lyrics ‘Come Alive’ is playing and I think this might be an introduction to a whole night of soft rock – and to some extent this is true. Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands is reimagined as a rock star, a boy made up of parts by an inventor he calls ‘mom’ who wants to introduce some kindness to the world. The tale relates a modern fable of cruel suburban American life when an unfinished humanoid is adopted by a kind family.
The set is reminiscent of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis with a black and white projection of a futuristic industrial background. A stack of speakers is used to good effect, built into a tower house where Scissorhandz grew up. The plot is an allegory of all forms of difference. ‘Weird is good’ says Edward without much subtlety, though the production clearly makes its point that the townspeople are the monsters, not the divergent.
Though the premise of this ‘reinvented musical’ (as it calls itself) is one of gender fluidity and diversity, I am afraid this is simply not enough. The ‘book’ (for what it was) is hardly there at all, with very little dialogue. We never really get a solid enough look at relationships which all remain pretty superficial. Sadly, one song quickly follows after another and not an original one in sight. Everyone is referenced to another creator – great numbers like the Cranberries’ ‘Zombie’ and Evanescence’s ‘Bring Me To Life.’ Seeing how many songs are in the programme, I wondered how they were going to fit all these into just over an hour and a half of performance. The answer is that they just performed part of the songs, usually the introduction and chorus, which brought TikTok to mind.
The cast are without fault, everyone shines – great acting, strong voices, not one weakness among them. But while someone else’s songs are great and the performances superlative, the cast here is superior to its material. Jordan Kai Burnett brings a wistful naivety and innocent to their performance, while Emma Williams provides a strong mother figure of love. A standout is also Lauren Jones who, as the elfish loving daughter, brings an added depth to the feeling of the audience.
One of the highlights is the three campy neighbours singing ‘You Don’t Own Me’ played for laughs by Tricia Adele-Turner as sex mad bombshell, Annabelle Terry as over-zealous religious fanatic and Ryan O’Connor as a Mrs Doubtfire character, all funny individual personalities.
The show succumbs to one of the many dangers of refashioning an already well-loved work: that of comparison. Tim Burton and Caroline Thompson’s screenplay for the film is so good that the fragments of it that come through in this version just made me want to remember how it was done in the original.
Southwark Playhouse gives us another stomping big show, despite the small size of the stage. An audience of all ages enjoyed themselves and it attracted a big local crowd. Regrettably, though a lively show, this reinvention is not imaginative nor original enough, despite the energy and talent of the players.
Musical: Written and Directed by Bradley Bredeweg
Cast: Jordan Kai Burnett, Emma Williams, Lauren Jones, Dionne Gipson, Tricia Adele-Turner, Annabelle Terry, Ryan O’Connor, Richard Carson, Candida Mosoma, Luke Cairns, Grace Towning
Running Time 1 hour 40 mins
23rd January to 29th March 2025