Theatre Review: Edward Scissorhands, Wales Millennium Centre

Summary

Rating: ★★★★
Running Dates: Tuesday 20th March - Saturday 23rd March 2024
Where to see it: Wales Millennium Centre
Duration: 1 hour 55 minutes (including interval)

Review

All in all, this was a fun and entertaining show, sprinkled with comedy and some nostalgia.

Every so often I enjoy going to watch a performance with no previous knowledge of what's coming. I have seen Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands (1990), of course, so I knew this was the story of an outcast with a quirky personality who is taken in by a very stereotypical perfect-looking family when he finds himself alone after his maker has passed. Nevertheless, I had no idea what type of play this would be. 'I hope it's a musical', my equally unaware plus one said. 

It was indeed not a musical (nor was it a thoroughly faithful adaptation of the movie, but I personally don’t mind that at all). In fact, no character speaks at all throughout the whole play. Boring, right? Wrong! I must admit I had not seen a play with no dialogue in several years, however this means the audience was able to focus entirely on other elements which are often seen as secondary.

The set design is intricate and ever changing - the way that rain and snow were captured felt particularly beautiful to me. The choreography is mostly fun and light-hearted, but it is also intentional and intimate in a few scenes - a huge shout out must be given to the three duo dances between Edward (Liam Mower) and Kim (Ashley Shaw). The crescendo you can feel in the way they dance with one another is a gorgeous metaphor for their growing connection throughout the play. Mower and Shaw have beautiful chemistry, and this really shines during the whole snowy scene with the ice sculpture.

The soundtrack was immersive and so stunning that at times I found myself wishing I could’ve closed my eyes to enjoy it to its full. I can only imagine how the experience would’ve felt if we had had a live orchestra (one can dream!).

Now, just because the characters didn't use words, that does not mean their acting is not to be complimented. The whole cast uses the exact amount of expressiveness needed for this type of play. However, I do wish we had been given more context on the secondary characters as it felt hard to connect to some scenes. The highlight of the show is, undoubtedly, Mower. You can tell he has thoroughly studied his character as he absolutely nails all of Edward's mannerisms, especially his often-confused facial expressions and the very specific way he walks. It really is a joy to watch him perform.

All in all, this was a fun and entertaining show, sprinkled with comedy and some nostalgia. However, at times it felt a bit too superficial with several long choreography scenes and not nearly as many intimate moments, which made it hard to care for some of the characters and invoke those big warm feelings. That being said, I would still definitely recommend going to see this performance as it is a different spin on a Tim Burton classic, and it allowed for a very enjoyable evening.

Standout Quote or Moment: The dance by the ice sculpture. 

See If: You’re curious about a twist on a classic!

Last Impression: Light-hearted entertainment which at times lacked some passion.

To get tickets for Edward Scissorhands click here

We were kindly gifted these tickets in exchange for a review.

Written by Mariana Andrade