One very good reason to love Matthew Bourne is that the small characters he creates can be as beguiling as any of his main protagonists. In Edward Scissorhands, Peg Boggs is the housewife who first welcomes bizarre, gothic Edward into the manicured jungle of Hope Springs. She’s an archetype of cosy suburban glamour. Yet, especially when played by the wonderful Etta Murfitt, she carries with her a fascinating, implied backstory – Peg could almost carry a show of her own.
Bourne is instinctively drawn to small and idiosyncratic detail, even as he revels in being a showman. And in this major revival of Scissorhands, he’s found an even better balance between the spectacular and the sweetly human. The big set pieces are still impressive: the dancing topiary; the poetic sculpting of ice and snow; the choreographed ensembles for the Hope Springs youth and their marvellously ill-assorted parents. Lez Brotherston’s designs are alone worth the price of a ticket: from the seamed, split and lethal-looking costume he creates for Edward, to the gorgeous evening frocks worn by Hope Springs’ desperate housewives.
But the heart of the show is Edward, and Bourne has added new depths to the story of his longing for love and acceptance, the frustration of his imprisonment in his absurd body. Dominic North, tall, jerky, hollow-eyed but with an innate delicacy and grace, is excellent in the title role: in Edward’s hopeful attempts to make friends with his neighbours by mimicking their behaviour and body language, North finds the exact mid-point between comedy and poignancy.
There are couple of key narrative moments that still feel rushed, especially the slippage between present and past. But this revival establishes Edward Scissorhands as vintage Bourne: as entrancingly strange and watchable as his version of Swan Lake.
• Until 11 January. Venue: Sadler’s Wells, London. Buy tickets for Edward Scissorhands at theguardianboxoffice.com
