Matthew Bourne paints his adaptation of Tim Burton’s gothic fairytale in somewhat broad strokes. This is both a blessing and curse: fine, when cartoonishly attacking the bland uniformity of suburban Upton; not so effective when tackling the more vicious elements (Kim’s jock boyfriend is a toxic asshole, the town is populated by bigots).
Liam Mower takes the lead, ramping up the naiveté of the blade- fingered boy with gestural choreography, heart and genuine elan. Ashley Shaw portrays Kim, the cheerleader who falls for him.
As usual with Bourne, he incorporates a number of genres and innovative touches: there’s a West Side Story style fifties rock ‘n’ roll sequence introducing the youngsters; the god-fearing folks goose-step like Nazis, and local horny housewife Joyce (a fine Nicole Kabera) does some sexy Latin moves on the mechanical boy. The only pure ballet really arrives in the Topiary Garden with a sweet pas de deux between Edward and Kim, as well as a gorgeous Christmas ensemble scene or two.
Lez Brotherston -as ever- does the business with his dreamy scenography and costumes, and it’s a big, sumptuous Americana confection.
It’s not Bourne’s finest work by a long shot though: some of Terry Davies’ original score here is horribly ‘light jazz’ and twee; there’s too much superfluous content stuffed into the first half, including a Halloween scene and mayoral bid, and Kim is, initially at least, an insufferable brat. It’s hard to believe that Edward would fall for her, when Shaw rather lacks the wistful innocence that Winona Ryder brought to the original role.
For a tale that was originally an extended meditation on Tim Burton’s outsider status while working in Disney, it feels a little like it could use some more of his trademark Edward Gorey-esque strangeness- not to mention a little trim. But there’s also a lot to like, and I fall for Danny Elfman’s melancholy choral score every time.
Screened on Sky Arts.
