Edward ScissorhandsLabels: theatre, play, artsReviewer: Andrew Date: 12/02/2006 Rating: 4/5 Venue: Festival City Theatre The first time I visited Edinburgh's Festival Theatre was graduating. I can honestly say that nothing else going inside even ticked my attention until Edward Scissorhands came along. I have not seen the film but have seen trailers and so I've seen the Johnny Depp Edward Scissorhands. I know the look. I know the goth style. A trip to the Edward Scissorhands website will confirm that the play's look is exactly right (if you've Flash installed, yes). It may seem shallow to go on about how the play looks - kinda like judging a book by its cover - but there are only two measures for this play. There's no dialog. We have the visuals; the dance, the stage and the special effects and then we have the sounds; the music and special effects. The dance - The dances are very good, there's no doubting the chorography and skill of the dancers. I did feel that the dances were just a minute or two long at times but that's it. The establishment of suburbia through dance routines of routines - driving to work, sending the kids to school - is superb. The stage - I could not believe the speed at which the set changes were conducted. If you're a theatre rookie (like me) then this comes as a pleasant surprise. If the likes darken for just a second or two then the stage could be wildly different when they go on. It's small but it was another hook which caught my attention and kept it throughout the performance. Also impressive is how well the space of the stage is used. That sounds cliché, I suppose, something that an old veteran theatre critic would say. I'm not that but now I understand what the phrase means. The special effects - The special effects are fantastic. Edward Scissorhands trims a hedge into a cleanly cut star live on stage. Later on a giraffe head is carved out of the rounded edge of another hedge. I can only assume that the fake (but realistic) hedges had padding loosely planted inside so it could be knocked free. The live haircut scene is less convincing because the distraction elsewhere on the stage is not good enough and you can see the wig swap when it comes. Edward Scissorhands himself is great special effects - the scissor hands (a little different from the movie) do have that edge to them (if you'll forgive the pun) and whereas cheap scissors really would have ruined the play from the outset. The music - Every chord simply oozed Danny Elfman. Now, I write that without checking to see whether the Danny Elfman music company did the music for the Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands movie but I presume so (given that Burton so often works with the company). Of course, there are times when the music and the special effects join forces - the slice of scissors for example, and this is coordinated with surgical precision. I thoroughly recommend Edward Scissorhands. For non-theatre goers this is the perfect opportunity to broaden your horizons. For theatre goers this is something a little different and yet clearly high quality. |