Review: SCISSORHANDZ - A Musical Reinvented (Southwark Playhouse Elephant)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️⭐️

When it comes to classic films, Edward Scissorhands is a favourite among many of us – myself included, but if you ever watched Tim Burton’s masterpiece and thought to yourself “You know what would make this film better? A Leona Lewis song!”, boy, have I got the show for you. Scissorhandz reinvents the story with the use of a pop soundtrack. As it makes its UK premiere with a run at Southwark Playhouse Elephant, would this show prove to be a cut above the rest?

Originating with a sold-out run in Los Angeles, Scissorhandz reimagines the story of Edward Scissorhands recreating many of the key moments from the movie with a queer and camp twist. The story focuses on the titular Scissorhandz who was created but never finished, being left with scissors for hands. Left alone following the death of their creator, they are discovered by Peg and brought home to the family to discover life in the suburbs, challenging the attitudes and beliefs of those in the conventional town who had never seen anyone quite like Scissorhandz before.

The essence of the story has been translated to heighten the Queer element, with an imaginative use of Scissorhandz identity representing someone in the LGBTQIA+ community and drawing obvious comparisons to the criticism and bigotry many in that community have faced and continue to do. In a sense, it feels rather fitting that this story originated in the 1990s as recent events and attitudes seem to have taken us back several decades. Bradley Bredeweg’s writing cleverly introduces these ideas into the mix though perhaps not as significantly as I had initially expected with a conversation about pronouns falling to land as it should. The use of humour works much better with the camp and exaggerated aspect proving a real delight and leading to the more fun moments of the show.

The pitfall with Scissorhandz is it doesn’t seem to have completely worked out what it wants to be just yet. Full of ideas, little nuggets are dropped but then never followed up so it becomes a mish-mash of ideas that aren’t fully utilised. Rather ironically, like its main character, the show feels unfinished. That isn’t to detract from the potential this show has as there really is no shortage of that, but to me it felt like it had been going through rewrites up until the last minute, whether that is true or not, and as such is not currently the best version of itself.

Scissorhandz cites itself as a pop music parody extravaganza and uses a catalogue of well-known songs to tell the story. However, there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the songs that are included. Not one particular artist, genre or even decade is used, leading to an extremely random collection of songs from the 80s, 90s and 2000s. Artists as eclectic as Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Imagine Dragons, Christina Aguilera, Belinda Carlisle and Evanescence are among the collection which also includes a smattering of Christmas songs. The problem is the songs don’t tend to make a lot of sense in the context of the show and I struggled to see their purpose. Perhaps I’m overthinking things and this show should be taken with a pinch of salt. Where there is always an element of shoehorning in existing songs in a show like this, this doesn’t so much do that as it does smash it repeatedly with a hammer until it just about fits. Rather fittingly, Scissor Sisters get one of their hits included though the use of ‘Let’s Have A Kiki’ mashed up with a holiday song gave me a long forgotten Glee flashback.

Perhaps Scissorhandz is a show that shouldn’t be looked at too critically as its intention is to put a smile on its audiences faces and that it does, even when cast members are sitting on them (you aren’t safe anywhere in that theatre – be warned). Production wise, it’s a lot of fun too with Bradley Bredeweg’s direction using the space of Southwark Playhouse Elephant brilliantly with a great use of audience interaction too. Alexzandra Sarmiento’s choreography lifts some of the ensemble numbers while Abby Clarke’s costumes transport us into the world of Scissorhandz with camp, comic touches.

The greatest aspect of Scissorhandz by a mile and the one thing that elevates this show past some inconsistent material is its sensational cast. Jordan Kai Burnett reprises the title role they originated in the Los Angeles production and is a captivating force on stage, channelling the “beautiful weirdo” aspect of Scissorhands with a great characterisation full of detailed movement and almost performance art in quality. The character comes alive to become more animated than the movie counterpart, showcasing Jordan’s talents as a performer. They are also blessed with stunning vocals that never fail to impress, sometimes bettering the original songs with their fresh take on the material.

You may be more used to seeing Emma Williams in shows Half A Sixpence and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang but as Peg, she gets to utter a few four letter words you may not have heard her utter before in a performance that holds the show together in a lot of ways. It is the chance to hear her incredible vocals that proves the most exciting, with an emotional rendition of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ her finest moment in this show. Lauren Jones plays her daughter Kim, lighting up the stage whenever she appears and displaying a beautiful chemistry with both Burnett and Williams, bringing varying dynamics to both. A beautiful duet of the gorgeous Sara Bareilles song ‘Gravity’ with Burnett proved a highlight of the evening and something refreshingly different and understated compared to the balls-out numbers that dominated the majority of the show, with an anthemic rendition of Christina Aguilera’s classic ‘Fighter’ was, for me, the performance of the night and showcased what a fine talent Jones is.

Dionne Gipson has comparatively little stage time as The Inventor but makes her presence felt with some of the greatest vocals I have ever seen at Southwark Playhouse. With performances of ‘Dream On’ and ‘Believer’ showcasing her phenomenal range, she may have invented a new quality of performance herself with those undoubted standouts. Annabelle Terry is another highlight as Esmerelda whose religious outbursts lead to the most unique performance of ‘Heaven Is A Place On Earth’ you will ever see, while the supergroup of her, Ryan O’Connor as Helen and Tricia Adele-Turner as Joyce lead to some of the funniest moments of the show, and gave me visions of a future production of Heathers… but maybe that’s just my weird brain? O’Connor also showcased comic brilliance as he walked through the audience for a nightly improvised moment choosing press night to scream at the infestation of critics there.

Scissorhandz is far from perfect, but it’s hard to be overly critical of that given how much heart it has underneath. It does struggle with its own identity at times but, in a way, that feels quite fitting and adds an extra charm to the show that allows you to forgive its imperfections. The show has a key message of acceptance and that is surely something many in this world could do better at, even if they don’t quite understand something themselves. With that in mind, I didn’t always understand where this show was going though got a sense of what it was trying to achieve and was able to accept it for what it is. Certainly a fun night at the theatre and with a lot of great aspects to it, but Scissorhandz is definitely in need of a few cuts to stop it remaining unfinished.

Scissorhandz plays at Southwark Playhouse Elephant until 29th March 2025. Tickets from www.scissorhandzthemusical.com

Photos by Danny Kaan