Dance and I have a tricky relationship. While I appreciate it as an artistic medium and the loads of technique that goes into it, as a narrative medium I find it lacking. That is not to say that dance does not work in narrative contexts - the long history of classical ballet is a sure demonstration that it can. However, there are simply times when in order to tell a story, dance turns into mime. This is the problem with Matthew Bourne's Edward Scissorhands.
The first half in particular is a problem as the dancers mime out 50s suburbia, their role in society, their character etc etc with lots of pointing and gesturing and, frankly given how long the sequences are, it gets old quickly. It does however end with the topiary dance which is a highlight too late to knock out the fact I was falling asleep. The second half is better but it also highlighted problems such as where to direct your attention during the large set pieces. The production itself is very well done - a lot of effort has been put into the costume and sets and they really are a visual feast.
Ultimately however, I felt the production was not the highlight of my night. That would be my tomato chicken at Dessert House.
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