Scissorhandz
ATTENTION WEIRDOS!! Direct from the L of A (that's California baby) Scissorhandz the musical has pierced the London theatre scene, with rock 'n roll landing into Southwark Playhouse Elephant. Those of all taboo troupes or tribes are welcome in this space which is rather 'queer indeed' and pays tribute to the ultimate outsider.
A camp and considerate parody of the beloved Tim Burton film, this concert-style show features songs from across genres and generations - perfect for a production that encourages a distaste for labels of any kind. This is a theme introduced from the very beginning, with gender blind roles, and actors of all identities cutting up the stage… literally.
Within this cast we find Lauren Jones playing the love interest of our titular character. Not only are her vocals absolutely breathtaking, but she is possibly the most apt dancer of the bunch too, which is really saying something with so much talent to admire! Alongside her sits the protagonist: Jordan Kai Burnett who is the perfect Scissorhands.
Unfortunately some of the supporting roles are not as fully fleshed out, and rely on the audience knowing their specific archetype to fully find the comedy in their performance. This is a common mishap in theatre that crosses the Atlantic and could easily be amended by toning down certain Americanisms for future runs. As us Brits have such a specific sense of humour, I felt director Bradley Bredeweg needed to nurture this just a little more.
The creative team did, however, tap into our communal sense of outrage at society with themes of today's political climate seamlessly interwoven within the script. This includes conversations about non binary representation, problematic police forces, and Heather (x3). The only critique here is that those who aren't au fait with these issues may not understand the relevance of certain decisions or quips. The sections of improv and ad lib could do more to directly acknowledge these references while maintaining a nice balance of smart and silly.
One department that does achieve this is the lighting designed by Adam King. Without giving the game away, it was an intelligent illumination in every way but could sometimes learn that less is more. If sat dead centre in the row you could see the fixtures twist and turn creating excellent effects while occasionally also limiting your vision. Sometimes it was just a tad too much - similar to the book as mentioned.
Gregory Nabours’ arrangements were innovative and appealing, but begged the question as to just how much better this story could be with an original score. Although this is possibly my favourite jukebox yet, I would argue that there were too many numbers squeezed into 100 minutes and they would be better appreciated spread across 2 acts.
The impressive but minimal use of James Connelly’s set does not justify the depth it occupies, particularly with an extra row of seats added to the front of the stalls, when this could better have been used to showcase more of Alexzandra Sarmiento’s brilliant choreography. This was unsurprisingly a standout element of the piece however did leave me wondering (as seems to be a running theme) could it have been even better with a few tweaks to the space? It was especially nice to see that movement was not neglected for a music heavy performance as is all too often the case.
This musical struck the right chord in more ways than one, and exceeded expectations when similar shows have previously missed the mark. Without particularly lacking in any aspect, but with room to improve in all of them, I cannot wait to see what this Scissorhandz has in store for us next.
This show was reviewed on the 31st January 2025 at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant, London where it runs until the 29th March 2025. Full tour dates and tickets can be found here: Scissorhandz - Southwark Playhouse Elephant
Review written by Katie Anna McConnell
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Photo credit: Danny Kaan
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