This musical reimagining of Tim Burton’s goth melodrama Edward Scissorhands, soundtracked by a selection of pop hits, has been making waves in LA as a festive fringe show since 2018. Now it sashays into London with a “z” appended to the title and a new roster of songs: out with Taylor Swift, Madonna and Abba; in with a collage of deeper cuts, from Evanescence and Imagine Dragons to Tom Jones.
Whatever the reason behind this chop and change, some of the more ponderous ballads lend Bradley Bredeweg’s explicitly queer retelling (the show is produced by Drag Race’s Michelle Visage and ‘N Sync’s Lance Bass) a rather straight flavour. The new additions might earn their keep if they slotted more neatly into the contours of the plot: it’s hard to say exactly why our non-binary hero breaks into American Authors’ 2013 hit Best Day of My Life to voice their sudden ambition to become a hairdresser, nor why Scissorhandz’s adoptive mother belts out Radiohead’s Creep in the 11 o’clock slot. Still, it’s belted impeccably by Emma Williams, whose warm portrayal of harried Avon lady Peg brings welcome dramatic heft to the production.
