The first time I saw the epic, gothic film 'Edward Scissorhands', I fell
in love with Johnny Depp. It began as a childhood crush but developed into
fierce curiosity. I didn't want to marry the man (though now I'd oblige!). I
didn't even want to hug him or demand an autograph to cry over later. Nope, I
wanted questions answered. Burning questions…
Why can't my dad cut hedges like you?
How do you cut
your nails?
Why is your
face so white?
And above all...
How on earth do you go to the toilet without chopping your, um...?
Obviously, it's a good thing I never came face to face with Johnny Depp
or Edward Scissorhands. We have both been spared the embarrassment of childish
curiosity. My questions, however, remained unanswered - that was, until my
encounter with Richard Winsor and Sam Archer. The talented 23-year old dancers
share the role of Edward Scissorhands in the magical new adaptation of the
classic Tim Burton motion picture and seem set to wow audiences throughout the UK.
The man talented enough to take on such a feat is Matthew Bourne and his
company New Adventures. After global success with his magical interpretations
of Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Highland Fling and the
award-winning Play Without Words, he choreographed the hit musical Mary
Poppins. Never one to avert a challenge, he is now bringing us the dance
spectacle 'Edward Scissorhands'.
It's not often you find yourself stumbling in on masters at work... but
I recently caught a brief glimpse of wizardry at the show's rehearsal, and even
managed to chat to the two lead performers Richard Winsor and Sam Archer.
You'll be pushed to find two more lovely and down-to-earth guys. Not only can
they dance, but they can also putt a mean golf ball or two. What's more,
Richard even managed to shed some light on my toilet queries. Watch out Johnny,
I have a new favourite now!
Richard, you are sharing the lead role in Matthew
Bourne and New Adventures' latest creation: Edward Scissorhands. Now, I
personally can't wait to see the performance… it's a childhood classic (as is
Johnny Depp!) What can the eager fans expect from the stage performance?
The general themes are going to be very similar and obviously the character is
going to be taken pretty much straight from the main character… although, he's
going to have a slightly different costume. He's going to have a brown and more
beat up kind of costume. But the make-up and the feeling will be similar.
The music is going to be taken from the film but slightly adapted as well, so
it's also going to have the big grand feel of fairytale music.
Were you a fan of Tim Burton's original film?
I loved it – I saw it obviously quite a long time ago. I wasn't in the theatre
business then so I didn't really relate to it on that level but Matthew wanted
to do this show on the stage for about six years now and the time is right now.
He's got the company together and if anyone can do it, it's him.
He is a legend…
