Acclaimed ballet enchants with a heartbreaking performance

Matthew Bourne’s ballet is true to the spirit of the film with its quirky costumes, distinctive set designs and wonderful score all adding to its otherworldly feel.

Artificial man Edward, an unfinished creation with scissors for hands, finds himself alone in the world until he stumbles into a colourful suburbia full of entertaining characters.

But it is Kim, the daughter of the Boggs family, who he grows to love – and who in turn falls for him despite his startling appearance.

Liam Mower’s beautiful performance in the title role rightly earned him rapturous applause from the audience at Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre.

With every movement he drew out part of Edward’s personality, deftly switching between the comic and the tragic as the story unfolded.

Scenes in the topiary garden and the farewell with partner Katy Lowenhoff as Kim were an absolute delight.

But these were only two dancers among a company which excelled in bringing life to every role, be it the wife-next-door with the wandering eye and her goofy husband or the uptight vicar and his nightmarish children.

As the auditorium was showered in snow in the closing moments, it was clear we had been treated to a performance that would live in our memories long after the curtain went down.