£1m sales for Scissorhands

Ticket sales for Matthew Bourne's new production of Edward Scissorhands have topped £1 million.

Bourne, Britain's most successful dance director, has smashed his own box-office record with his cutting-edge adaptation of Tim Burton's Gothic film. The ballet begins previewing at Sadler's Wells tomorrow.

Bourne's string of hits include his versions of The Nutcracker and The Car Man, based on Bizet's opera Carmen.

Edward Scissorhands is the story of a scientist who creates a young man with scissors for hands. But he dies before he is able to replace them with real ones. The film starred Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder.

Bourne first asked about acquiring the rights to the 1990 film almost a decade ago. "I gave up on it once or twice," he said recently. "I couldn't talk about it any longer and had to get it out of my head."

Burton is a fan of Bourne's work and has 12 tickets for the press night on 30 November, prompting speculation that Depp will also be there checking out his successors, Sam Archer and Richard Winsor.

Next week also sees Bourne's Swan Lake opening in Paris before going on a US tour.