Rambert Dance Company channel the soul of Peaky Blinders and deliver a jaw dropping show of music and dance. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Peaky Blinders, the beloved series created by Steven Knight, tells the saga of the Shelby clan in the years between World War I and World War II.
Returning home to Birmingham after serving in the Army in World War I, Tommy and Arthur Shelby, with the help of their extended family in Small Heath set up a criminal gang that, over the course of six seasons, and an expected film, builds to be an international criminal empire, encountering the Mafia, the IRA and the British Union of Fascists along the way.
Over the years, Peaky Blinders has become iconic. Not only hugely popular in its home of Birmingham and across the country, but America has jumped on the bandwagon, albeit with subtitles needed for our fair accents.
To its name, Peakys already has six seasons, an upcoming film, a music festival, several soundtracks, and pubs in Birmingham (of course), Liverpool, and Manchester. It was only a matter of time before a stage show was floated, and now, with its initial run being in Birmingham (where else?) to conclude the six month long Birmingham Festival 2022, we have Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby written by Peakys creator and driving force Steven Knight, and performed by the Rambert Dance company.
Hang on.
Did we just say Dance Company?
That’s right. This is not your normal straightforward stage adaptation, but a dance theatre show directed and choreographed by Rambert’s Artistic Director Benoit Swan Pouffer, and accompanied by a live band playing the iconic tracks from the show, and newly commissioned music as well.
The plot for the shows sits alongside seasons one, two and three, so there no need to worry about spoilers for season six. Also, the events portrayed are broad enough that if you happen to take anyone who hasn’t seen the series nothing in particular would be spoiled for them. This could be a good starting point for them to get into it!
Guillaume Quéau steps into Cillian Murphy’s role of Thomas Shelby with grace, strength and poise. Also fantastic are Musa Motha as Barney and Aishwarya Raut as The Widow Changratta, the villain of the piece. To be absolutely fair to everyone on stage, the entire company is enthralling: their dancing take them from the trenches and war-torn fields of France, to the blackened and fiery pits of Birmingham’s steel mills. We visit the racecourses run by Polly whilst the men are away at war, and we find ourselves in the numbing haze of an opium den.
The cast spin and leap around the stage and each other, moving with murderous intent or sombre grief as needed. The set design is inspired managing to be everything described above and more. There are some brilliantly designed special effects that are far too cool to spoil here to look forward to when you go.
I don’t have enough words of praise for the band made up of The Last Morrell on vocals, guitar and keys, James Douglas on cello and bass, and Yaron Engler pulling double duty as musical director and also acting as the devils own metronome on drums. I could have happily listened to these guys play all night, their driving, powerful soundtrack, made up of tracks known from the series (Red Right Hand by Nick Cave makes several welcome appearances) and new pieces from Roman GianArthur was the driving force of the show throughout.
As a special easter egg listen out for Brummie legend Benjamin Zephaniah as the narrator of the show, who any fan of Peakys will know as Jeremiah.
If you are a fan of Peaky Blinders and the smoke-hazed world they inhabit, then you absolutely must see this show. It’s a great introduction to ballet and dance theatre via a revered and respected franchise, and we expect to be hugely popular up and down the country.
On at Birmingham Hippodrome until Sunday 2nd October before it leaves to continue its UK tour.
Book tickets here: Peaky Blinders at Birmingham Hippodrome
Photos by Johan Persson
Disclaimer: We were invited along to the media night. All thoughts and opinions are entirely our own.