Peaky Blinders © has made its way to the stage of the Donald Gordon Theatre at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff for this week only, so don’t miss out.
The popular TV show, was written by Steve Knight and adapted to a stage production. The show premiered on 27th September 2022, with sell-out performances in Birmingham. With choreography and direction from Rambert’s Artistic Director Benoit Swan Pouffer you know you’ll be watching the best.
A theme we’ve noticed on the theatre stages recently is a reigniting of the 1920’s era, 100 years later flappers and flat caps are all the rage once more.
The story begins in the trenches of Flanders, and we follow the Shelby family in post First World War industrial Birmingham. The dramatic opening scene sees the actors rising up from the trenches with an eerily twitching motion. The scars of war are apparent as we learn of the damage it has done to them, turning the characters into soulless individuals.
The post-war scene in the factory is very profound, showing the difference between the haves and have nots the workers and industrialists. It was quite obvious what side the Shelby’s are on, their past experiences mean they fear no one, and would rather scare their way to success, rather than earning it. The use of pyrotechnics throughout makes things lively and you can see how much the audience enjoys these touches.
When a mysterious newcomer arrives on set, it sets off a series of events, which could be a recipe for disaster. It reflects the decisions that we make in our lives that ultimately determine our fates and this story is no different.
The production centres around the main duo, Tommy Shelby (Guillaume Quéau) and Grace Burgess’ (Naya Lovell) passionate love affair, and the audiences play witness to Tommy looking to build his empire. Grace, an undercover agent for Special Branch, is on a mission to get close to the heart of Tommy’s gang.
Avid Peaky Blinders fans will be thrilled to know that Knight has included exclusive plot and character insights that don’t appear on screen.
This said, you don’t need to be a fan of the show to follow this, neither do you need to spend too much time trying to work out what the next scene is about. Instead, you should sit back and watch the events unfold as you see them and applaud the the fantastic display of dance and artistry before you.
As you might expect from the renowned Rambert company, the show is absolutely dazzling with athletic and stunning dance from start to finish. Physical theatre is the heart of this production, the music specially commissioned by Roman GianArthur only enhances it being performed by a live band, and some iconic Peaky tracks are also included.
Where as Act 1 focuses primarily on the return of Thomas Shelby and rise of the Tommy Gang, the second is much more intense as you journey through the mindset of Thomas as he faces a series of internal embattlements. We won’t spoil things, but things become quite deep, but it is fascinating how this turn of events is interpreted through dance – something, which we feel the writers and choreographers have harmonised very well.
Barney (Musa Motha) was sensational with his moves and character, and is something that anyone of us would dream of having. In particular the choreography of the fight scenes is superb our personal stand out moments of the show.
As the creator said, if the concept of a Peaky Blinders dance seems strange (and it did for us at first), then you clearly haven’t seen this production, otherwise you’d know what an incredible creation this truly is.
Speaking ahead of the tour, The Peaky Blinders creator had this to say:
“Peaky Blinders has always had music and movement at its heart and now the beating heart of the show will be transferred to the stage, an interpretation of Tommy’s story performed by Rambert, one of the leading dance companies in the world. This is dance for people who don’t usually watch dance and what I’ve written has been transformed into something startling by consummate dancers and choreographers. If the concept of a Peaky Blinders dance seems strange, reserve judgement and reserve a ticket.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, tickets are still for sale on the WMC website here.
Performances are showing until Saturday, 25 March in Cardiff before the tour moves on to Plymouth.
- Age guidance: 15+
- This show is based on the TV series which has a 15 age guidance. There will be some representation of violence, sex and drug use.
- Strobe lighting.
- Live gunshots and pyrotechnics on stage.
- Some recorded loud bangs and some loud music.
- Running time: Approximately 130 minutes including one 20-minute interval.
