The Birmingham gangsters of Peaky Blinders might not immediately evoke ideas of the interpretive art of dance, but show creator Steven Knight says these are two great tastes that taste great together.
While the show finished off its sixth and final television season earlier this year (there's still a movie in the works to cap off the Shelby story), Knight's long-simmering concept for a Peaky Blinders dance show has also come to fruition with Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby. The project is a collaboration between Knight, dance company Rambert Production, Birmingham Hippodrome, The Lowry, and director and choreographer Benoit Swan Pouffer. The production debuts this week at the Birmingham Hippodrome before kicking off a UK tour.
According to an official synopsis, the production will cover some familiar territory for fans of the show as well as some previously unseen backstory. It "picks up the story of the Peaky Blinders at the end of World War One, following Tommy Shelby and Grace Burgess through their passionate love affair. While Tommy is building his empire, Grace is operating as an undercover agent for Special Branch on a mission to get close to the heart of Tommy’s gang," according the production's site. "As the story unfolds, many hearts are broken."
Pouffer later expanded on that, saying, "We are starting in a way in World War I, which is not what we see in the series. And that explains why Peaky Blinders, are Peaky Blinders."
Knight added ahead of the production's premiere, "Tommy’s life is difficult. He makes a rod for his own back. He causes his own problems, of course. He’s very conflicted, he’s all of those things that he is in the TV show. But I think with dance — maybe that you don’t see in other forms — is the joy, when there is joy, you see the joy of it. But also even in the tragedy, you see the beauty of it. So it’s a really interesting way of telling the story.”
In February, the production debuted a film-style first look trailer (above) as well as new stills from the production.
The fact that these hard-hitting gangsters and dance don't exactly seem like an obvious pairing doesn't seem to have escaped Knight, who said, "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." He added, "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.”
Lauren Hubbard is a freelance writer and Town & Country contributor who covers beauty, shopping, entertainment, travel, home decor, wine, and cocktails.
