Peaky Blinders The Rise Live Theatre Show don’t **** with them

Have you ever wondered what it might of been like to grow up in Birmingham in the early 1900’s? Well Peaky Blinders: The Rise Live Theatre Show gives you that chance as you travel back to that era where you’ll be able to come face to face with a notorious criminal gang Peaky Blinders.

Peaky Blinders The Rise Live Theatre Show is an immersive experience which is based on a British Crime Drama TV series created by Steven Knight. Set within Birmingham early 1900’s you’ll be able to come face to face with fictional characters such as Tommy who is the leader of a criminal gang of Peaky Blinders who are a mix of Irish Catholic and Romani. Peaky Blinders are loosely based on a real urban youth gang of the same name who were active in the city from the 1880’s to the 1910’s.

I was invited down to one of the press nights in which I got to mingle with all sorts of notorious characters and got to discover what the streets of Birmingham was like back in the 1900’s.

Peaky Blinders

From the team behind Doctor Who: Time Fracture and The Great Gatsby comes Peaky Blinders: The Rise which is a new immersive theatre show that enables anyone to join forces with Thomas Shelby and his gang as they try to take over London’s Camden.

Peaky Blinders: The Rise is an immersive theatrical show which will allow you to enter the heart of one of the world’s most popular BBC One TV series which is centred on a Birmingham based gang post-World War One, which stars Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory and Paul Anderson.

Presented by Immersive Everywhere in collaboration with Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and Caryn Mandabach Productions, invites audiences for a fully immerse experience taking you into the world of Tommy Shelby’s. Audience members will be able to experience live sets, interact with characters, game play and decide if watch to see if Tommy Shelby and his family succeed taking over London.

The night will start out with London Kingpin, Alfie Solomons, in which Tommy invites you to a family meeting at the Shelby’s Camden warehouse. Tommy has a plan that could prove lucrative for everyone, and it promises to be a night of celebration.

Question is are you brave enough to help Tommy and his gang?
Alternatively you might just want to kick back in the Camden Garrison Pub with Arthur.

What ever you decide to do on the night you must keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground, as Tommy’s enemies are closer than you think and they may want to make you an offer you’ll find hard to refuse.

More info about the team behind Peaky Blinders

The script is by Katie Lyons, music by Barnaby Race, lighting design by Terry Cook for Woodroffe Bassett, sound design by Luke Swaffield for Autograph, dramaturgy by Raphael Martin, the associate director is Elena Voce, the vocal and accent coach is Sarah McGuinness and the movement director is Charlie Burt.

The live cast features Craig Hamilton as Tommy Shelby, alongside Phil Aizlewood as Walter McDonald, Roxana Bartle as Grace Burgess/Zilpha Lee, Isaac Beechey as John Shelby, Sam Blythe as Alfie Solomons, Angus Brown as Charles Sabini, James Bryant as an American Businessman, Kat Johns-Burke as Pearl St. Clair, Daniel Mackenzie-Carter as Michael Gray, Kieran Mortell as Arthur Shelby, Reece Richardson as Georgie Sewell, Elliot Rodriguez as Isiah Jesus, Megan Shandley as Lizzie Stark, Emma Stansfield as Polly Gray, Lucinda Turner as Ada Thorne, Hannah Victoria as Maggie Hill, and Daisy Winter-Taylor as Phyllis Robbins.

Learning about Peaky Blinders

Having never seen Peaky Blinders before I was a little unsure what I would be experiencing but what I did know was that the story was set back in the early 1900’s of Birmingham in which criminal gangs lurked. What I did know though was that Tommy Shelby wants to expand the family business into London and so is throwing a party for his friends and family.

So I donned on my fanciest of navy blue dresses and set down to Camden with my friend Steve. It is not compulsory to dress up but whenever I go to an immersive event I like to become part of the era and story.

Before heading to Shelby Corporation in Camden to party I learnt that Tommy is meeting the North London Kingpin Alfie Solomons. It is from this meeting where I learnt about the rivalries.

Exploring the underworld

Stepping through the doors of Shelby Corporation I immediately started to feel how Brummie’s must of felt back in the 1900’s, as it seemed pretty scary with the gang Peaky Blinders being about.

Entering further into the Camden warehouse I met ‘The Italian’ Charles Sabini, a garrulous man who wants us to spy on Tommy for him. Then soon after Tommy and Polly make welcome speeches from balconies. After that, it was then time for us to explore and mingle and blackmail to gain money.

As the story unfolds there is plenty to explore within the Camden warehouse from visiting a Laundry room, Polly’s place of work and so much more. Some rooms though you have to be invited by the characters themselves to have access to, such like Tommy’s office. So the more you interact with the characters the more you will get out of the experience and the night as you discover hidden secret rooms and get to learn even more about certain characters.

Within your time at this event you might end up advising Tommy on his business affairs in his office, or you might want to conspire with the Italians in the Eden Club, but no matter what direction you take on the night you will have a decision at the end along with other audience members on if Tommy and his family succeed in their ambition to take London.

However, keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground as you adventure through, as Tommy’s enemies are closer than you think and they may want to make you an offer you’ll find hard to refuse.

What I loved about this experience in particular is that it really does not matter if you don’t know the show as it was easy to deceiver in most cases what was going from disputes and relationships. However there was parts throughout the night in which I wished I had watch Peaky Blinders just so I could understand the characters a little better from their relationships and their grudges between each other.

Here are a few snapshots from the sets within the warehouse which I was allowed to take at the end of the show, as during the show you are not allowed to take photos.

Verdict

So if you have binge-watched all six series of Peaky Blinders and are now suffering from a Peaky Blinders withdrawal, then you’ll love this live show. However as I mentioned earlier I have never watched a single episode of Peaky Blinders myself but I absolutely loved this immersive experience.

The beauty about Peaky Blinders: The Rise unlike other immersive shows which are out in London is that there is plenty to get involve in from exploring rooms, discovering hidden rooms, game play, blackmailing and interacting with characters.

The show is full of amazing sets, props and notorious characters with plenty to get involved in, in order to gain money or even help the criminal gangster Tommy and his gang out. All the actors and actresses played their parts well and the singers were outstanding, the vocals on some of them were exceptional and I could of easily just sit back and listened to them.

The only thing I did not like about this live theatrical experience was the number of audience members which was allowed through the doors. I went on a sold out press night and the venue was absolutely crammed with us practically on top of each other for the first 30 minutes before the doors opened up into another section. As we have just come out of being under Covid restrictions I just felt there was a little too many people within the venue.

Plus only other downfall I did not understand the meaning behind collecting money. As apart from using the money to bet with I did not work out what else I could do with the money I collected.

So if you decide to go or not, one thing is for sure is that there is plenty of characters to follow and things to get involve in, so if you attend more than once you will experience a completely different experience every time.

I would certainly recommend this experience if you love immersive theatre and love stories centred around gangsters.

Peaky Blinders: The Rise book now

Camden Garrison
Camden Stables Market
North Yard
London
NW1 8AH

Step into the world of Birmingham in the 1900’s where Peaky Blinders gang ruled.

24 June 2022 to 23 February 2023, performance times vary and show last two hours

The show is suitable for audience members aged 14+ (though under 18s must be accompanied by an adult)

Fancy dress is not compulsory but strongly encouraged.

Tickets start from £39

Click here to book.

Thanks to Peaky Blinder: The Rise for the invite it was a blast. All views are my own honest opinion.