By Vivian Tam
The TOG team were excited to be #invited to the Press Night of Peaky Blinders at New Theatre, Oxford.
What do you get when you cross impeccable choreography with a gritty 1920s Birmingham gang family? You get the Peaky Blinders dance theatre production, of course!
I’ve been a fan of the Peaky Blinders universe since it was first released on Netflix for global syndication. There is something about the outward ruthlessness of the Shelby family, tempered by glimpses of their inward humanity – in the way they are fiercely loyal to and protective of one another– that is so captivating to watch. And, of course, the costumes are breathtaking and make me want to finger curl my hair and pick up a tweed three-piece suit to wear every day.
So it was with this appreciation that I was incredibly excited to bring a friend to the Peaky Blinders production by Rambert Dance, courtesy of That Oxford Girl. Having never been to a dance theatre production, I was surprised by just how well this art form conveyed the complex emotions evoked by the Peaky story.
The Rambert company focused on one of my favorite major storylines—that of Tommy and Grace’s (forgive the mini-spoiler) fatally flawed relationship. The scene in which they meet is a masterpiece – set in a club “under new management” by the Shelby family, Grace emerges in a breathtaking green dress and immediately captures Tommy’s affections. They then engage in the literal and metaphorical “dance” of their courtship, involving a symbolic blindfold for him and divided loyalties for her.
Another unforgettable moment was when Tommy descends into the “chasm between life and death” due to his harrowing opioid addiction. The dancers’ lyrical, tortured movements while covered under translucent sheets were so haunting and visceral that you felt vicariously the torment of Tommy’s plight.
Yet it is the women of Peaky, just as in the television show, who are the backbone of the production. Ada, Grace and Polly are avant-garde: fearless women capable at once of expanding the family empire and rescuing family from the brink of death at all costs. They were the original “girl bosses” of their time, and their reckless swagger was a joy to watch.
And the music! The live band featured prominently on stage, and, as the programme indicated—Cilian Murphy had a sense that music was either “Peaky” or “not Peaky”. The production opened and closed with a rendition of the menacing (and my personal favourite) “Red Right Hand”, with the band capturing the shades of grief, love, and redemption perfectly well throughout.
Overall, this Rambert production surprised me in the best possible way with how well it translated Peaky’s outsized emotions onstage. Call me a new inductee into the world of dance theatre – I was blown away by the grace of the dancers, the fit of the soundtrack and the story of a gang leader redeemed by love and loss.
Check out a whole host of brilliant upcoming productions at New Theatre, Oxford here!
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