Review of Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The Rambert Dance Company is the oldest such company in Britain having first performed in 1926. However, despite this, this was my first encounter with the group in my ten years of theatre-going. Coupled with this, it was also my first encounter with Peaky Blinders, having never seen the show, and only knowing a few vague things about it. My companion for the evening however was very familiar with the show, allowing some background behind the show.

It turns out though, Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby needs a little more than a good bit of knowledge of the show, as despite this production having incredible style, there struggles to be a cohesive structure to the show and the storytelling. Much more than other dance shows as well.

The first act does a whistle-stop tour of the first five seasons and while it is a feast on the eye, and on the ear, it gets extremely confusing at times. The second act is freestyle and drifts away from the stories told in the series, and perhaps as a result of this, it is the better act, just.

At the basic level, this show has some great dance, although it has to be said, not a great deal of refinement and deftness. It is very aggressive, strong dancing, mostly driven by the male performers, and this is detrimental to the success of the show at times (but perhaps in keeping with the concept), you can only take a certain amount of stomping moves. There is an opium-based scene in the second act that briefly, for a time, shows how much better this could have been with more balance in styles. In the end, though, repetition is the weakness of the show.

Also lacking is connectivity from the performers, relationships struggle to be believable and emotion is weak in the storytelling. Maybe Rambert just wants to make it showy and aggressive, that is Peaky Blinders at the end of the day and you can't say that the very eclectic audience was thrilled by the events. However, were they thrilled by Peaky Blinders the dance show, or, a dance show? It certainly isn't quite up there with many other dance shows in that respect.

There are some excellent performances though, and many of those are actually further down the pecking order of characters, Max Day simply dazzles in the ensemble, showing a series of incredible moves and a very slinky performance. Likewise, Aishwarya Raut is a captivating presence in a number of scenes. Also, there is no question that Musa Motha as Jeremiah has unbelievable skills. Elsewhere, there are curiosities. Simone Damberg Würtz is totally wasted in the role of Polly, and there is no love felt in the performances between Joseph Kudra's Thomas Shelby and Seren Williams as Grace Burgess, in what should be the driving love story of the evening.

There are some superb moments that show the potential this did have but was not maintained. The invasion moment of the audience for example and demands for money is a cracker and a surprise unlike much of the show sadly. The staging also suffers dependent on where you sit. The fifth row for example has no clear view of the top of the stage where the bulk of the performances is made. Feet are often obscured and the trench used frequently throughout is invisible here and just results in people popping up and disappearing bizarrely as a result.

Perhaps the very best part of the show doesn't reside with the dancing ironically, and that is the music. Much performed live by Yaron Engler, James Douglas, and The Last Morrell, it is absolutely stunningly performed, and indeed the whole soundtrack is of exceptional quality.

Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby is an odd show. The moment Peaky Blinders was suggested at a Rambert planning meeting must have been an interesting one, but credit to them for making it happen. At times, but sadly rarer than wanted, it is an excellent show. However, be you a die-hard Peaky Blinders fan, or brand new to the show, this feels like a curiosity and failure. However, by order of the Peaky Blinders audience, so many stood at the end, might suggest, I am totally wrong and might receive a visit from some flat-capped visitors soon...

A fantastic amount of style, but is sadly very limited in substance.
⭐⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Tuesday 21st February 2023 at the Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton.

Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby is at Royal & Derngate until 25th February 2023.

For further details about the Royal & Derngate and to book tickets see their website at http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk

Production photos: Johan Persson

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