Peaky Blinders: The Rise at the Camden Garrison

Following the success of other immersive shows such as Doctor Who: Time Fracture and The Great Gatsby, Immersive Everywhere create Peaky Blinders: The Rise, an experience based on the popular TV series. While some of its pitfalls are similar to those that mar the general appeal of the other experiences, the general ambience, quality of acting and flow of the production are strong, turning this into a fantastic bit of entertainment for Peaky Blinders enthusiasts.

Directed by Tom Maller, the general idea is that the audience members are friends, relatives or associates of the Shelby family and either assist or work against Tommy Shelby in establishing a whisky smuggling ring during the prohibition in the US. As such, participants mingle and get drinks from the bar, and are occasionally invited to join particular characters as they go off and do other things, and so, by-and-by, the plot unfolds. 

The story is fairly simplistic with very few twists and turns, but that’s not necessarily to the production’s disadvantage: since most audience members get to witness different parts of the show and thereby get a flaky view of the entire action, keeping things simple means that everyone is still on the same page by the end of the story. The actors are all very involved in their characters and make the audience feel like they are really part of the action. It can feel a bit chaotic, though: sometimes a group of people will march off here or there or come in from a completely different place, making others wonder whether they’ve missed out on a fundamental part of the experience, even if that’s not the case.

It’s important to emphasise that Peaky Blinders: The Rise is a very club-like experience. Much of it takes place in a warehouse with very loud music, and there’s a bar in every room. The music is, of course, very similar to the TV show’s, so it’s perfect for fans, but an audience with less affinity towards clubbing might find it very overwhelming while trying to appreciate the immersion at the same time.

As such, Peaky Blinders: The Rise is an interesting experience that is very appealing to a certain type of audience. Clubbers and lovers of the 1920s will appreciate the ambience and the music, and Peaky Blinders fans will love getting their fix. A solid piece of escapism throughout.

Michael Higgs

Peaky Blinders: The Rise is at the Camden Garrison from 14^th July until 1^st February 2023. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.

Watch a trailer for the production here: