The One with the Peaky Blinders Experience

Imagine what it would be like to immerse yourself in the world of Peaky Blinders: you’ve been selected to be privy to some of the most confidential information that could get you or yourself killed through being associated with the wrong type of people.

This was what my night was like last Thursday night.

It all began when London Boy asked me on a what I would like to do later. I have been staying at his place as he is a good friend of mine whom I met at a party back in Canada a few years back.

I wanted to find something interesting, as I was never usually the one to come up with ideas of what to do—I’m pretty laid back when it comes to plans and am usually happy doing whatever the other person wants to do.

But this time, I digress, it was up to me to find something. Now he did suggest something local and cheap, but since it was his birthday recently I felt like it was within my power to choose something with not too much cost to budget if it seemed like a. good time.

I went on one of my favourite London apps: Todaytix. Todaytix is a great app for finding tickets to shows in some of the larger cities in the world. It includes others like New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, Washington DC, and others.

Once you select your location you can then see all the plays, ballets, and operas that are playing in your region.

There are ‘rush tickets’ which mean tickets that are last minute and can be purchased at a discount rate. Usually the seats are a bit more far back and might just be a one off, not a pair, but it’s a great option for finding something to do last minute.

I had seen the Peaky Blinders: The Rise experience a few times and figured I’d try out for the rush tickets and was surprised when there were still some left at the reduced price (normally from £56 upwards for £29).

So I clicked the option and just had a few minutes to decide so I just purchased them and then told my friend about it after and hoped he would want to go.

Luckily he was down and even had some pretty snazzy pants to wear for the occasion (you are suggested to dress up in the 1920s style), kind of like your paperboy look.

I had just thrifted a tweed-looking ankle-length skirt from a thrift-pop-up in a church earlier in the week, so I was also somewhat ready to go.

We met up in Camden, of course I got lost like I always do (seriously, why was Google Maps telling me to go inside Coyote Ugly in order to get to the stalls area for the Peaky Blinders experience?

I must have passed the woman at the entrance of that place 3 times making awkward eye contact, because I knew it surely could not be in there but you also never know (and I hate asking for help, especially for directions).

What was awkward as well was that a kind gentleman working at a shop that actually sold clothes that looked like they would be featured in the show Peaky Blinders asked if I needed help finding something, and I said no!

I was still confident at that point, though. But my confidence surely waned after I went in a circle for the third time. I even went up some stairs to some back entrance of that same club—surely I was not in the right place.

I messaged my friend and told him I was lost. We met up in the street as he was just coming from a work thing, and then he used his phone to help guide us to a point where I ultimately saw a sign, which is the head picture, pointing us in the right direction.

When we got there we were immediately thrust into the Peaky Blinders world. We joined a line, received some old £1 bank notes and were told that if anyone asked, we were to say that we were all bakers.

We then entered a large, dark room and were awaiting what was next. We were outlined some rules, all while the performers remained in character with the appropriate accents that are in Peaky Blinders.

We left our jackets at coat check, purchased some drinks, then we were lead into an incredible saloon area with different stalls on the left and right, and with performers everywhere dressed to the nines.

We were now in Peaky Blinders.

A lot was going on. There was music, different members of the ‘Peaky Blinders' family’ about; they were splitting up and directing the crowd to designated areas..

London Boy and I made our way to the end and went into the room where bets on horses were taking place. My friend has Irish heritage and placed his bet on the Irish named horse, also convinced this bet was key to the end of the show (it was not).

We definitely could have used a bit more clarity on the importance of tasks during, but that was perhaps part of the mysterious effect that being part of the family crew would present.

We walked around a bit, then were ushered into a different corner where the hiring for a typing position was being done. It was pretty hilarious because the random person of the audience that was selected was asked to actually type out a sentence using this super old fashioned type writer.

She looked like she was so intent on doing a good job and by the end of it there were no words on the paper. They said she needed to type a little harder next time! (Still not sure if this was meant as a joke or if she actually managed to not hit the keys properly.)

My friend and I were then selected by Mr. Tommy himself for an important job upstairs. We were lined up in a row with several others and asked some questions about wages and what we should be hired for.

After saying how we were all such hard working bakers all was well and a wage of £4.60 was determined.

There was then a lot of shuffling about; we got another drink and were then hurried up into another area for a different task—to uncover secret information on someone.

My friend and I, along with a few others, were then lead outside and told our Italian names and to pretend that was what we were. It’s not good to be an Italian in Peaky Blinders, you see, and we surely had some English chaps following us, lingering slowly behind.

We made it inside and upstairs to another really cool saloon type bar with a woman singing, and sat down for a moment to sip our drinks.

It offered us a nice and clear toilet break, before we were then again rushed off somewhere asked if we wanted to make some more money. Sure thing!

It was definitely all quite exiting. The making money was attributed to the completion of different tasks.

There were quite a lot of ‘fights’ between members of the family and that was entertaining to watch and cheer on.

We were in a different room as well with an actress playing Grace, Tommy’s love interest, and she actually had such an amazing voice I was transported elsewhere while she sang us two songs.

So if not for interest in the show, you will also be getting amazing performances from talented artists in their own right, and it is amazing to see such a dynamic show unfold before your eyes where you are also part of the outcome.

It was like a giant party mixed with the most intense job you have ever experienced, as you did not want to let anyone down—you COULD NOT let anyone down or face the terrible consequences.

The intensity factor is definitely there, and I urge anyone who is able to get tickets to go, dress up, be a part of the fun.

Even if you have not seen any of the show, it is still a fun experience as it enacts your memory skills at what you are being told and asked to do, and the atmosphere is just incredible.

I also may or may not have kept one of those £1 bank notes. I am not a gambler, sorry!

Have you ever been part of an immersive show? Let me know down in the comments below!