Fans of 'Peaky Blinders' can now step into the fictional world of the Shelby family at a new immersive experience near London Bridge. Visitors can explore the Garrison Tavern, take on missions, place bets and interact with characters in an underworld inspired by the hit series.
Fans of the hit TV show Peaky Blinders can now enter the world of the Shelby family at a new immersive experience near London Bridge.
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The experience begins at the Garrison Tavern, where visitors can have a drink and encounter characters from the fictional world before deciding whether to venture further into the ticketed underworld.
Performance director Kieron Smith says the tavern is designed to act as the gateway into the experience.
"We've got singing, we've got speeches, we are introducing the overarching story in there from these actors and from these characters to the guests," he explains. "And then some guests may want to stay and just have a drink. And we'll also sometimes have live bands as well, on certain evenings as well. Some guests can stay and have a drink, otherwise you can upgrade to go into the underworld itself."
Those who continue into the paid experience can explore locations including Garrison Lane, the Shelby family's front room and a bookies, while taking on missions linked to the story.
Producer George Wood and Smith explain how the experience works.
"You meet characters along the way. You're given storylines and missions, and it's a whole world. The idea is that the audience don't move in a batched, linear way, where they move from one room to the next. They can go anywhere."
The creators have also added details that link the experience to the wider Peaky Blinders universe.
"We've got lots of little titbits from the series that sort of guests can discover," shares Smith. "For example, Winston Churchill calls on a phone. So if you're lucky, you may pick the phone up and hear Winston Churchill talking to you. Someone who sounds suspiciously like Alfie Solomons rings in as well and is quite rude to you. But again, there's these characters popping up all over and our cast bring a lot of those extra characters to life as well. All the characters that the actors are playing are brand new. We've created new characters for the Underworld."
The experience is intended to change over time, rather than remain a fixed recreation.
"What we wanted to create is a full immersive underworld where storylines can change," says Wood. "It won't be that this is static, new characters, new stories can be brought in and the world can constantly evolve and that's what makes it so exciting."
Check out the video above for a look inside the underworld...
