Anyone familiar with Tommy Shelby — that snarling, bloodthirsty don from Peaky Blinders — may struggle to picture him performing pirouettes along the cobbled streets of Brum, or a delicate pas de deux with his splenetic brother, Arthur.
But that's pretty much what you can expect from a new dance show, headed for London this October.
As fans of Peaky Blinders impatiently await the sixth, and final, series of the wildly popular BBC series, there's something else to get them as excited as Arthur with half a bag of the white stuff up his nose; Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby.
Written and adapted for the stage by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, the somewhat unlikely dance theatre show takes things right back to the genesis of Shelby's motley crew; a poverty riddled Britain at the end of the first world war, in which the down-and-out Brummie creates and orchestrates a Midland Mafia, while embarking on a passionate love affair with the mysterious Grace Burgess.
The show stars the 20 permanent members of the acclaimed Rambert dance company, plus a live band playing specially commissioned music.
Like Shelby himself, the production starts out in Birmingham (the Hippodrome to be exact), before venturing to the Big Smoke (it's playing at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre from 12 October-6 November 2022). After that, The Redemption of Thomas Shelby goes in search of UK-wide dominance, with stints in theatres from Plymouth to Edinburgh.
If you're a Peakys fan, this is your cue to snap up tickets. By order of, er, a booking page on the website.
Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby, Troubador Wembley Park Theatre from 12 October-6 November 2022, tickets from £19.50. (General sale tickets for London available from 21 January.)