The Town Hall Birmingham hosted the exclusive launch of the hotly anticipated fifth series of the BAFTA-award-winning ‘Peaky Blinders’, the epic gangster series set in 1920s’ Birmingham.
Home to many a historical drama in its near-200-year history, Town Hall Birmingham greeted the series’ stars and fans with a spectacular red carpet event organised by BBC Birmingham and BBC One, and music provided by Jazzlines musicians playing their own jazz repertoire from the 1920s onwards.
Jasmine, a local 17-year-old musician who performed with the Jazzlines Ensemble at the launch said: “Jazzlines Ensembles is brilliant to be a part of, not only for this once in a lifetime experience at the Peaky Blinders premiere but for my long term musical education.”
Jazzlines’ unique programme of creative jazz and talent development, based at Town Hall and Symphony Hall Birmingham, offers performance opportunities to new and established jazz musician at venues across the city, and commissions new work to support future performances and ensure a legacy for new projects.
Jazz Programme Manager, Mary Wakelam Sloan, said: “Alongside our year round talent development programme we are delighted to be able to offer unique performance opportunities like this for talented young musicians from Birmingham.”
Series five of Peaky Blinders finds the world thrown into turmoil by the financial crash of 1929.
Opportunity and misfortune are everywhere. When Tommy Shelby MP (played by Cillian Murphy) is approached by a charismatic politician with a bold vision for Britain, he realises that his response will affect not just his family’s future but that of the entire nation.
Peaky Blinders’ fans watched the season premiere before anyone else, saw their show favourites, and put questions to the cast and creators during a special question and answer panel straight after the first episode.
Creator Steven Knight, said: “Birmingham is of course my first choice for the world premiere, the cast and crew love it here. Birmingham is the epicentre for the show and it means so much to me to come back here year after year and start the series with a bang.
“This year we’re at the Town Hall, which is a great venue, with more fans than ever before able to see the programme.”