Steven Knight writes for moving bodies
The television series’ creator, Steven Knight, wrote the stage adaptation; Rambert’s artistic director Benoit Swan Pouffer directs and choreographs it. The story begins in the trenches of Flanders and moves into industrial Birmingham after the First World War. Tommy is building his family’s power while Grace, an undercover Special Branch agent, works her way towards the gang.
The theatrical version gives the characters a physical language. War trauma, family loyalty, attraction and violence become movement as well as plot. The Shanghai programme also describes material and character details absent from the screen version, so this is a further treatment of the story rather than a sequence of familiar television scenes.
The sound of the production
Roman GianArthur composed and supervised the music. Rambert’s established production combines commissioned material with tracks by artists including Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Radiohead and Anna Calvi, and uses Benjamin Zephaniah’s recorded narration to illuminate the story. The staging’s live-band format places music visibly alongside the dancers.
Rambert announced the mainland-China tour in October 2025 with RTS Entertainment, a producer based in Shanghai and London. The centenary gives the visit another connection: a company founded in 1926 is telling a story set around the upheavals of the early 20th century, using a television property to reach a different theatre audience.
The Shanghai run
Performances run 19–22 March 2026 at Shanghai Culture Square (上海文化广场), 36 Yongjia Road (黄浦区永嘉路36号). The Chinese listing is《托马斯·谢尔比的救赎》. Tickets are listed at 180–980 yuan; the venue’s booking channel carries individual sessions and subtitle arrangements.