Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants

Amateur production of a Peaky Blinder story line. A very enjoyable hour. Working in the confines of the time and the space the story moves around London and the western front. Inspirational for aspiring young wannabe performers. Deserves full support. Ignore the sniffy nay sayers and take a punt on this!

I always try to watch shows made by young and emerging artists when I am at Fringe so I went along to this based on the 4 and 5 star reviews. When I got there, however, I was extremely disappointed to have been mislead by these reviews. The costumes were cool. They were the best part. But the script was weak, the accents were all over the place, the performances didn't hit the mark, and the direction was sloppy. I was under the impression that this was a kind of female reimagining of Peaky Blinders but they took characters directly out of Peaky Blinders and made them worse. As long as the actors were having fun, that's all that matters! But, as a piece of theatre, this really missed the mark.

One of those shows where the cast clearly got a lot out of the process. However, theatrically a bit naff with some very tired and overused theatrical devices. Some weak acting, and a very weak plot which brought nothing new. I thought a youth company would do something exciting and groundbreaking. We got a tired version of peaky blinders that fell very flat for me.

I see a couple of negative reviews here. I completely disagree. Every year I make a point of going to the Young Pleasance show. I do that in the knowledge that it will be entertaining, well acted and have a slick professional veneer. This show was no exception. Another great effort and cannot wait to see what you have in store for next year. Thanks.

Great song at the start, really well sung. Sadly it goes downhill from there.
The wrong play for this cast.

Noted to be one of the top performances at the fringe, I left this feeling somewhat disappointed.
A storyline with potential but not well executed.
The intended South London accents ranged from Welsh, Irish, Brummy, Cornish and Queens own. A really bizarre mix seeing as we were in 1918 Elephant and Castle and the intent for the correct accent clear as they kept jumping between these.
The acting was varied, some good performances followed by some poor ones, exaggerated mannerisms and cheesy acting.
Alice diamond was underwhelming (actor and play) and was not the showstopper I was told it was. Enjoyable and interesting enough it was okay, but definitely not something to attend if you’re looking for a thrill.

Great staging, very impressive and intricate choreography and engaging story. This absolutely blew me away.

A Young cast who performed this very well. An enjoyable show

Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants (*****)
When her brother and his London gang leave to join the World War I British army, at the behest of her mother, Alice takes over his criminal territory, and uses the women left behind to shop lift and steal instead of armed robbery. The leads and huge cast all flawlessly recreated the many crimes and parties of the historical gangs and their “queen”. The family dynamics and her relationship with her second-in command added depth to the story.


This is the second most enjoyable of the 39 shows I have seen so far at the Fringe this year. I hope to see more than 150 this year. You may see my other three-sentence reviews, in order from most enjoyable to worst, at my non-commercial website: https://fringefan.com/

A fantastic girl gang romp.

When Alice's brother and all the men in his gang head off to fight in World War 1, Alice doesn't simply keep the gang going - she transforms it. But when the men come home, she struggles to retain her control over her empire. A great ensemble cast and excellent staging and choreography makes this a joy to watch.