From skin-fades… to skinheads: Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight auditions for a new show about Birmingham’s ska scene, and the extras MUST have shaved heads
Forget skin fading, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is looking for something even more extreme as casting kicks off for his latest project.
Possibly responsible for keeping hipster hairdressers in steady employment thanks to the haircut favored by Cillian Murphy and his band of criminally minded brothers, Knight is now on the hunt for skinheads after issuing a casting call.
The writer-producer is currently developing the new show This Town, an exploration of the popular ska scene that exploded in Birmingham in the late ’70s and early ’80s.
Everything Changes: Forget skin fading, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is looking for something even more extreme as casting begins for his latest project.
A synopsis for the show, which focuses on a group of disenfranchised teens as they immerse themselves in the subculture, reads: “This Town tells the story of an extended family and four young men who are drawn to the world of ska and two -tone music, which exploded from the grassroots of the late ’70s and early ’80s, uniting black, white and Asian youth.
The Mad Dog Casting agency, which published the ad, stipulates that young actors with close-cropped hair, a look popular with ska fans of the time, offer a flat rate of £10 to anyone willing to travel.
“Skinheads and skinheads wanted for upcoming BBC series This Town (from creators of Peaky Blinders),” it read.
In and around West Bromwich. You should have good availability between now and the end of February.
Bold look: Knight is arguably responsible for keeping hipster hairdressers in steady employment thanks to the skin faded haircut adopted by the cast of his hit BBC show Peaky Blinders.
Moving on: The writer-producer is currently developing a new show This Town, an exploration of the popular ska scene that exploded in Birmingham in the late 1970s and early 1980s (pictured: local two-tone band The Specials in 1980)
Speaking in 2022, Knight, who grew up in Walsall, West Midlands, described her upcoming series as a passion project.
“This is a project very close to my heart,” he told the BBC. “It’s about an era that I lived through and know well, and it involves characters that I feel like I grew up with.
“It’s a love letter to Birmingham and Coventry, but I hope people around the world will identify with it.”
Love Letter: Speaking in 2022, Knight, who grew up in Walsall, West Midlands, described her upcoming series as a passion project.
The six-part series recently began principal photography in Wolverhampton, where replica police vans from the early ’80s were seen parked on a city street during what appeared to be a scene of a riot.
Relatively unknown Levi Brown, Jordan Bolger, Ben Rose and Eve Austin have been cast in the lead roles, while Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery will also appear.
Nicholas Pinnock, best known for his role in Marcella, and My Policeman’s David Dawson also landed roles in the new series.
An air date has not yet been confirmed.