Until now, the Forty Elephants gang have been a historical footnote – Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight aims to correct that with his new period drama series.
Set in the 1890s, A Thousand Blows is divided between the underground world of bareknuckle boxing and the exploits of the all-female gang, who managed to carry out high stakes heists undeterred for years, as the authorities at the time didn’t believe women could be capable of such criminality. The Disney+ series is the brainchild of stars Stephen Graham and Hannah Walters, who first approached Knight with the idea to set an ensemble drama during this uncharted period of history.
As Walters explained to Zavvi, the unheralded criminal masterminds were such a footnote that they weren’t even discovered until later in development, whilst the pair were researching what would be a more streamlined series about Jamaican immigrant Hezekiah Moscow (Malachi Kirby).
She said: “The project started with a single image which Tom Miller, one of our producers, found of the real Hezekiah Moscow, along with the tiniest bit of research about this incredible man who came to England looking for a better life. It made us want to research this era in greater detail, and as we looked deeper, the Elephants kept popping up; we had all these disparate stories with rich dramatic material, and they were the final piece to make it all come together.
“There was a plethora of amazing stories and characters who were already amazing, set against a rich tapestry of London we’ve never seen onscreen before. Steven was the perfect person to get the ball rolling and turn these ideas into a series.”
Walters plays the Elephants’ second-in-command Eliza Moody, but on set, she took more of a leadership role with her fellow thieves. This included helping to arrange a “pickpocketing workshop” so that the cast would be able to bring a greater realism to their roles.
“On set, we had a pickpocketing expert who teaches people how to recognise pickpockets, so that they understand how they operate and prevent being stolen from. He taught us all about the art of distraction, which helped with the role, but after those workshops I started to find myself looking a bit too long at people, wondering if I was going to get clocked...”
Led by the cocky, outspoken Mary Carr (Erin Doherty), it’s easy to find yourself rooting for the Elephants to pull off every high-stakes robbery, including an elaborate Harrods heist in episode two. The actress rejects the idea that the series risks glamorising a criminal lifestyle, however.
“They’re powerful because they’re a nuclear family unit, which makes them a strong force – they only become dangerous because they have that camaraderie. The fact they have each other’s backs is what makes them doubly dangerous to anybody else!”
The Harrods heist was filmed over several days, with production repeatedly paused due to crowds of screaming girls outside the set: the Jonas Brothers were staying at the hotel opposite.
“It was an immersive experience inside; the production design was done so beautifully in that building, our characters got to wear costumes we hadn’t seen before, and we loved everything about it – except the stairs. On each take you can see me get further behind everybody else, it wasn’t fun running up and down those in a corset numerous times!”
The cast are enthusiastic about a potential second season, with many of the characters introduced here likely to play larger roles going forward. Take Alice Diamond (Darci Shaw), who we see join the gang here, and in real life would eventually come to lead them further down the line.
Shaw said: “It’s such an amazing feeling when you can type someone’s name into Google and get actual hits from it, and that’s the same case for all the Elephants, they all lived these incredible lives. They were these working-class women who were able to earn money they’d never be able to earn in other lines of work, and it’s so interesting to hear their stories.
“They were tough, they were cool, and the fact they were real is the most unbelievable thing.”
Drawn into the world of the Elephants are Hezekiah and his best friend Alec Munroe (Francis Lovehall), who first meet Mary at the side of the ring as Alec attempts to knock out boxer Treacle Goodson (James Nelson-Joyce) – the younger brother of the undefeated Sugar Goodson (Stephen Graham) - to earn themselves enough money for a hotel. Lovehall also emigrated from Jamaica when he was 12 years old, although more than a century is removed between his experiences and those of his character; he finds personal resonance in this story but hopes viewers can respond on a more universal level.
“I think the best stories are those which can be felt by all people”, he told Zavvi. “We all have a Hamlet or an Othello in us, and we can all feel their emotions when hearing those stories, and I think the same is true here.
"Alec leaving the place he loves for bigger and better opportunities is something which can be felt by all immigrants, and the dream which drives you to move is the main goal we both shared.”
“For me, and I think the rest of the cast share this sentiment, there’s always a pressure to tell these people’s stories with integrity. Making sure someone’s truth comes across is important, especially when as artists, we are granted the ability to rewrite real histories onscreen.
“We wanted to be true to the class struggles and the racism that were rife in this period, but we also wanted to make clear that the real fight for everybody is just surviving day to day. Every one of the characters has a dream they want to pursue, and the East End during this period is unforgiving; it throws so many obstacles in the way.”
Graham and Walters’ production company, Matriarch Productions, specialises in finding working-class stories and bringing them to the screen with the help of working-class acting talent – they'd previously brought Graham’s passion project Boiling Point to life. Even though the specific immigrant experience is at the centre of the ensemble drama, the cast view this as a story about class first and foremost, which just happens to have some of the richest, least stereotypical depictions of immigrant communities they’ve seen onscreen.
For Jason Tobin, who plays Mr. Lao – owner of the boarding house where Hezekiah and Moscow stay, and hesitant associate of the Elephants – what stood out was how much the scripts authentically underplayed issues which are often handled clumsily in British and American productions.
“I had never seen a character like this in a British or American film or TV series, I was pleasantly surprised to see how much care they’d treated his story with. I’ll often get scripts set in the west which feature Chinese characters that feel like caricatures, and that the writers are engaging in cultural tourism, so to read such a relevant character was a thrill – and to play him was a further privilege.
“I’ve travelled all over the world and met so many Chinese people who have had similar, familiar stories, so it isn’t surprising we’d see one onscreen. It was just surprising that someone in the UK would take the time to research and write it!”
Back in the ring, Nelson-Joyce makes an intimidating impression in the first episode as Treacle, a fighter who shares his older brother’s undefeated record in the ring. The actor has played plenty of despicable characters before, but he believes this is one of his more vulnerable roles – don't let the amount of training he did to get into character fool you about that.
He told Zavvi: “I remember speaking to some friends who are professional boxers – some of them are world champions – and they were really interested in me making a show like this, as it’s set around the founding of Lonsdale and the Queensbury Rules for boxing. A gym was built on set for us to train in, and it was like learning from scratch as the movements then were more stiff and upright, but it was a great experience – I couldn’t believe I was getting paid to learn how to box again.
“I think there’s a softer side of Treacle beneath all that; what Steven’s done so well is writing three-dimensional characters that you can root for and see yourself in, even as they do things you don’t agree with. The beauty of Steven’s writing is that you never question anybody’s motivations – and more importantly, it’s fun, you’ll want to be in the ring or doing heists!”
However, the actor who faced the biggest challenge on set was the one you’d least expect; Daniel Mays, who plays ring announcer William “Punch” Lewis. His job largely revolved around whipping up the audience of 150 extras into a frenzy every day, but stepping into the shoes of a hype man came at a cost.
“At the same time as we were filming, I was playing Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls at the Bridge Theatre”, he told Zavvi. “These are two very extroverted characters, which required me to be in constant showman mode – pratfalls and hat spins I was doing onstage started slipping into this performance.
“My vocal cords took a lot of damage over those weeks. There were times where I was going on stage and I needed to ask the tech guys at the theatre to turn my mic up to the max, I needed that help as it felt like I was getting punches in the throat!
“I’m not exaggerating when I say it was the most exhausting thing I’ve done in my life, I was existing on about five hours sleep. It wasn’t the healthiest thing to do, but I was glad I made the sacrifice, because it meant I got to play a part in this exceptional show.”
With Walters hinting to us that we haven’t seen the last of the Forty Elephants just yet, expect a return to the London underworld soon. Pray for Daniel’s vocal cords.
A Thousand Blows premieres on Disney+ on Friday, 21st February.
