Louis Hartshorn and Brian Hook met while working on West End shows and have gone on to stage regular theatre such as Amelie the musical and immersive theatre; from Dr Who Time Fracture to the upcoming Peaker Blinders: The Rise in Stables Market. Hartshorn Hook are also behind The Farrier in Camden and Mayfair cocktail bar The Lucky Club, whose rooftop sister venue opens in Stables Market next week.
Q You met while working on The Producers why do you think you hit it off?
BH: We were both just out of college and taking shows up to the Edinburgh Fringe, independently. There was a great respect for the work we each wanted to make and the businesses we wanted to run and both of us wanted to push to be at the top of our games.
LH: Looking back it's pretty clear that our ambitions and drive were aligned and there was huge potential for both of us. But at the time we were two young scrappy lads from Manchester who wanted to conquer the West End.
Q: How did the move into food and drink come about?
LH: Hospitality has always been at the heart of what we do. Food and drink are such a huge passion for both of us, but we come at it from slightly different angles.
BH: I'm a man at home with a good beer, and simple comfort food, and Louis loves the finer things in life. You can see it in the DNA of The Lucky Clubs. Our steps into hospitality feel like an extension of the things we are deeply passionate about.
Q: Do you bring a theatrical element to your bars and vice versa?
BH. Some of our most loved productions have been three course dinner versions of A Christmas Carol. We have always pushed the quality of these ventures, like the interval bar at Doctor Who Time Fracture, which features a £200k set design of a spaceship serving you out of this world cocktails against a backdrop of alien singers in full prosthetics.
LH: When we make a theatre show, we always think about the best way to tell the story, who is going to come and how they're going to experience it. Our hospitality ventures are no different. A lot of thought goes into the guest, and what we might be able to make for you that will elevate your time with us.
Q: What first inspired you about immersive performance?
BH: For me, it comes down to what is the best way to tell the story, Gatsby makes for an okay play and a decent enough musical, but we invite you to dress to the nines and live and breathe one of his parties. It's the same with Peaky. That subject matter is begging for an audience to explore those sets and stories, to talk to those characters and be in the beating heart of that world.
LH: It's so much fun to make this kind of work, where an audience can explore the worlds of Tommy Shelby, and to be able to set it within the walls and history of Camden Market, a stone’s throw from Solomon's yard and the Canal routes is a blessing we could only have wished for.
Q: Peaky Blinders has the backing of series creator Steven Knight. What can audiences expect?
BH: It's the real deal. Audiences can expect production values that will knock your socks off. Costumes, props and entire set pieces from the TV series will make this the most visceral and authentic experience. We have an amazing gift of the original scripts for the shows, with scenes and storyline that were written but never saw the screen due to time constraints. We bring those to life and weave them into the show. It's really cool stuff.
LH: Audiences can expect to raise a glass in the Garrison with the Shelbys; deal with The Sabinis, Alfie Solomons and some new characters from history and the Peaky Blinders Universe, all with the rubber stamp of Steven Knight. It will be a brilliant night for any fan, a great bit of theatre and a chance to tell your own story in the Peaky Blinders world.
Q: What was your concept for the original Lucky Club and will that be duplicated in Camden?
LH: Any Lucky Club will be true to the original dream; a cosy, cool space full of good vibes, good people, great staff and affordable prices. The Mayfair site focuses on bao and Asian small plates with a Japanese junk food twist, alongside a Lucky Seven different styles of espresso martinis. At the new Camden roof terrace, it’s all about tacos and seven different margarita serves, alongside mezcals and tequilas.
Q: What is your favourite cocktail?
LH: In Mayfair, it has to be our signature serve - The Pandaquri. It’s a biscuit-y cracker of a drink we are proud to have invented. In Camden it would be the Mezcalita - with its smoky finish and sal de gusano rim (worm salt) it adds a real umami hit to the cocktail.
BH: I'm a bourbon espresso martini man myself, don't knock it till you've tried it.
For The Lucky Club, visit theluckyclub.com/camden/ and for Peaky Blinders, go to peakyblinders.tv/news/peaky-blinders-the-rise/
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