Bedford Festival of Fire & Light 2009

Bedford Festival of Fire & Light 2009

Bedford Festival of Fire & Light 2009

November 2009 saw us return to the Embankment in Bedford, determined to overcome the firework equivalent of “the difficult second album” syndrome. The previous year’s show had been really well received, and as the first company to return in successive years for this event we faced a new creative pressure: to prove that we could create a new theatrical fire show for the same brief and venue, but that was entirely different from the previous year’s show. We proposed a show based on that most traditional of festive tales, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, modernised and adapted to feature a floating bed for Scrooge, three 30’ tall spirits, and more than a cameo appearance from Father Christmas…

Gavin et al apart we had the same team as the previous year, plus the addition of Rob G, Nick, Jonty and Sally-Ann to bolster both the production and performance elements of the show, all under the technical, logistical and creative guidance of James and Rich from Relevent. Meanwhile Glenn and co worked their magic on the fireworks, including the aerial sequences that powered the entertainment between the more subtle and theatrical sequences.

With half an eye on the wind (autumn gales, lovely) the show started at 7pm bang on, by which time the audience was estimated to have reached somewhere near 20,000. And from the moment Scrooge climbed aboard his bed-boat until the moment that Father Christmas rewarded the changed ex-miser (and the audience) with a magical snow finale, the audience were engrossed. It was, again, a roaring success. And we’ve got a few months to come up with some ideas of what to propose for next year, although I do have a couple of thoughts germinating already…