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ADL Summer Ball

We’ve worked with Emma and the team at ADL for several years now. Originally they had a November event with a big bonfire and hog roast, but after consecutive years of miserable weather they decided they needed a different excuse for fireworks (not that you really need an excuse, do you?) – and so the ADL Summer Ball was conceived. A motoring theme meant a visit from the Stig, and a spectacular 15 minute firework display choreographed to medley of motor music, from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to the Fast and the Furious, not forgetting the theme from Wacky Races and Knight Rider. And while the guests were star-gazing on the terrace the dining room tables were cleared away in preparation for the dancing, so not only were the fireworks great entertainment, they also served the practical purpose of providing a window of opportunity for a set change. They don’t miss a trick at ADL.

Faber Maunsell Summer Party

Our firework displays take us all over the UK – and occasionally abroad – and we’ve seen many places that we would never otherwise have the opportunity or time to visit. However every now and again it is nice to have a display close to home, like this one at Sopwell House in St Albans, Hertfordshire. I remember going to Sopwell as a young lad for special family occasions and meeting the Manchester United team there (you just need to look at the collection of framed and signed shirts to appreciate how many football teams have stayed here) – little did I realise that a few years down the line I’d be entertaining Sopwell’s guests with spectacular firework displays. Faber Maunsell asked us to produce a firework display as part of the entertainment at their summer party, and we were only too happy to help. There’s nothing like performing in front of a home crowd to make sure that you put in 110%, and we were delighted with all the positive comments that we heard after yet another spectacular Alchemy Fireworks display at a corporate event.

Derby Feste – Nutkhut Sari Sari Nights Pyrotechnics

Regular readers will know that here at Alchemy HQ we like nothing more than a new street theatre project to get our teeth stuck in to, so when Ajay from Nutkhut got in touch regarding their new Sari Sari Nights show we were keen to help. We had worked with Nutkhut earlier in the summer up at the Mouth of the Tyne Festival so it was great to work with them in Derby. The finale to their new processional piece was in the Market Square, and with limited space we had to engineer a raised firing platform to give us both the sight lines and distances we needed to make the pyro a safe and spectacular addition to the performance.

Birmingham Diwali Pyrotechnics 2010

Birmingham Diwali Pyrotechnics 2010

Diwali is an event that stimulates every sense. We were asked be Birmingham City Council to add to the visual element of the concert at the NIA by providing stage pyro plus confetti and streamers. We liaised with the venue, the council and the event’s production team to add colour and excitement to no less than 6 different musical acts with stage pyro, before bringing the event to a spectacular close by filling the NIA arena with clouds of colourful confetti.

European Events Pyrotechnics

Corporate events are always looking for something spectacular, different and innovative to make them stand out from the rest. European Events asked Alchemy to work with them to add pyrotechnic excitement to an indoor laser and light musical spectacular. We included special pyro effects such as stage waterfalls, stage gerbs and theatrical flashes to wow the 1000+ audience, all perfectly choreographed with the music, lasers and lights using a timecode-driven soundtrack and our state-of-the-art digital FireOne firing system. Like our client and their guests, you might be surprised what you can achieve with the clever use of indoor pyrotechnics to enhance a laser show.

Bar Mitzvah Pyrotechnics

Bar Mitzvah Pyrotechnics

You can’t beat a good bar mitzvah (or a bat mitzvah, come to think of it) and we’ve produced displays for many of these coming-of-age events over the years. For his bar mitzvah at Sopwell House David wanted to make a grand entrance, inspired by the spectacular ring-walk pyrotechnics of his WWE Wrestling heroes. Despite the limited space we produced an effect using silver jets and stage gerbs that neither David nor his guests will ever forget.

Public Firework Display Case Studies

Private Firework Display Case Studies

Stockton Festival 2011

Stockton Festival 2011

Stockton International Riverside Festival is one of the biggest and longest-running street theatre festivals in the UK. Over the last 20 years it has gone from strength to strength under the careful watch of artistic director Frank Wilson from Event International. We’re proud to have contributed to several productions at Stockton over the years, but this latest extravaganza tops them all for several reasons.
Firstly: being up against it. Sometimes it happens. Especially in outdoor events. Especially in the UK. Despite all the planning and contingency and slack in production schedules, the weather is so bad for such a long continuous period of time that you simply can’t make progress safely. This is what hit the production team of Voala’s “High” show, to which we were contributing some pyro enhancement. The company had only been able to rehearse their stunning crane-based aerial routine once and just a few hours before the show itself.
Secondly: complexity and demands on space. As you can see from the photo, there was a lot going on in this show; on the ground, on the stage and especially up in the air. All of the show elements had to work as a team to make sure that performers, structures and crane jibs were clear of pyro airspace before the 3 pyro music tracks began, while avoiding excessive down-time when nothing was happening. It required a lot of concentration from a lot of people, a lot of cooperation from a lot of people, and great communication during the show itself.
The audience response to the whole production was great, and client feedback was unequivocal: “great work!”