Happy homecoming for theatrical designers

A DERBY firm that designs and engineers sets for theatres has come full circle and returned to its first home.

The mechanical horses, flying golden carriages, robotic pumpkins and pneumatic beanstalks built by Set One for theatre companies around the country will now be engineered from unit 5 at Keynes House, on the Chester Park Industrial Estate, in Alfreton Road.

It was where the company started life in 1999, though at that point, it shared production space with the Derby Playhouse set design team after former Rolls-Royce engineer, Alan Jackson, founded the business.

As the business grew it moved to unit 13, which lacked the necessary space for lorries to access the workshop, and then on to unit 7, which proved too small as the volume and complexity of work grew.

Mr Jackson spent 48 years working for Rolls-Royce as a chartered engineer before setting up the business.

Over the past decade it has developed a niche in producing large-scale props for theatrical productions with moving parts.

Mr Jackson's engineering experience gives the business one of its unique selling points.

He said: "We specialise in making the bits that move, but there is also the talent here to design and paint the sets.

"Being an engineer by training, I can do the stress and load calculations."

Within the industry, its most recognisable work is a mechanical horse and carriage that appear to fly when they appear on stage with some of the moving parts obscured by dry ice.

The company has six of the horse and carriage sets which are in high demand during pantomime season, being an integral part of productions of Cinderella.

Mr Jackson said: "Unit 7 was never really big enough for us and our new home is around 6,000 sq ft, which is 50% bigger. The extra space is needed so we can put the sets together in their entirety because if something doesn't fit when it's delivered to a theatre then it's too late," he said.

The move comes at a time when the business is gearing up for the autumn, when sets need to be produced and delivered for pantomimes up and down the country.

Work undertaken by Set One includes producing sets for the Royal Opera House and the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

It has produced a robotic car for children's television channel Cbeebies, a crane for the Bob the Builder stage show and a radio-controlled book for productions of Beauty and the Beast.

For one production, Set One built a giant hydraulic mushroom that opened like a powder compact to reveal a clock.

The Derby Playhouse production of Sweeney Todd was enhanced by Set One supplying the razors that spurted blood and the demon barber's chair.

Mr Jackson said: "A lot of what we do is against the clock and we have to deliver on time because tickets for the performances have already been sold."