Abstract: This chapter examines the complex networks of sociability, arcane religious belief, and immigrant theatrical talent, which sustained the London playhouses during the 1770s. Painter and scene designer, Philip De Loutherbourg is the central figure. His production of A Christmas Tale (1774) with David Garrick is redolent with the imagery of Freemasonry. Links between de Loutherbourg and the Torré family further reveals that work for the regular playhouses was closely involved with creating the semi-theatricalized firework exhibitions performed at Marylebone Gardens and other London pleasure grounds. De Loutherbourg and Torré, in turn, were closely linked to developments in London’s market in visual prints. Bringing together Freemasonry’s mystic interests in alchemy and spirituality, de Loutherbourg and Torré also appear to have been closely involved with the quest to create coloured fireworks, employing the painter’s interest in the chemistry of paint colour and the latter’s work for Marylebone Gardens’ fireworks dramas.

Keywords: fireworks, freemasonry, Loutherbourg, Marylebone, prints,