Feasting with Panthers: The Danger is in the Details

Following is a guest post from Project Voice’s incredibly talented client Adam Blackwood, founder of Private Drama events. Enjoy a multi-media tour of their incredible Showcase event and how Project Voice helps tell their show-stopping stories.

If you’ve been following us over the past month, you’ve no doubt heard of our recent yearly showcase, Feasting with Panthers, which transformed the wonderful venue of One Embankment into a 1920s Shanghai speakeasy, filled with marvellous magicians, beautiful cabaret dancers, ambrosial delights, and one mysterious panther. And if you’ve been following us for longer than that, you may have noticed the remarkable growth that Private Drama has enjoyed within the industry as bespoke event management specialists.

By design or not, the danger and excitement we imbued into our Feasting with Panthers showcase echo our own approach to business, and it’s the risks we’ve taken along the way that have helped us get to where we are now. As the tale of Feasting with Panthers reaches the cover of the April issue of Event Magazine, and with the release of our new video telling the story of that wondrous night, we thought it a great time to look at the risks we’ve taken as a business, re-inventing ourselves and building a reputation as corporate events experts.

Conceptually, Feasting with Panthers began almost in the same way as one unravels a dream one once had. I picked out bits and pieces – details, really – that all worked together to instil this feeling of danger and excitement in me. I reached out to our immensely talented partners, from performers and caterers to florists, lighting specialists and communications agencies, to decide how to best tell the story of this dream.

Then, the fun began.

It started with 350 handmade, absinthe-perfumed invitations – crafted by bespoke stationery masters Cutture – which were then sent out to our guests weeks in advance. Opened by lock and key, these fragrant parcels created an instant sensory connection with what awaited our guests, beckoning them to follow the scent trail to wherever it may lead them. We invited premiere florists and theatrical designer Shane Connolly & Co. to create the backdrop for this dream, which was then fashioned by Starlight Design.

https://www.privatedrama.com/events/private-drama-showcase-2014/

You can see by the imagery that they delivered in every way, creating a world dripping with character – one that guests could reach out and touch, and even explore for themselves. Catering masterminds Last Supper crafted an indulgent menu that tantalised not only taste buds, but one’s own imagination. As you’ll see in the video, no detail was overlooked, from the canapés and drinks to the floral arrangements and moody, oriental lighting, in creating a truly immersive event.

Since we were pulling out all the stops on the Showcase programme, we also asked our brand strategy partners at JPC to develop a campaign around this very special homage to the events industry, our partners and the art of performance. They reinforced our ongoing bespoke communications service called Project Voice for us to tell our story in the most high impact way to the media. Since late last year, Project Voice has refined and articulated what makes Private Drama so magical to the audiences that matter to us most. Such as you dear readers! We think the results speak for themselves.With the outpouring of still-giddy feedback we’ve heard from our guests, the entire PD team are thrilled at the success of this showcase and how far we’ve come as a business. It will continue to be one of discovery and danger, and no detail will go overlooked along the way.

We’ll leave the last word on our showcase to Event Magazine, whose April issue features Feasting with Panthers as their cover story. A huge thanks to our partners for the magical evening – we couldn’t have done it without you!