He advanced this argument in a leading article for History Today, co-authored with Richard Brzezinski, entitled "A New Light on Alchemy".

Recent performances at Cambridge University,[6] Durham University,[7] University College London,[8] the Royal Institution,[9] Cheltenham Science Festival[10] and Hampton Court[11] have received much acclaim: writing in the journal Chemistry & Industry on Szydlo's performance at Cambridge, John Wilkins remarked that "Dr Szydlo exceeded all expectations; he raced through vast tracts of practical chemistry, history, alchemy, the discovery of oxygen, the internal combustion engine, and on occasion, introduced music too.

His lecture was interspersed with flashes, bangs, colour changes, detonations and eruptions, keeping the 350-strong crowd on the edge of their seats throughout."

This lively, multi-media approach characterises Szydlo's performances, which include experiments drawn from a wide repertory, ranging from the chemistry of colour to pyrotechnics and high explosives.

[13] Szydlo also regularly gives talks for the wider community, including such institutions as the Stuart Low Trust,[14] Haringey Council Cared for Children, and the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association.

More recently, he has collaborated with Andrea Sella of University College London and the author Hugh Aldersey-Williams in Elements, an exhibition at the Wellcome Collection,[17] where he spoke about the Dutch alchemist Cornelis Drebbel, situating Drebbel in a broader scientific and historical context and illustrating the talk with lively experiments.

Amongst his pupils, he is renowned for lessons which incorporate unusual and spectacular experiments, and for bursts of theatricality such as blowing fire and cooling hot drinks with liquid nitrogen before tasting them.