Kynren ★★★★★

Produced in the former mining town of Bishop Auckland, Kynren was first conceived by production team 11Arches in 2014 and went live two years later after an initial investment of £35m. Aimed at revitalising this part of County Durham, it has already attracted nearly half a million people to the area.

An outdoor production, with huge, banked stadium-style seating, Kynren is played out on a seven and a half acre site which also houses small merchandise concessions, picnic areas, food and drink bars, ample toilet facilities and, of course, a fully-functioning replica Viking village!

Opening on a grassy bank, before a lake, and in a scene reminiscent of Narnia, four children run across the stage, kicking a football until an incident splits them up and a child, Arthur, is left behind. Meeting a stranger, also named Arthur, the boy is sent on a quest to discover his historical heritage.

From this point, the events which have made up Britain’s story, from Boudicca to the Spice Girls, is told in what can only be described as a series of jaw-dropping gasps. The only reference point to this spectacle might be the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics and perhaps no wonder as the original director, Steve Boyd, is a veteran of many a mass event. This though, quite remarkably, is
much more.

Once it is realised that the calm waters of the lake contains many a secret and what may miraculously emerge from it – castles, Viking ships, Elizabeth the First’s barge also bearing Shakespeare and a host of his characters – then there is no upper limit. Combine this with an incredibly well-drilled, all-age cast of a thousand volunteers who galloped past on horseback, shoot flaming arrows, performed bucolic dances amongst sheep, geese and goats, drive steam trains and re-enact the 20th century’s two world wars and then this is truly the spectacle of our times.

To describe what this is like in any greater detail would perhaps be unfair, as the beautifully-choreographed, seamlessly stage-managed parade of wonder should be encountered first hand and without any spoilers of expectation. However, there are no words which could in any way detract from what is truly the most magnificent spectacle. Kynren is undoubtedly a 5-star evening of entertainment.