Industry News

After drawing in thousands of spectators throughout the summer, Kynren – An Epic Tale of England welcomed a very special guest to one of its eight performances.

Dragon’s Den star and entrepreneur Sara Davies MBE visited the multi-award-winning live action outdoor theatre spectacular to film for The One Show, and afterwards watched the 90-minute performance from the 8,000-seater tribune with her family.

Sara said: “I’ve seen the show before (in fact my mam was a volunteer the very first year it opened nine years ago!) but it just seems to get better every year and it’s honestly just breathtaking. We get people from all over the country (actually from all over the world) that flock to our region to see it, but as someone who is from this area, the sense of local pride seeing all those volunteers is just off the chart.”

Providing families with a breathtaking experience from start to finish, Kynren is a spellbinding show delivering thrills, shocks, tears, laughs, goosebumps and gasps on a truly cinematic scale. It’s performed by a 1,000-strong volunteer cast and crew and brings to life ‘the story of us’ in a mesmerising journey through 2,000 years of English history.

Viewed from the tribune which provides panoramic views across the giant seven-and-a-half acre outdoor stage, the family-friendly experience begins with a boy called Arthur accidentally kicking a football through a window of a hunting lodge at Auckland Castle.

Audiences are taken on a fascinating voyage through history as seen through the eyes of Arthur, shining the spotlight on the Romans, Vikings, Norman Conquest, the bloody outcome of England’s Civil War, King Charles’ final journey to the executioner’s block, the Age of Steam, World War I Christmas truce, the Queen’s Coronation and more.

Expect magnificent sets, mass choreography, combat, stunts, stunning pyrotechnics and amazing special effects, including water jets and state of the art video projections.

Kynren’s new exciting pre-show entertainment experience, Return of The Vikings, has proved popular with audiences this year, as they explore the authentic Viking Village and see, smell and hear the Vikings as they prepare for a raid.

Venturing through the recreation of a traditional 9th-century village, visitors can also track through the vegetable patch, meet the village animals, practice a charge and battle cries with real Vikings and visit the blacksmith’s forge to watch sparks fly.

The 90-minute performances start at sunset and end in starlight, taking place every Saturday evening until the 14th September. 

Tickets cost from £26 for adults and from £16 for under 18s. Children aged 3 and under are free when sat on an adult’s knee.