Surely, the greatest praise one could afford any live experience is that it is simply incomparable to any other, in a league of its own, peerless and without equal? When the promotional material can’t hold a candle to the reality of truly “being there” and even the most gifted photographer can’t quite capture the audience response to an event, you know you need to be positively evangelical in your endorsement for others to attend and see it with their own eyes.
Kynren is exactly that… and then some!
Kynren, the show
Launched in 2016, just outside Bishop Auckland, Co. Durham, this breathtakingly ambitious “Story of Us” is indeed a live show like no other; a journey through time spanning 2,000 years of our history, legend, myth and memory. From the Viking Invasion through a multitude of conquests, celebrations and challenges, all the way to the present, the 1,000 strong cast of humans (and burgeoning starlets of the animal kingdom) bring the pages of history to life through theatre, dance, music and pyrotechnics like nothing you’ve seen before.
The website will certainly give you a flavour of the night, but once again, I cannot stress this enough – there is no substitute for being there among 8,000 others sitting awestruck in the Tribune soaking it all up!
Each show, every Saturday throughout the summer, begins in daylight and ends after sundown with a spectacular firework and light show, before which audiences will marvel at the mechanical wizardry beneath the huge “lake” before them from which emerge Viking longboats and Shakespearean gondolas as if through portholes in time.
The adventurous lighting design, projections upon fountains of moving water and mist shrouded re-enactments of key moments in history are accompanied by the stirring music of award-winning composer, Nathan Stornetta and narration from local acting legend, Kevin Whately (Morse, Lewis, Auf Wiedersehen Pet) who takes on the role of Old Arthur.
There’s almost too much to process in one visit; a reality you’ll soon accept as you plan your next experience and personal guest list of friends and relatives you know you’ll dazzle with your taste in immersive outdoor entertainment!
Yes, it’s all under open skies and on a delightful summer’s evening with the real Auckland Castle Chapel forming part of the backdrop you’ll be too wrapped up in the show to care about the Great British Weather, whatever it has in store – in fact, even the rain (if it comes) can’t stop play here; the jets of fire, water and smoke being lent an otherworldly aura, if and when Mother Nature decides to pull a fast one!
The cast
And so, to the cast – both two and four legged, of course! The choreography from infants to the elderly is a thing of wonder, the result of years of fine tuning from volunteers passionate about storytelling, theatre and the live experience. Quite how a huge gaggle of geese are taught to “act” on cue, or a herd of sheep the same, is beyond me! And then there’s the horsemanship; leaps over fiery barricades and jousting knights receive rapturous applause from an audience transported through time to the Battle of Hastings, both World Wars and beyond.
It’s not just the living, breathing cast that blow you away – there’s even a huffing, puffing locomotive at one point to add yet further bewilderment to the occasion. In fact, the wonders don’t let up until the final “curtain” as the sky breaks open with a firework and light show so beautifully staged that any audience member left sitting through the night’s finale will find themselves very much in the minority.
Standing ovations are the norm at Kynren and deservedly so.
And there’s more
With plenty of food, drink and memorabilia on offer via the gift shop, this year sees the genius addition of a full-scale Viking Village complete with working craftspeople, animals and even the occasional mini-invasion from a bloodthirsty horde to contend with! Be sure to arrive early enough to wander through the sights and smells this conjures up before the 90-minute show begins.
Shows run from 27 July to 14 September and tickets start from just £26, although Deluxe VIP packages are available including pre-show dining in the Great Hall! There’s reasonably priced “street food” in abundance too, even wet weather gear for sale should you come unprepared and plenty of opportunities to get “snap happy” with your camera, for sure!
An event deserving of a place on every “bucket list” of each and every person in the country, Kynren truly is a night like no other and an experience to savour. Which is handy, because you’ll struggle to consign what you’ve just witnessed to the mists of memory.
Like this reviewer, you’ll be back for more…
