With just 10 weeks to go until its opening of Kynren – an epic tale of England, excitement is building ahead of the UK’s most spectacular open-air live action night show since the opening of the London 2012 Olympics.

The Eleven Arches spectacular, which will take audiences on a spellbinding journey through 2,000 years of British history when it launches in Bishop Auckland on 02 July, encompasses Roman times, the Viking invasions, the Industrial Revolution and both World Wars, with ships and a steam train, mass choreography, mesmerising pyrotechnics and spectacular lighting and water effects.

To mark this milestone ahead and whet your appetite, here are 10 tantalising facts you might not know about Kynren:

1. Before he headed off to start planning the Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony, Steve Boyd, the creative genius responsible for choreographing the Industrial Revolution sequence of London 2012 Opening Ceremony, spent several months working with Eleven Arches to orchestrate the Mix and Match auditions and establish the Showcase Masterclasses for Kynren, which are the cornerstone of the choreography you’ll see in the show. Members of the cast are attending rehearsals right up to the premier to ensure Steve’s legacy is perfectly executed during the shows.

2. Several members of the choreography team – who have a mind-boggling assortment of major international events under their belts including Olympic winter and summer ceremonies, Paralympics, Commonwealth Games and FIFA World Cups – were invited to work on the Rio Olympics ceremonies – but turned it down in favour of working on the incredible dance routines for Kynren?

Kynren 3. The 8,000 seater grandstand – known as the Tribune - has been specially designed to allow a superb view of the vast 7.5 acre stage (equivalent to five football pitches, with a full-size lake at its centre) and clad in wood to blend in with the landscape.

4. Kynren will feature a full sized, completely operational model of Stephenson’s Locomotion I – the first ever passenger train. With The Flying Scotsman paying a visit to nearby in Shildon in July, the first and fastest steam trains will be within a few miles of each other! During the show audiences will be dazzled by the locomotion’s imposing presence.

5. Queen Elizabeth I will feature heavily in Kynren and work is well underway on creating her resplendent robes. The costume, which will take around a month to create, will use over a mile of thread and will feature no less than 10,000 hand-sewn beads. Indeed, the Kynren seamstresses have been hard at work on costumes for the cast for three months now. That’s a lot of thread for your viewing pleasure!

6. You might not know that the launch of Kynren here in Durham is just the first step for Eleven Arches’ talented Puy du Fou partners. Once Kynren opens and becomes a roaring success, the team will be shooting off to Moscow to set up their next project. Kynren won’t be repeated anywhere else in the UK though, so anyone wanting to experience the thrilling production here will have to visit Durham.

7. The evocative sound track which accompanies the performance is the work of the award-winning composer Nathan Stornetta.  He studied at the Royal College of Music in London and almost immediately started winning awards and has collaborated with industry giants such as Hans Zimmer (The Dark Knight Rises, Sherlock Holmes, Pirates of the Caribbean) and Jeff Atmajian (King Kong, The Village, Batman Begins).

8. The Kynren props team are working hard to source and create hundreds of items to ensure every detail of Kynren is as authentic as possible. Items being created include flails and hammers to be used during the Georgian Renaissance scenes along with Roman shields, drums and helmets using a mould from a real Roman helmet that was used in none other than the Oscar winning film Gladiator.  They are also creating larger pieces like the throne of William the Conqueror.

Kynren 9.  With so many people from the county and across the North East taking part, it won’t have escaped your attention that Kynren is being fully presented by a volunteer cast and crew of over 1000, but did you know that the youngest volunteer is just two years old and the eldest is 85?  The most popular names of Kynren’s volunteers are Peter, Paul, Andrew and Susan which interestingly are all variations of saint’s names; appropriate for a team whose hard work and commitment is making this world-class show possible.

10.  There are still opportunities available to be a part of Kynren. Eleven Arches are still recruiting male volunteers to fill the roles of Vikings, Romans and knights.  Anyone who fancies the idea of being a Viking or a knight sitting on the round table or fire flaming arrows can sign up via the Eleven Arches website.

Tickets for Kynren are on sale now, with prices starting at £25 for adults and £19 for children. For more information, go to Kynren.co.uk or call 0844 581 1252

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