ORGANISERS of the eagerly awaited live action night show, Kynren, are calling on the good nature of the North East public to help source historic objects from the 19th and early 20th centuries to feature in the production.
The set design team in charge of Bishop Auckland’s Eleven Arches project, which will take audiences on a journey through 2000 years of British history as seen through the eyes of the North East, are asking people to scour their attics, backyards and barns for authentic props to be donated for use in the show.
Specific items that are being sought include: old footballs from around 1930; miners’ equipment including 100 working miner lamps, picks and helmets from 1900 to 1920; 19th century peasantry tools and daily life objects including jugs, flails, scythes, baskets, vats, cisterns, washboards, wains, saws, boxes, washing basins and farming and agricultural objects. Other items to be sourced include: brass band instruments including tubas, trumpets, drums, flutes, trombones, accordions and bagpipes; old cars from 1910 to 1920; bicycles from first half of the 20th century; a Rolls Royce or Bentley from around 1920; and bundles of old planks, stones, wooden beams and driftwood.
Raphaêl Daguet, Stage designer for Eleven Arches’ artistic partner Puy du Fou and Assistant Show Producer for ‘Kynren’, who is leading the hunt for the historic props, said: “We are calling on the good nature of the general public to help us in our search for a whole host of historic objects that will help us bring to life this epic journey through British history.
“We’re urging people to scour their attics and outhouses for forgotten items and give them a second life as part of this unique show which features action-packed and movie-like performances of epic proportions.”
Raphaël added: “Kynren will take the audience on a captivating journey from Roman times and Viking invasions to the industrial revolution and World War II. As a design team we try, wherever possible, to be historically accurate and authentic as we can in replicating these eras and moments in history and are undertaking significant research to ensure this happens. These generous prop donations will really help us achieve our aims.”
Raphaël is working with a 20 strong team of volunteers from the local area responsible for props and sets. The team will be tasked with making any items that can’t be sourced and workshops get underway in January.
Kynren will be staged within a 115 acre site which, upon completion in June 2016, will realise a 7.5 acre stage including an artificial lake and the 8,000 seater ‘Tribune’. The show is truly unique to the UK and will have significant social and economic impact in Bishop Auckland and across County Durham. Every aspect of this visually stunning show – performance, technical, stage management, costume, visitor welcome, animal husbandry, landscaping and maintenance – will be delivered by more than 1,000 volunteers from the local community.
Anyone who is in possession of any of the historic props listed or has other objects that could potentially feature in the show are asked to contact Raphaël on rdaguet@puydufou.com. The design team is ideally seeking permanent donations that can feature season to season, with larger items being returned to their owners next autumn.
Tickets for the Kynren, comprising 14 summer shows getting underway from 02 July 2016, have gone on sale priced £25-55 for adults and £19-41 for children. Early Bird discounts are available, with a 10% reduction on all tickets for people who snap them up by January 31, 2016. For ticket bookings please visit www.kynren.co.uk. For travel trade and group bookings, e-mailgroups@Kynren.co.uk and for corporate bookings, e-mail enquiries@Kynren.co.uk.
For further information on the show, visit www.elevenarches.org and the Twitter feed #Kynren.
