The UKs biggest live action show is back for its tenth anniversary season
Celebrating its tenth anniversary season, Kynren – An Epic Tale of England takes audiences on a breathtaking journey through 2,000 years of iconic British history, myth and legend.
Everything at Kynren is on an immense scale – it is performed by a thousand-strong volunteer cast and crew on a seven-and-a-half-acre stage (the scale of five football pitches) in front of an 8,000-seater tribune in the heart of Bishop Auckland.
Not forgetting its memorable menagerie of 150 animals including magnificent horses, a mother and daughter donkey duo, goats, sheep and even a gaggle of geese who steal the show with their unforgettable scenes.
This year's summer season, which takes place every Saturday evening from 19th July until 13th September, will also feature a special celebration of the 200th anniversary of the nearby Stockton and Darlington Railway, the birthplace of the modern railway that shaped this region and the world forever. Kynren's full-scale replica of Locomotion No.1 will be in action as it steams across the stage.
New for 2025, Kynren is breathing new life into its memorable Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee Parade scene with new props and costumes, fresh energy, impressive projections, innovative choreography and updated music inspired by the Victorian era to mark its tenth anniversary season.
This reimagined performance, which centres around the headstrong Queen Victoria as she makes her grand entrance in a six-horse carriage, resplendent with intricate detailing and opulence, promises to captivate audiences like never before. It will now feature over 150 performers and more than 20 horses, bringing the vibrant essence of Victorian society back to life.
Anna Warnecke, CEO at Kynren said: '2025 is going to be an unforgettable year for Kynren! We're celebrating our tenth anniversary season and have expanded our run to ensure even more people can be blown away by this truly special production.
'There is an incredible buzz in the park – our volunteers are so excited to be involved once more – and we're all dedicated to make 2025 the best year yet.
'We have some special surprises in store and I'm so pleased that our Viking Village experience is back again. We're ready to amaze and bring a jaw-dropping opening night in July.'
The popular Viking Village offers visitors an enhanced pre-show experience with authentic sights, sounds, and interactions in a recreated settlement. Watch sparks fly at the blacksmith's forge, witness the characterful sheep, donkeys and real Icelandic chickens whose origins can be traced back to the 9th century, and practice battle cries with the magnificent Viking warriors themselves as they prepare for a raid.
The spellbinding family-friendly experience begins with a local boy named Arthur, who accidentally kicks a football through a window of a hunting lodge at Auckland Palace and sets the wheels in motion for his time-travelling quest.
A fascinating voyage full of rebellions, magic, majesty, celebration and heartache follows – as seen through the eyes of Arthur – shining the spotlight on Boudicca's doomed rebellion, the Viking invasions, knights jousting for glory, the Norman Conquest, King Charles' final journey to the executioner's block and the grandeur of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. From the rise of industry to the courage of communities during wartime, Kynren brings history vividly to life.
The dazzling outdoor-theatre spectacular is ranked 5* on Tripadvisor and the scale and complexity of the production, from the spectacle of the costumes and the sets to the mind-blowing stunts and flawless choreography, are what make Kynren the must-see event this summer.
The 90-minute performances start at sunset and end in starlight and will be taking place every Saturday night from 19th July to 13th September.
Tickets cost from £30 for adults and from £20 for under 18s. Children aged 3 and under are free when sat on an adult's knee.
For further information and to book tickets, visit www.kynren.com.
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It has been a long goodbye for Isaac Hayden and a surreal one, too. His association with Newcastle United stretches back nine years, not far off a third of his life and, in football terms, it is more like an eternity, a career. Yet since May 2022, when Eddie Howe told him he could leave the club, he has been halfway out the door; going, going, but never quite gone. Advertisement This summer, the tie was finally severed. It takes readjustment. 'It's been stranger and more emotional than I thought,' Hayden says. 'I didn't expect to receive the number of messages I did from Newcastle supporters. Some were truly amazing, and I ended up having to put my phone down quite a lot…' Hayden clears his throat and takes a sip from a bottle of water. 'Ultimately, I hadn't played for Newcastle's first team for a long time, so to still have that love was really nice,' he says. 'As a professional, you get caught up in your own performances. 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There was no permanent transfer, I came back to Newcastle and then I was scrambling. 'Since that moment, I've not had a single problem with the knee, but it's perceptions, isn't it? Because I had three operations, the perception is 'his knee's not right, he's finished'. There was one club where a recruitment person said, 'He's got a metal knee, hasn't he?'. Er, no. I was having to battle that narrative.' Advertisement He moved to Standard Liege in Belgium, again on loan, a physical league but one without the Saturday-midweek-Saturday churn of the Championship. He got his games in. 'The fans were bananas,' he says. 'It was just a wonderful, old-school club to play for.' But there were financial problems, wages were paid late and Newcastle activated a recall clause in Hayden's contract. In the second half of the 2023-24 season, there was another loan, this time to QPR. It was a good fit, even if they were struggling in the Championship. 'Great club, great history,' he says. 'I did my research, the squad looked good, the training ground is unbelievable.' People won't know the next bit. 'They didn't have much money,' Hayden says, 'I had other options, but I really wanted to play for them, so I took a big pay cut to go there. It sounds crazy, but I was effectively paying to play.' It worked out. QPR stayed up and over the course of that entire season, Hayden played regularly. 'I didn't miss a game I was fit for,' he says. 'I wasn't injured once. Physically, I was back. QPR was like a match made in heaven. I'd have loved to have made that permanent.' And then? 'I'd played the last few games of the season with a dislocated shoulder,' he says. 'Not ideal, a bit tricky. I thought it was going to be an injection and then rest, but the surgeon said it was completely gone. If I didn't have an operation, I wouldn't pass a medical.' More rehab took him to last August; time was running out to find another club. At Newcastle, there was upheaval, with a new sporting director in Paul Mitchell and the club still reeling from a fire sale of players. 'Paul is fantastic and I worked really well with him, but he had a list as long as his arm of things to fix,' Hayden says. 'It wasn't anybody's fault.' Transfer deadline came and went and Hayden was stuck. 'Knowing I wasn't going to be playing was a bitter pill to swallow,' he says. 'To be fair to Newcastle, they gave me 10 days off to clear my head. Advertisement 'I try to turn everything into a positive. I was training with the academy and I knew I had to be a man and accept the situation. Are you going to throw your toys out of the pram, or be a bad role model? No.' He trained with Newcastle's kids, offering advice, wanting to be 'a beacon'. Encouraged by Steve Harper, the academy manager, he tapped into the coaching staff. He helped out with sessions at the club's charitable foundation. Now living in a hotel, he focused on his degree and a 20,000-word dissertation on financial fair play. It made little sense for him to play academy league fixtures when he would be taking the place of younger players with a chance to progress at Newcastle, but there were some cup games and some low moments. 'We played Halifax away in front of 259 people,' he says. 'When you're used to the buzz of St James'… yeah, it was tough. It takes a lot of motivation. 'It's only human nature if your positivity wanes. Suddenly it's cold and raining and you have all these questions: 'What am I doing this for, why am I doing this run, why am I doing the extra bike work in the gym?'. You get imposter syndrome. 'You forget all those years you played Premier League or Championship football. It goes out of the window. You think, 'Maybe I'm rubbish'. You think, 'Maybe I can't do it any more'.' Hayden represented England through the age groups, including the under-21s. A senior call-up was not a pipe dream. 'It was always in the back of my mind,' he says. Jamaica, where Sol, his dad, was born, had come knocking a few times, but it was never quite right. Now managed by Steve McClaren, when they knocked again last autumn, it was a lifeboat. 'How do I put this in a non-dramatic way? I wouldn't say it saved my mental state, but it was massive,' he says. 'It was two huge games against the United States. I don't know whether Steve thought I'd be able to play after so long without a game, but I ended up playing 45 minutes and then 90 minutes. 'At the end of it, there was huge relief. I could feel my confidence coming back. It was, 'Yes, I'm still a footballer'. It was also a huge honour. And now we're six games away from the World Cup. What a story that would be.' Confidence restored, Hayden spent the first five months of this year at Portsmouth, another side battling against relegation in the Championship. 'My first game, we were drawing 0-0 at Blackburn Rovers, I came on at half-time and we ended up losing 3-0,' he says, smiling again. 'Great start, here comes that imposter syndrome again. Advertisement 'But on the bus journey back, I was sitting with the physios and a few of the lads, chatting deep into the night, talking about our way forward. I could just tell we would be OK, that we'd stay up. Everybody cared.' Hayden made 17 appearances for Portsmouth, helping them stay up. Now what? 'It's a good question,' Hayden says. He is as fit as he ever has been, with a personalised pre-season under his belt, training every day with a specialist coach at Regent's Park. 'I'm a free agent for the first time in my career, which is weird, so I'm waiting for the phone to ring. 'I feel excited. I'm at the age where I want to really impact a club. Can I improve their players and help them develop? Can I contribute in a bigger way, whether on or off the pitch? I'm open. If somebody sees value in me, then great, let's have a conversation.' He is still coming to terms with the absence of Newcastle. During his own absences, at Norwich and the rest, he 'always felt really happy the club was going in the right direction. And I was still representing Newcastle in a way. My name always had Newcastle next to it and that meant something. I never wanted to let them down.' A funny thing. Back in January, before he left for Fratton Park, with the long goodbye drawing closer, Hayden had a thought. 'I've got a 'what-if', positive kind of personality,' he says. 'Even then, I was looking at Newcastle and thinking, 'What if I got a training session with the first team, what if I did really well, what if I made my way back into a squad, what if I got a chance?'.' Another funny thing. He has finally gone but cannot wait to come back. 'I hope people know I did my best whenever I put the shirt on,' he says. 'Now it's fully over, I would love to come to a game again.' 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