Will people go to a theme park centered on historical narrative rather than roller coasters?
An ambitious project in northern England aims to find out.
Set to open this summer, Kynren–The Storied Lands bills itself as "Britain’s first live-action storytelling park." (First? Wouldn't the costumed interpreters at the nearby Beamish living museum beg to differ?)
The focus of the new Kynren attraction, currently under construction in the town of Bishop Auckland in North East England, is live shows and "immersive" experiences based on historical figures such as Viking warriors, medieval knights, and Victorian Englanders.
The park will supply thrills without thrill rides, backers hope, via five different monumental shows full of elaborate sets, stunts, special effects, live animals, and other pieces of pageantry.
In the "Medieval Spectacular," for example, knights will joust on horseback, and a "fearless female warrior’s courage and skill are put to the test in a breathtaking display of horsemanship and daring stunts," according to Kynren.
A water-based show (rendering below) features a retelling of the local legend of the Lambton Worm, a dragon that does battle with a young man.
And a show set on a stage designed to look like a giant nest will use 300 live birds, according to Time Out, in order to tell a tale covering centuries of human-avian interactions.
Visitors will also get to travel in time to neolithic Britain, the "land of the Vikings," and Victorian England.
So it's kind of like a Medieval Times show and a Renaissance fair and a historical reenactors' get-together all rolled into one, but with high-caliber production design and storytelling from creators who have a good deal of experience with this sort of thing, seeing as how they're the same folks behind Kynren–An Epic Tale of England, a weekly nighttime show that zips through 2,000 years of British history in 90 minutes.
That show (pictured at the top of this page) will continue performances on Saturday evenings in summer. The new park will be open during the day, and will cover a lot more ground.
In the future, Kynren hopes to add experiences having to do with the Tudors, King Arthur, Robin Hood, and other legends and historical icons.
For more traditional historic attractions, the region of England where the park is located—County Durham—has plenty to offer, starting with the city of Durham, home to a 12th-century cathedral, a Norman castle, and other genuinely old stuff.
Kynren–The Storied Lands is expected to open to the public in July. Ticket prices haven't been announced yet.
For more information, go to Kynren.com.