Craig
TS Administrator
This might interest some (and not others as there's no credits to be seen here!), but it's something local to me that I'm pretty excited about. Auckland Castle has been in the news locally for the past few years following the church's decision to sell the Zurbarán Paintings which have been located in a dining room specifically designed for them to be displayed. A local philanthropist, Jonathan Ruffer entered into an agreement with the church to put the paintings, and the castle itself into a trust, saving them from leaving the region.
In addition, he's also looked at ways of increasing visitors to the castle, and that's where Eleven Arches was born. The idea is to have a huge open air show at night, featuring 600 volunteers from around the region as performers and to run the actual show. Sound familiar? They're working with Puy du Fou, who produce the frankly epic Cinéscénie in their Summer months which is put together by 3400 volunteers. Although not quite on such a grand scale, 600 people isn't to be sniffed at, and it's certainly an attraction we've not seen before in the UK.
The show will tell the story of British history from a north-east perspective, and will take place on a 7.5 acre stage, with 56 horses featured and 1800 different costumes. The whole project is being run as a not for profit charity, with £19m in funding secured for the project. Planning permission was granted this week, and the first shows are set to kick off in May next year. There'll be capacity for up to 8,000 people to watch the show, and there'll be up to 30 shows per year. There's also plans to have weather proof indoor attractions for visitors during the day, again in much the same way Puy du Fou do.
I know it's all a little different from the usual theme park stuff on here, but I'm really looking forward to seeing this next year! Puy du Fou has been on my list for a while, but getting there has been an issue. This place is 20 minutes up the road from me, so more than accessible in comparison!
In addition, he's also looked at ways of increasing visitors to the castle, and that's where Eleven Arches was born. The idea is to have a huge open air show at night, featuring 600 volunteers from around the region as performers and to run the actual show. Sound familiar? They're working with Puy du Fou, who produce the frankly epic Cinéscénie in their Summer months which is put together by 3400 volunteers. Although not quite on such a grand scale, 600 people isn't to be sniffed at, and it's certainly an attraction we've not seen before in the UK.
The show will tell the story of British history from a north-east perspective, and will take place on a 7.5 acre stage, with 56 horses featured and 1800 different costumes. The whole project is being run as a not for profit charity, with £19m in funding secured for the project. Planning permission was granted this week, and the first shows are set to kick off in May next year. There'll be capacity for up to 8,000 people to watch the show, and there'll be up to 30 shows per year. There's also plans to have weather proof indoor attractions for visitors during the day, again in much the same way Puy du Fou do.
I know it's all a little different from the usual theme park stuff on here, but I'm really looking forward to seeing this next year! Puy du Fou has been on my list for a while, but getting there has been an issue. This place is 20 minutes up the road from me, so more than accessible in comparison!