Marco has delivered its specialist cable containment solutions to a very unique project, considered to be one of the firms most unique specifications to date! 

Contractor 11 arches, is responsible for the electrical installation at Kynren, a spectacular night show depicting 2,000 years of British history on a scale never seen before and listed by Rough Guides as one of the world’s top 10 must-see tourist attractions to experience in 2016.

Over 10 months, the 7½ acre stage for Kynren has been gradually hewn from the landscape in a loop of the River Wear just below Auckland Castle. At its centre is a 3,500m² lake, equipped with sophisticated underwater hydraulics to deliver some astonishing special effects. 

Each day, around 200 personnel from construction and specialized production companies are on site, working around the clock to ensure the set is ready on time, using 40 vehicles – from tractors to 60 tonne excavators and all manner of diggers and trucks in between, to move and shape tons of earth. 

Marco’s steel wire cable tray has been heavily utilised across the set. The team opted for the product in a hot-dip galvanised finish, ensuring that the tray is able to withstand any potential affects from the outdoor elements. 

Pete Massey, Area Sales Manager at Marco Cable Management said: “This is undoubtedly one of the most unusual and special projects that we’ve supplied to. The contractor, X, has utilised hundreds of lengths of our tray which will house the huge cabling infrastructure necessary to support the grand-scale special effects. The specification of a hot-dip galvanised finish ensures that the product will be able to sustain any adverse weather conditions and safely contain the electrical infrastructure.” 

Set in Bishop Auckland in the North East of England, Kynren tells the story of England, seen through the eyes of Arthur, a 10-year-old boy from the North East. He encounters myth, legend and history from Roman times to World War II, witnessing the Viking and Norman invasions, St Cuthbert and the Lindisfarne monks, mediaeval feasts, the Elizabethan era, Georgian Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution along the way. 

More than 1,000 volunteers are involved as cast and crew, with an accompanying cast of animals comprising performance horses, sheep, goats, cattle and even ducks. The volunteers have been professionally trained by top performance experts, including teams who delivered the mass choreography of the London 2012 Opening Ceremony. 

The 90-minute show takes place once darkness has fallen, to create the best possible backdrop for the special effects that will bring the action-packed story to life. The evocative sound track which accompanies the performance is the work of the award-winning composer Nathan Stornetta, which you will experience in superb surround-sound quality