Big launch right on track for S&DR Festival
All change for launch event of festival celebrating the railway which changed the world. Tony Henderson reports
The 200th anniversary festival of a pioneering railway will be launched with a spectacular open-air event featuring up to 100 performers.
Taking place on the site of epic outdoor show, Kynren, Stockton & Darlington Railway 200 event in Bishop Auckland on Saturday, March 29 - All Change - will combine projections, drones and live performers bringing history to life while kicking off the nine-month S&DR200 international festival.
Running until November across County Durham and the Tees Valley, the festival will celebrate the S&DR, which gave birth to the modern worldwide railway system.
Highlights throughout the year including a recreation of the first journey on the S&DR with a newly commissioned replica of Locomotion No. 1; free large-scale outdoor events; exhibitions focusing on the history of railways and bringing together paintings of national significance; botanical and sensory installations; iconic locomotives; and newly commissioned artworks showcased in public spaces, libraries and museums.
The launch event will speed through 200 years of railway history and major historical moments, from the Industrial Revolution, through two world wars to the present, celebrating the transformative power of the railway on the landscape and our lives.
All Change is created by award-winning performance company imitating the dog, whose piece Arrivals & Departures was part of the opening events for Hull’s year as City of Culture, and movement directors Rocky Norton and Katie Pearson, who both contributed to the spectacles of all four ceremonies at the Summer Olympics in London 2012.
All Change will feature a fleet of 400 drones from SKYMAGIC, promising a one-night-only, 25-minute visual experience set against the night sky.
Festival director, Niccy Hallifax, says: “It must have been magical 200 years ago to witness the first journey on the Stockton and Darlington Railway. With All Change, we aim to recapture that sense of wonder, bringing people together from all corners of the region and further afield for an awe-inspiring event.
“I hope we can create an unforgettable memory for people of all ages, offering them an exciting glimpse of the region’s fascinating heritage while sparking further creativity and ideas over the years that follow. The artists we have brought together for this one-off show really are the best in their fields.”
Director for imitating the dog, Simon Wainwright, says: “We’ve been so inspired by the incredible story of Locomotion No. 1 and the changes it brought about, from that first short journey to the massive impact it had across the world.
“Our performance for the opening event explores how train travel opened up the possibilities for ordinary people to travel and to witness world events.
“All Change will take audiences on a journey, a whistle stop tour through 200 years of history, and will be told through a combination of our trademark storytelling techniques of digital projection, live performance and a newly composed soundscape.”
The 26-mile journey on the S&DR between Shildon and Stockton via Darlington on 27 September 1825 transformed how the world traded, travelled, and communicated.
S&DR200 is being funded by Darlington Borough Council, Durham County Council and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. Other major funders include Arts Council England, Tees Valley Combined Authority, The National Heritage Lottery Fund.
For the full festival programme, visit www.sdr200.co.uk