KYNREN: An Epic Tale of England may be all about the past, but it is also about the future.

The show, which starts next month, is part of a hugely ambitious project which aims to transform one of the North-East’s hardest-hit regions.

If Kynren succeeds, it will have the same energising effect on South West Durham as the show that inspired it, Puy du Fou, did on the Vendee region of France.

That attraction is now France’s second most popular theme park, beaten only by Disneyland Paris, and Vendee welcomes two million visitors a year.

With 12 days to go before the first public performance, Kynren is already a critical and commercial hit.

Travel publisher Rough Guides has ranked the show as one of its top ten global attractions to visit in 2016 and the first reviews have been overwhelmingly positive.

Perhaps even more importantly, the so-called Kynren effect is already having a transformative effect on the local economy. Short-break bookings in Bishop Auckland are up 75 per cent year on year and local businesses are anticipating a massive influx of visitors.

If all goes to plan, Kynren is expected to boost the local economy by more than £20m.

Millionaire philanthropist Jonathan Ruffer, the man behind Kynren, has already done Bishop Auckland proud by stepping in to save Auckland Castle, and its historic collection of Zurbaran paintings, when The Northern Echo revealed the Church Commissioners were secretly plotting to sell it.

Mr Ruffer, one of the UK’s most successful fund managers, knows a thing or two about risk. He also knows a good bet when he sees one.

We wish him – and everyone who has helped make Kynren what it is – even greater success in the future.