‘YOU will get a lot more back than you have given.’

That was the message from organisers of the open air historical show Kynren- An Epic Tale of England as they look to attract hundreds more volunteers.

In the last year £35m was spent transforming an old golf course in Bishop Auckland into the landscaped venue and 1,000 volunteers worked on the show’s opening season.

The evening extravaganza was such a success that an extra, 15th show was staged to meet demand and more than 100,000 tickets sold.

Eleven Arches, that charity which manages the attraction, is aiming higher still for 2017 and hopes to recruit an extra 500 volunteers to join the team, nicknamed the Archers.

Anne-Isabelle Daulon, CEO of Eleven Arches, paid tribute to the spirit of the Archers and said their achievements led to a desire to raise the bar.

She said: “We know 1,000 people can produce miracles. They went from ‘I’m not sure why I’m here, what I’m doing’ to ‘I know absolutely what I’m doing’.”

Encouraging people to get involved, she added: “Friendship, pride, a sense of achievement, feeling the buzz and excitement of being part of something successful are all things our Archers say they got out of it.

“You will get a lot more back than you have given.”

Next year there will be 17 shows and all are expected to be near sell-outs.

Whilst the show will remain largely the same, new creative director Steve Boyd will gather feedback and fine tune the show.

He said: “By definition, a show is never done. Like a sport, you can always do better, always be smarter, be more clever.

“We’ll look at the successes of the first year see what worked, what resonated with the audience, what didn’t work, what worked on paper but not in real life, how to develop the codes and DNA of Kynren.”

Mr Boyd, who has choreographed shows such as Olympic ceremonies, helped run master classes to attract the first wave of volunteers and was delighted to return.

He said a bigger pool of volunteers next year will enable the show to grow, be sustainable and lessen the commitment people have to make.

Details of how to volunteer and ticket sales will be announced in November.