News-S&DR200 festival launches with spectacular open-air live performance and drone show

The nine-month S&DR200 international festival, running from March to November 2025 across County Durham and the Tees Valley, is inspired by the first journey on the Stockton and Darlington Railway, which gave birth to the modern railway. 

We are delivering S&DR200 in partnership with Darlington Borough Council and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. 

The festival offers something for everyone, with highlights throughout the year including a recreation of the first journey on the Stockton and Darlington Railway 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 world-class museums. 

An unmissable show

Marking the official start of S&DR200, All Change is an unmissable show in Bishop Auckland at 11Arches, the home of Kynren. The event will speed through 200 years of railway history and major historical moments, from the Industrial Revolution, two World Wars to the present, celebrating the transformative power of trains on the landscape and our lives. 

Inspired by conversations with local historians, the spectacle will bring history to life with large-scale set pieces, projection mapping, original music and drones. The show will feature up to 100 performers from the local community, made up of the same team of dedicated local trained volunteers. 

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 grand spectacles of all four ceremonies at the Summer Olympics in London 2012. All Change will feature a fleet of 400 drones from world-renowned SKYMAGIC, promising a breathtaking visual experience set against the night sky. As pioneers behind the stunning drone and light displays at iconic events like the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, Coachella, and London's New Year's celebrations, SKYMAGIC will choreograph an aerial ensemble that weaves into the performance below. The 25-minute show, which will take place for one night only, is suitable for all ages.

Awe-inspiring

Festival Director, Niccy Hallifax, said: "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."

Whistlestop tour

Imitating the dog director, Simon Wainwright, said: "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 whistlestop 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. We are thrilled to be working with Rocky and Katie P, the team at 11Arches and SKYMAGIC to bring all of this together."

Championing achievement

 SKYMAGIC co-founder and chief creative officer, Patrick O'Mahony, said: "SKYMAGIC are delighted to bring our world-famous drone light show to S&DR200. As a global company with an office in the North, we're always proud to support and work with cultural celebrations that champion achievements close to home. It will be a pleasure collaborating with incredible local talent in order to bring our aerial storytelling to the festival's opening event." 

27 September 2025 marks the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. The 26-mile journey  between Shildon and Stockton via Darlington on 27 September 1825 transformed how the world traded, travelled, and communicated. The S&DR200 festival will celebrate the region's pioneering past and look forward to its future with a series of large-scale outdoor events, exhibitions and new art commissions in its public spaces, libraries, and world-class museums, including Preston Park Museum and Grounds, Locomotion, Hopetown and The Story.  The first of these exhibitions will be Railway Pioneers at Hopetown in April. 

We are funding S&DR200 along with Darlington Borough Council and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. Other major funders include Arts Council England, Tees Valley Combined Authority, The National Heritage Lottery Fund.

Other sponsors include LNER.