HISTORY was brought to life for an audience during a night at the museum.

The Dock Museum, in Barrow, hosted A Night At The Museum, an evening of history told through theatre.

The venue was supporting Museums at Night, a nationwide festival, and marking the 150th anniversary of the incorporation of the borough of Barrow.

The Young Producers from The Ashton Group's Theatre Factory staged extracts of plays and pieces of drama to showcase 150 years of theatre.

The audience, which was kept to a limited number of 40, was escorted around the promenade-style performances by the narrators and actors portraying founding fathers of Barrow, Lord William Cavendish, Sir James Ramsden and Mr WH Schneider.

There were extracts from Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest right up to the present day material.
The audience met railway navvies, gracious ladies, DJs, cynical TV researchers, stingy old men, devious servants, hunters, flappers, tramps and a couple of ostriches.

The event also celebrated Ashton Group Theatre's 20th anniversary. The group is supported by Arts Council England and The Sir John Fisher Foundation.

Simon Kent, duty manager of the Dock Museum, said: "It was a good event that was very well received. The concept was good and the actors received generous applause after each set. It was a very well rehearsed and produced event. People came up at the end and said how good it had been and how interesting they had found it."