Fairytales came to life in Spalding’s Ayscoughfee Museum thanks to Act II

A museum was filled with fairytale characters as part of a theatre group’s event for families which included an escape room.

Across three days, Act II Theatre Company transformed Ayscoughfee Hall Museum into The Story Realm and performed a show called Once...Every After.

The advanced skills group performed two versions of their show, firstly with a family version, each day and both shows were devised by the group and the director, Charlotte Gernert with a skilled undertaking by the members aged 14-18.

She said: “We are big lovers of stretching what theatre can be, especially in interesting locations.

“We have had a long running friendship with Ayscoughfee Hall Museum and always love creating shows for that space.

“As always, our cast rose to the occasion.

“They love it when we challenge them.”

Performers stayed in role throughout and improvised responses to the different ways audience members interacted with them.

Family groups were taken around different museum rooms to meet various fairytale characters and completed tasks with them.

In the evening, the show was performed in an escape room style, where audiences wandered freely and had 80 minutes to solve clues with help, or hindrance, from the characters and find their way out.

Got a story? Email jenny.beake@iliffepublishing.co.uk