Theatre Factory is presenting three shows about Barrow life as its festival of drama reaches its finale.
Launched in autumn 2025, the IF! Inclusion Festival has seen six dramas performed across Barrow to sell-out audiences.
Many of the shows have had two-night runs and starred professional actors playing alongside community cast members.
Themes have centred around money, poverty, survival, war, community, inclusion and racial tension.
Stories have come from real-life experiences and are impactful, challenging, sometimes sad and often funny.
Rachel Ashton, Theatre Factory artistic director, said: “Our next three shows follow the central themes of our festival – inclusion and belonging.
“Barrow Senior Youth Theatre have produced a brilliant work around the experiences of autism for ‘Where’s Your Head At?’.
“‘The Unseen Child’ gives a voice to the vital – but often hidden role – young carers play in society. This is a fairy story that involves puppetry, animation and performance. This is a really important piece that – while entertaining – also provides vital insights to people working within education.
“The festival reaches its finale with ‘67 Thousand Barrovians Can’t Be Wrong’. I don’t think it is really possible to sum up a town like Barrow – but we have had a go. There’s comedy, poetry, heartbreak and humour.
“The work tells the story of the people, places, events and moments that have shaped the town. We’ll look at everything from Dave Day to Georgia Stanway, The Bon Bon to Barrow AFC at Wembley. This work is narrated by the town’s noisiest natives – the seagulls.”
Tickets – which are free or by donation – are available for all of the shows here.
The show dates and times are as follows:
Where’s Your Head At? Saturday 11 July, 7.30pm, at Barrow Library. A check-up from the neck up about Autism. A poignant and funny show by Barrow Youth Theatre.
The Unseen Child – by Phill Gregg. Thursday and Friday 3 and 4 September, 7.30pm at Cookes Studios, Abbey Road. The Unseen Child is the story of a young carer, who escapes his daily life through fantasy worlds and battling mythical beasts in a quest to keep his family together.
67 Thousand Barrovians Can’t Be Wrong Friday and Saturday 2 and 3 October, 7.30pm, Cookes Studios, Abbey Road. A celebration of the town and its indefatigable people, told through stories old and very new and shining a spotlight on everything that is brilliant about Barrow.
IF! Inclusion Festival has been made possible by funding from Arts Council England, Westmorland and Furness Council, John Fisher Foundation, Granada Foundation and Garfield Weston Foundation.
