TWO performances based on a famous 1850s banqueting scene will be staged later this month on one of the West Somerset Railway’s stations.

The Iguanodon Restaurant is an outdoor theatre performance for families inspired by a 35-foot Victorian iguanodon at Crystal Palace Park in 1853, where the geological exhibit was showcased in a pioneering attempt to educate the public about the evolution over time of the Earth.

Dorset-based Emerald Ant creates a visual, humorous, and oddball 35-minute romp through 60 years of history and scientific discovery.

The show travels at ‘rollicking speed’ from Lyme Regis in 1812 through the Kent and Sussex Weald before arriving, breathless, at Crystal Palace Park.

Both shows, on Saturday, June 21, have been organised by the West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust and will be staged in the Gauge Museum on platform one of Bishops Lydeard Station.

The story focuses on famous fossil discoveries and the birth of geology, inspiring audiences in their geological landscape, and local and national history, and drawing attention to the importance of fossils and how they transcended from curious charms to the embodiment of prehistoric life.

As the story unfolds, eccentric characters emerge from history and compete for fame, laying claim to the biggest and oldest dinosaur bones.

Famous palaeontologists William Buckland, Gideon Mantell, Mary Anning, and Richard Owen debate questions around extinction and evolution that shook the Victorian world.

They raise shocking new questions: How come these creatures no longer exist? And, what does this tell us about the world we live in?

Blancmanges spin and pigeons fly from pies in The Iguanodon Restaurant.

Tickets are free but need to be booked in advance from the West Somerset Railway’s website because spaces are limited.

Audiences are advised the shows will take place outdoors and so people need to dress for the weather.