A live halo plays an active role in the formation and evolution of bars by participating in the angular momentum redistribution that drives the dynamical evolution. Angular momentum is emitted mainly by near-resonant material in the bar region and is absorbed mainly by near-resonant material in the halo and in the outer disc. This exchange determines the strength of the bar, the decrease in its pattern speed, as well as its morphology. Thus, contrary to previous beliefs, a halo can help the bar grow, so that bars growing in galaxies with responsive massive haloes can become stronger than bars growing in disc dominated galaxies. During the evolution the halo does not stay axisymmetric. It forms a bar that is shorter and fatter than the disc bar and stays so throughout the simulation, although its length grows considerably with time. I discuss the orbital structure in the disc and the halo and compare it with periodic orbits in analytical barred galaxy potentials. A central mass concentration (e.g., a central black hole or a central disc) weakens a bar and increases its pattern speed. The effect of the central mass concentration depends strongly on the model, being less strong in models with a massive concentrated halo and a strong bar.