Tag Archives: #ArtsCouncilSupported


Following last year’s successful run of Macbeth, Barnstorm’s Senior Youth Theatre returned to Ionad Dara, Goresbridge in April with their annual production. The Trials by Dawn King. The near future. The climate emergency is gathering pace, and we are being judged. The jurors are young people. But are they delivering justice – or just taking revenge?
 

Barnstorm Bench Tales – The world premiere of three new exciting plays in a series of open-air performances on park benches as part of Kilkenny Arts Festival. Clandestine meetings and chance encounters – the socially-distant audience ‘spied’ on the drama from afar in a unique theatre experience.

Bench Tales – There is Always Tomorrow by Joe Bergin A chance meeting between a young woman and an older man on a park bench may not be all that it seems.  Why has she come here and what is she looking for?  As she attempts to uncover the truth, is she fully prepared for what she might find?

Bench Tales – Pink Makes the Boys Wink by Julie Sharkey A comic, full of heart story about getting old. How time can creep up on us and take us by surprise. A story about three women. One woman’s compassion. One woman’s fear and one woman’s joy in Hello magazine.

Bench Tales – The Last Trip to Tipp by Gemma Creagh It’s 1994. Lorraine, Emma and Mairead are three friends heading in very different directions. Well not literally. Right now, they are all on their way to Féile – and with a line up like Crowded House, Primal Scream, The Prodigy, The Cranberries, Björk, and Blur – the craic will be fierce. With one mouldy tent, ancient sleeping bags and a fine slab of Lindon Village cans, they wait on a lift from their flaky friend, Suzanne – who’s late as usual.

Event details

DatesMon 14th to Sat 19th Aug 2023
Times11:00, 13:00 (lunchtime) & 15:00
Running timeapprox. 80 minutes
Ticket prices€20 (€17 concession)
Where3 locations in Castle Park (check with KAF)

A captivating production in the enchanted surroundings of the boot factory Padmore and Barnes of Kilkenny from the 30th November to 16th December.

This is a short and caring story about a Christmas gift and based on one of the very few traditional fairy tales with a Christmas theme. The poor shoemakers receive some unexpected help just when they need it most. Based on the Grimms’ fairytale, “The Elves and the Shoemakers” by Mike Kenny is for children aged 4-9 years and tells the tale of two kind elves who help two penniless shoemakers out of their troubles and back on their feet. Presented to small audiences in the intimate surroundings of the Shoemakers’ Shop, this is a delightful introduction to theatre for very young audiences.

Teachers’ Resources

A resource pack is available to teachers linked to the SPHE syllabus, for exploration and discussion of themes in the play.

Download Teachers resource pack here