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theatre · Tuesday 18 August 2026 · 2pm 
Tales from Acorn Wood
At Watergate Theatre · Parliament Street, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny
At Watergate Theatre · Parliament Street, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny
If your children have grown up with Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s Acorn Wood books - Fox’s Socks, Hiding in Acorn Wood, Postman Bear - this is the kind of afternoon they will talk about for weeks. Tales from Acorn Wood is a live stage show that brings those lift-the-flap stories into a theatre, with puppetry, toe-tapping songs, and all the familiar characters. It runs about 1 hour 40 minutes with a 15-minute interval, manageable for younger audiences. The matinee slot at 2pm suits families making the most of the summer holidays, and the group ticket (four admissions for €68) makes the outing affordable.
The show follows several of the Acorn Wood stories in sequence: Fox on the hunt for his socks, Rabbit coping with a noisy visitor, a hide-and-seek game with Pig and Hen, and the arrival of Postman Bear. Puppetry is central to how the characters are brought to life on stage - expect recognisable faces from the illustrations, songs that young children will want to join in on, and a pace that keeps things moving without overwhelming smaller kids. The production is touring Ireland across August 2026 - Cork, Wexford, Limerick and Dublin - which suggests a polished touring show rather than a regional try-out.
The Watergate Theatre is an ideal setting for it: a 324-seat venue on Parliament Street in Kilkenny city centre, opened in 1993 by President Mary Robinson on the site of the old Savoy Cinema. It has a main floor and a small balcony, and the sightlines from most seats are good for children. The box office is open Wednesday to Saturday from 2pm to 6pm; you can also reach them on 056 7761674.
Kilkenny city is about 90 minutes from Dublin via the M9, or roughly an hour from Waterford and Carlow. Bus Eireann runs regular services from Dublin and Waterford; the city bus station is a short walk from Parliament Street. The train from Dublin Heuston takes around 1 hour 20 minutes to Kilkenny MacDonagh station. If you are driving, pay-and-display car parks are within a few minutes of the theatre.
Kilkenny rewards a full day out - the castle, the medieval mile, St Canice’s Cathedral and a good number of spots for lunch are all within easy walking distance of the Watergate. There is more to see in Kilkenny and across Co. Kilkenny.
Heading to Watergate Theatre in Kilkenny? Kilkenny has plenty more to see. Read the Kilkenny area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.