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family · Saturday 4 July 2026 · 10:00am 
Scripts - Children's Playwriting Workshop
At Birr Theatre & Arts Centre · Birr, Co. Offaly
At Birr Theatre & Arts Centre · Birr, Co. Offaly
A morning workshop where children aged 8 to 12 get to write their own plays - not read about them, not watch them, but actually create them on the page. The Scripts: Ireland’s Playwriting Festival has run for twelve years out of Birr Theatre & Arts Centre, and this Saturday session is one of the most hands-on parts of the whole event. It suits kids who love stories, who have strong opinions, or who have ever watched something on stage and thought they could write something better.
The workshop runs on Saturday 4 July as part of Scripts 2026, a four-day playwriting festival anchored at Birr Theatre & Arts Centre. The theme for this year’s festival is Desire - the same theme that shapes all the new work being developed and performed across the week.
Children will be guided through the basics of scriptwriting: how a play is structured, how characters speak on the page differently from prose, how a short scene can carry a complete story. This is an interactive, participatory workshop - expect writing exercises, group discussion, and probably some performed reading of what the group produces. Birr Theatre runs creative workshops for children throughout the year (including their Hullabaloo! children’s arts festival in October), so the environment is well set up for younger participants.
The festival as a whole brings together established and emerging Irish playwrights, with staged readings and live performances running across Thursday 2 July through Sunday 5 July. The children’s workshop sits within a full Saturday programme that also includes adult workshops and evening performances.
Birr is in the centre of Offaly, roughly equidistant from Dublin and Galway. By car from Dublin, take the M7 to Portlaoise and then the N52 west - allow about 90 minutes. From Limerick, take the N52 north through Nenagh and Borrisokane, around an hour’s drive. Bus Eireann serves Birr from Dublin, Tullamore, and Limerick on various routes, though services on a Saturday morning can be limited - check the journey planner at buseireann.ie before you travel. Parking in Birr town centre is straightforward, with free spaces on Emmet Square and along the main streets close to the theatre.
Birr is a handsome Georgian town, and Birr Castle Demesne - home to the Great Telescope and one of Ireland’s finest historic gardens - is a short walk from the theatre and well worth an afternoon visit. There is more to see in Birr and across Co. Offaly.
Heading to Birr Theatre & Arts Centre in Birr? Offaly has plenty more to see. Read the Birr area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.