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family · Saturday 10 October 2026 · 12:00pm 
How to Catch a Star - Branar Family Show
At Mermaid Arts Centre · Main Street, Bray, Co. Wicklow
At Mermaid Arts Centre · Main Street, Bray, Co. Wicklow
Galway theatre company Branar brings its non-verbal puppet adaptation of Oliver Jeffers’ picture book How to Catch a Star to Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray on Saturday, 10 October 2026, with two performances at 12pm and 2pm. The show follows a boy who dreams of befriending a star and sets off to find one, told entirely through puppetry, design and an original live score rather than spoken dialogue. Branar has been making imaginative theatre for children since 2001 and this production has drawn praise for its visual staging, with the Irish Times calling it “visually stunning with a twinkling score.”
Because the storytelling has no dialogue, the show works for very young audiences and for children who might not yet follow a spoken script, while still holding attention for older kids through its puppet design and music. It runs as a single continuous piece without an interval, and the two showtimes on the same day give parents a choice between a lunchtime or early-afternoon slot.
A separate schools-only screening takes place the previous day, Friday 9 October, booked directly through schools rather than as a public ticket, so families should book the Saturday performances for a general audience visit.
The book itself, written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers, has been a staple of children’s shelves since it was first published, and Branar’s stage version keeps to the same simple emotional arc of longing and discovery rather than adding new plot. The Arts Review described the production as “an utterly, charmingly, gorgeously enjoyable experience,” and it follows the same company’s track record of touring internationally with its adaptations of Irish and international picture books. Mermaid Arts Centre programmes it as part of its autumn children’s strand, which runs alongside adult theatre, music and film in the same building through October.
Mermaid Arts Centre is on Main Street in Bray town centre, a short walk from Bray DART and rail station.
Heading to Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray? Wicklow has plenty more to see. Read the Bray area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.
In town for Mermaid Arts Centre? These Wicklow tours book out in summer.