On Your Marks! 1 - 3 Apr 2026
A game-based visual arts workshop for ages 5-12.
The forest is buzzing - today is the animals’ annual Sports Day!
Join theatre-maker Darren Yorke and visual artist Duffy Mooney Sheppard for a joyful, game-based visual arts workshop as part of Under the Big Oak, an illustrated exhibition by Jole Bortoli created in consultation with children.
In this playful experience, children step into a lively gathering of forest animals for team games under the big oak tree, bringing the space to life through play.
Blending storytelling, theatre games, and visual play, the workshop encourages children to move, imagine, collaborate, and follow the road off the beaten track.
About Duffy & Darren...
Duffy Mooney Sheppard
Duffy is a visual artist, theatre maker and workshop facilitator. A graduate of the MA Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Arts, she is drawn to the process of story-making as a way to explore ideas and share her curiosity about the natural world. With many years of experience working creatively with young people at The Ark and many other cultural institutions and schools, she has developed her facilitation methods which are based in playful observation, imagination and telling tall tales. Find out more on instagram @DuffyDraws
Darren Yorke
Darren Yorke is a theatre maker, performer, and facilitator. He enjoys a rich interdisciplinary arts practice with a strong focus on improvisation as the 'playmaker' behind Grand Stretch. His fail-safe, fun-fuelled, and fearless approach to play, creativity, and performance makes things happen in stories, scenes, and songs. He applies this in play-making workshops, in devising programmes with community groups, and as a creator-performer of original works for young audiences, including "Boss Rob" and "Fergal".
Hailing from Longford, Darren holds a BA in Drama & Theatre Studies from Trinity College Dublin and has been an Arts Council-funded YPCE Artist in Residence at Marino Institute of Education since 2022. His latest project, "Fancy Dan", developed through a child participative process, is set for production at Backstage Theatre next year.