Poet, Simon Mole and singer-storyteller, Gecko have teamed up again for another family show filled with word play and ear-worms. Quite literally this time, as their latest collaboration is all about bugs! Inspired by Mole’s latest book, “A First Book of Bugs”, The Great Big Bug Show is an interactive celebration of all things creepy crawly. We’re big fans of Mole and Gecko, but since the munchkins have grown out of the 4-11 age range, Mummy borrowed a friend’s five-year-old to help her review the show at Half Moon Theatre last weekend.
The fact that Mummy was willing to bring said five-year-old is testament to her confidence in Mole and Gecko’s ability to engage even the wiggliest little worms – Last time she came on a theatre excursion, it took approximately five minutes before she declared she was bored, pulled a book out of her bag and asked if I would read it to her! The Great Big Bug Show felt like the ideal show to test her out again – If ever there were an ideal show for a bookworm obsessed with animal facts, this was surely the one.
Running at around 50 minutes, it’s a perfectly paced production that combines poetry, song and interactive elements to inspire an interest in insects and encourage imaginative play. There’s a bit of something for everyone, including the adults, with cultural references to Duolingo and comedy panel show, “Would I lie to you?” It’s all delivered in Mole and Gecko’s trademark style; laidback and light-hearted, with plenty of improvisation and opportunities for the audience to get involved.
The audience participation is varied and highly engaging. One minute we’re guessing along in a game of “Wood I lice to you?”, the next we’re woodcutter ants, racing to pass giant leaves around the room. The audience are asked for ideas, which are integrated into the action, culminating in an impressive improvised rap. Mole bounces brilliantly off the children, dealing masterfully with all contributions that are thrown his way (whether they’re asked for or not).
With so much interaction and switching up of ideas, The Great Big Bug Show is the perfect production to keep young audiences buzzing with excitement throughout. My borrowed minibeast had a great time and, of course, went home clutching a signed copy of “A First Book of Bugs”, which she was desperate to read as soon as she got home.
The Great Big Bug Show played at Half Moon Theatre on 28 February 2026 as part of a wider tour. We received complimentary tickets to the 11am performance.