Inspire Poetry Festival 2026: The Great Big Bug Show at West Bridgford Library

Join poet Simon Mole and musician Gecko for a family show full of poems, raps and songs all about your favourite bugs (and some you haven’t… Which beetle has a blaster on its bottom? Which many-legged minibeast took the first ever steps on land? Which eight-legged hunter has fangs as big as a cheetah’s claws? Join poet Simon Mole and musician Gecko for a family show full of poems, raps and songs all about your favourite bugs (and some you haven’t heard of yet!). A fun and interactive invitation to explore the secret world beneath our feet. As well as being brilliantly beautiful, delightfully disgusting and wonderfully weird, the show is an inspirational call to action to appreciate the smaller creatures in our world. Expect Minibeasts and Massive Beats. Every tune is an earworm - even the ones about woodlice! Part of the Inspire Poetry Festival 2026 Booking Information £3 per person Booking advised For children aged 4 - 11 and their grown-ups There will also be a performance at Beeston Library at 2:30pm About the Performers Simon Mole (he/him) is an acclaimed children’s poet (and sleep deprived dad) who has shared stages with Michael Rosen, Kae Tempest and John Hegley. He is a National Poetry Day ambassador, with over ten years of experience using poetry with children and families. Former poet in residence for the National Literacy Trust, Simon works in schools and libraries across the country and overseas. The videos on his YouTube channel are used by hundreds of thousands of children and teachers across the world each year and have been featured on the BBC. He is the author of A First Book of Bugs and A First Book of Dinosaurs. His other books are picture books Kites, I Love My Bike (shortlisted for The Sunday Times Children’s Sports Book of the Year) and I Love My Cat, illustrated by Sam Usher. Simon lives in Berkshire. Gecko (he/him) is a Singer, Storyteller and Musician. His playful lyrics cover the big things in life; think iPhones, libraries and Guanabana fruit juice to name but a few. With more than 4 million views and 1 million likes on TikTok in the past year, Gecko’s previous appearances include Glastonbury, Latitude, Bestival, BBC Scotland, BBC London and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He has toured the UK, Europe & New Zealand. Gecko’s music has also been featured on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6 Music, Radio X and BBC Introducing. He has twice been awarded ‘Album of the Year’ by The Morning Star newspaper. In 2020, Gecko released his second album, Climbing Frame, crowd funded by his audience in just 48 hours. He appeared on BAFTA winning TV show ‘Life & Rhymes’ hosted by Benjamin Zephaniah and has shared bills with the likes of Tim Minchin, Eddie Izzard, Ed Sheeran and Billy Bragg.