“Never work with children and dinosaurs” is a paraphrased old showbiz adage and a well-worn warning passed down the years to caution well-meaning performers against the inconsistent vagaries of both – you never know what children may do and dinosaurs tend to go extinct. So it takes a strong poet and his gecko to face the daunting two-headed hybrid of the Dinokid, but in the reliable hands of both Simon Mole and his buddy, Gecko, who, I was disappointed to discover, was not a gecko, these old showbiz platitudes can be safely tossed aside.
“The Great Big Dinosaur Show” emerged from the primordial soup of the combined imaginations of these two talented performers via Mole’s 2023 book, “A First Book of Dinosaurs” from Walker Books illustrated by Matt Hunt and evolved into something unique, engaging and highly original. Both performers have strong track records of entertaining kids and do so with aplomb with these sketches, poems and songs and a vast array of child-appropriate prehistoric hysteria deployed with energy, joy and a sprinkling of happiness. Where Spielberg may have instilled a cushion-hugging fear of dinos in your children, Mole and Gecko, dispel those jurassic jitters and provide a hugely wholesome smorgasbord of dino delight and velociraptor rapture!
And what a joyful Jurassic journey it becomes! We follow the tales (and tails) of the dinosaurs from their primordial beginnings, right through to their final extinction (plot spoiler) as Mole and Gecko take us on an educational, entertaining, edutaining trip through billions of years packed into minute minutes. Not only do we get in the entire history of (almost) every species, we get poems from the book together with a bespoke, improv poem about the Flushadon (kid’s suggestions rarely wander far from the bathroom), kids are brought up to participate, too, which proves itself an endearing moment. The parents, of course, loved it and the lighting, the sound, the projections and the music all combined to make an engaging piece which climaxes (should I give the ending away?) with a fabulous musical solo for chicken, because, as we all know, chickens are the natural descendants of the Dinos!
It’s a delightful romp through the highlights of the dinoworld with something for everyone. Bring a friend, bring a dinosaur, bring any extinct species and enjoy The Great Big Dinosaur Show.
Reviewer: Peter Kinnock
Reviewed: 31st May 2025
North West End UK Rating: