Poet Simon Mole and musician Gecko are filling the gap left by the postponement of their national tour by running free online workshops for children and families during lockdown.
Youngsters are being encouraged to interact from their own homes with online poetry and music sessions based on the duo’s family friendly Mole & Gecko: THE SHOW which was due to tour theatres and libraries across England before the Covid-crisis.
Running online every Tuesday, Mole’s workshops for five to eight-year olds and eight to 11-year olds are open to all, with participants Zooming in from Beckenham to Barbados.
Describing the initiative Mole said: “It’s not just a weekly workshop but a real community with kids writing and then reading their poems, or hearing their work read. While the schools are closed I know a lot of people, myself included, are looking for creative things to do at home with their children. I want to bring as much creativity and positivity as possible at the moment, so it’s important to me that the workshops are free to attend.”
One workshop attendee, nine-year-old Lula from Somerset, has already provided the inspiration for new song ‘Our Den’. With the support of North London’s artsdepot in the week when Mole and Gecko were due to appear at the venue, the pair worked remotely to create the video for the song which can be viewed here:
Expressing her delight at the result, Lula said: “Hearing my ideas turn into a proper song was really exciting. I even sung a little bit of a tune which ended up being used in the final version.”
Commenting on the song, Gecko said: “I loved making the den song for Lula. Creating dens in these times gives us some sense of control whilst everything outside the den can feel hectic. Like we say in the song that den can be a portal to wherever we want to be, whether that’s real places we’re missing or in space or the belly of whale.”
On behalf of artsdepot, director of programming, Louisa Bartlett-Pestell added: “artsdepot love working with Mole and Gecko. Whilst we missed having them in the building, it was a pleasure to support their online residency and see so many young people participate in the workshops. We are delighted by the fun and innovative creations they achieved at a distance and continue to hum ‘Our Den’.”
Angela Thomas
www.simonmole.com/online-poetry-workshops
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