Hold On To Your Butts
Leicester Curve (Studio)
7th February 2025
Fresh from successful runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and London’s Arcola Theatre in 2024, comedy play ‘Hold On To Your Butts’ is taking to the road and touring the country over the next few months. Parodying the legendary 1993 blockbuster ‘Jurassic Park’, and taking its name from Samuel L Jackson’s sardonic warning of impending doom as the park falls into chaos, the spoof retells Spielberg’s dino-disaster romp, recreating the plot, characters and memorable moments in 70 minutes and on a shoestring budget.
Brought to us by US production company Recent Cutbacks, who also have several other classic movie parodies in their catalogue, ‘Hold On To Your Butts’ is clearly a passion project for them, and their affection for the original movie shines through the production. Directed with madcap tongue-n-cheek charm by Kristin McCarthy Parker, the production zips along and fully rises to the challenge of recreating these massive cinematic moments. Fans will rejoice at revisiting the ripples in the cup of water, the shrinking T-Rex eye in the torch beam and the numerous dinosaur attacks, and while they may be delivered on a much smaller scale, it’s all immediately recognisable. It’s all done with a balanced approach of tribute and well-intentioned mickey-taking, and it completely works.
The show is at its strongest when it builds on the parody element rather than just retelling the story (albeit done very well), and it could push the envelope a little further here. It feels like there is more potential for spoofing in the original film (a tech staff of three running an entire park, the dated technology from the early 90s, and the ridiculous age gap between Sam Neill and Laura Dern. The production doesn’t quite capitalise on the full potential there.
The show’s Fringe roots remain present throughout, as an array of inexpensive props are brilliantly used to represent the otherwise-unachievable; umbrellas become helicopters, traffic cones become T-Rex tails, and lawyer Gennaro is even represented merely by a tie around an actor’s wrist. It’s this outside-the-box thinking that gives the show its charm, and just when you’re thinking “how are they going to do the next big scene?”, they do. The experience is infinitely enhanced by Foley Artist Charlie Ives, who uses an assortment of objects to create numerous sound effects, along with her own vocal skill, mimicking everything from the bleeps of machines to the cries of baby velociraptors. Ives’ contribution to the show is immeasurable and demonstrates an enviable skill in audio-craft and timing.
Leading the show are Charlie Richards and Jack Baldwin, who play every human character in the story along with the dinosaurs to boot. Performing at a relentless pace, the actors fully throw themselves into the challenge and give fantastic performances, not only timing each moment perfectly where the lightning pace is key, but also occasionally slipping into ad-libbing and trying to make the others laugh, which works brilliantly. Characterisations are also really well done, with Dr Malcolm and game-hunter Muldoon being recreated particularly brilliantly by Baldwin.
Without question one of the better spoof comedy shows out there, ‘Hold On To Your Butts’ brings one of cinema’s biggest triumphs to life with invention, affection and a constant stream of visual gags that make this production absolutely worth your time. It’ll remind you of both seeing that incredible film for the first time, and also of what fringe theatre can achieve when its imagination is allowed the freedom to roar.
‘Hold On To Your Butts’ runs at Leicester’s Curve (studio space) on 7th and 8th February 2025, before continuing on its UK tour. Details at holdontoyourbutts.com.
Performance runtime 70 minutes without interval.
