Hold On To Your Butts - Arcola Theatre Review

Reviewed by Lauren Russell

Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review

Hold onto your Butts is a high-energy parody of the iconic 90’s film Jurassic Park, created by Cutbacks Production. Expertly directed by Kristen McCarthy Parker, a co-founder of Cutbacks, and performed by the vigorously imaginative Jack Baldwin and Laurence Pears, who gave 150% commitment to the gags and got the audience on board from the start.

Jack Baldwin and Laurence Pears. Photo by Mark Senior

Pears and Balwin take on the array of characters from the film, (including the dinosaurs!), who are highlighted by token pieces of funny low-budget costume combined with the actor’s slick physicality and vocal creativity. They continually swap between characters, and even take it in turns to play the same people. Which, if you aren’t switched on to what’s happening or if you haven’t watched Jurassic Park (or watched it a long time ago like me), can feel like one big in-joke and be isolating at times. My advice – do a Jurassic Park rewatch! The pace of the show is fast, so your memory won’t have time to play catch up or work out who’s playing who. Sometimes characters merge onto one actor, for example, one performer would be both grandchildren, wearing the hat for Lex as well as the rucksack for Tim, speaking as both, so it wasn’t always clear who was saying what. If the movie was fresher in my mind, this would have been less confusing.

The sound accompaniment is a key feature of this parody, playfully arranged by Kelsey Didion and performed by Charlie Ives who, situated up stage right, gave the exact amount of stage presence needed without distracting from the action. At times it was like she was an immersed audience member with striking facial expressions, and then later featured on stage for a surprise cameo (I’ll say no more, but it was a true highlight). Ives is a brilliant foley artist with immaculate comic timing, she fits perfectly into the world of this wonderfully chaotic show. They blended the film plot scenes with moments of theatrical humour subtly addressing the low-budget nature of their show, for example a tiny cocktail umbrella and water poured into a bucket as the very wide film shot of the helicopter and the waterfall. 
Breaking the 4th wall (addressing the audience’s presence) was tasteful and not over-done, a particular favourite was an actor asking, ‘do you have equity?’ to a perplexed audience member, and searching to turn back on the parks' power then reading out the ‘filming is not permitted’ poster on the wall of the theatre. Quick silly gags mixed with well-rehearsed jokes, such as the extended mime of sandwich making accompanied by Ives sound skills (both worryingly and hilariously accurate), make sure there is humour for everyone. This explains why laughter was constantly bubbling and bursting from the audience and a standing ovation at the end.

Laurence Pears, Charlie Ives and Jack Baldwin. Photo by Mark Senior

Baldwin and Pears have such a strong connection, an obvious passion for the piece, and ooze comedic charisma. Making this very detailed, hilarious, and bonkers rendition of a well-known well-loved blockbuster film absolutely worth the watch. So, hold onto your butts, rewatch Jurassic Park, and then put them in a seat to watch this laugh-out-loud performance.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hold On To Your Butts plays at the Arcola Theatre until Saturday 11th January 2025. The production plays a UK tour opening at Curve in Leicester on 7th February 2025. For tickets and dates visit https://holdontoyourbutts.com/