Miriam Trujillo
Two actors, props out of a toy box, a Foley artist working overtime, clever timing, a strong sense of humour, and a fuck-ton of dinosaurs. That’s all Hold on to Your Butts needed to make the funniest parody of Jurassic Park brought to stage.
Advertised as a shot-by-shot recreation of the first film in the Jurassic Park franchise, the performers really committed to the bit. Starting with a shot-by-shot recreation of the title sequence, the actors addressed (most of) the scenes from the film in similar detail, making use of frames, umbrellas, miniatures, and anything else to create a ridiculous version of Spielberg’s breathtaking cinematography.
The two actors, Natalie Rich and Matt Zambrano, cycled through all the characters of the blockbuster. With the help of a few pairs of sunglasses, wigs, backpacks, and jackets, they brought each character amazingly to life. They faked voices, exaggerated body language, and used hilarious sight gags (Samuel L. Jackson’s character had another cigarette every time we saw him), that evoked the original actors’ personalities. Some of the impressions (particularly Zambrano’s impression of Dennis Nedry and Rich’s impression of Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum) were nothing short of art.
Off to the side, Kelly Robinson, the Foley artist, was a performance unto herself. She emphasized every action, almost every line, with a sound effect. And she wasn’t accomplishing that by the push of a button either. From keyboard clickings to crinklings, to Dinosour roars in the distance, Robinson accomplished all of these sounds with props. She commanded a whole table full of objects to bring these sounds to life, and she did it expertly.
All three performers had so many items to keep track of. For the show to work, timing was essential. A missed cue here, a misplaced prop there, and the entire show would fall apart. Fortunately, these actors were performers at the top of their game. Their use of props their timing, and their movement was so flawless, it was entertainment in and of itself. Zambrano, Rich, and Robinson sold the blocking with the confidence and gusto that is the hallmark of a genuinely professional performance. It’s a real treat to watch actors do what they do best, and Hold on to Your Butts delivered.
While some parodies are definitely taking the piss out of their source material, this one felt more like a love letter to Jurassic Park. Clearly the actors had watched the film over and over to get the characters down so specifically. Clearly the director appreciated the marvels of Spielberg’s directing to imitate it so ingeniously. Anyone in the audience who was a fan of the film would have been delighted by the details and callbacks that cast an old favourite in such a hilarious new light. Climactic scenes in the film, such as the kitchen scene and the scene where the T-Rex eats the raptors were expanded in a way that paid homage to the heightened tension of the real scenes (the kitchen scene played out in the audience, and Robinson left her sound effects table to become the T-Rex), making for a real climactic payoff.
Hold on to Your Butts was exactly what it needed to be: a gloriously visualized and executed piece of comedy. It captured some of the fun of the original but, even more than that, captured the fun of watching a play; of sitting in an audience, not knowing what the actors would do next, but knowing it will be skilful and utterly brilliant. Amidst the vast landscape of experiments at the Fringe, Hold on to Your Butts was a refreshing moment of top-notch theatre.
Recommended Drink: A Jello shot. You hold the jello shot, then begin to shake uncontrollably when you realize you are in the same room as a velociraptor….
Catch Hold on to Your Butts at Pleasance Courtyard in Forth from August 20th – 26th at 14:00. Tickets are available through the EdFringe Box Office.
Jake Mace
