Dinosaurs ruled South Leeds on Saturday (19 April 2025) for two performances of the roarsome ‘Hold On To Your Butts’.
This Jurassic Park parody delighted the audience with a 3-person reenactment of the beloved classic film, which turns 32 years old this year. They re-create the whole plot including all the iconic moments; from a flabbergasted Dr Grant (played by Sam Neill) pulling off his sunglasses and turning the head of Dr Sattler (Laura Dern) when the first dinosaurs come into view; delving into the triceratops dung; and of course, the spinechilling moment when the still glass of water shakes as the T-Rex approaches.
You can only parody a film so well when you truly love it, and that love shines throughout this 70-minute show. They beautifully mimic the cast, using a pair of specs and a frenetic demeanour to depict Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm, and (fake) chain smoking for Samuel L Jackson’s panicked and frantic Ray Arnold.
Using a very simple but hilarious array of props they bring the characters and dinosaurs to life. A cycle helmet and traffic cone become a T-Rex; three pink party hats a triceratops and a white sock for the lamb carcass. For the characters, a red tie becomes the money grabbing lawyer Donald Gennaro, a red rucksack and purple baseball cap for the children, Tim and Lex Murphy, and that pair of sunglasses for Dr Grant.
My favourite scene was the velociraptors in the kitchen, as Tim and Lex scramble to escape. The performers don swimming goggles and a snarling demeanour, and the lights are dimmed for the final chase, and despite the hysterics from the audience I also recalled the fright when watching the film as the characters that have survived this far band together to keep the raptors at bay.
During the show we see two actors and there is also a foley artist (who creates sound effects) on stage who is amazing in making sure the high energy performance is matched with the right sounds from the squelch of dung, to rain, leaves rustling and most important of all the roars of the dinosaurs!
Performers Jack Baldwin and Charlie Ives from the theatre company Recent Cutbacks spoke to South Leeds Life about how much they enjoyed performing in Holbeck. Charlie Ives told us:
“Slung Low was a really special stop on our spring tour. In a world and industry that increasingly puts up barriers between audiences, artists, and art, it’s incredible to find somewhere that’s removing all the barriers they can to become a hub for the local community. The Pay What You Decide initiative makes audiences accessible, and our audiences were electric! We LOVED it!”
Jack Baldwin added:
“Places like Slung Low are vital and essential parts of both our industry and their communities. Their dedication and commitment allows artists across many different fields have a platform for their art and for people from all different walks of life to have access to live performance they may have no other way of enjoying. Slung Low is part of the life blood of live theatre in this country and it’s a joy to have been able to perform there.”
Coming up next at Slung Low is ‘School of Night: 20th Year Anniversary’ at Slung Low at Temple on Thursday (24 April). For more information and to book tickets go to: www.slunglow.org/shows
Photo: Laurence Pears and Jack Baldwin in Hold On To Your Butts. Credit: Mark Senior
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