Kristin McCarthy Parker Archives

Last year Recent Cutbacks gave me one of my picks of the Fringe. Fly, You Fools! was gloriously inventive, while Hold On To Your Butts proved equally adept at turning a much loved blockbuster into breathless, brilliantly silly theatre. So, I arrived at KEVIN!!!!! expecting another hit. Instead, they have given me Christmas in August. This Home Alone parody may be described as something wildly different from the company’s other Fringe offerings, but there is an irony here. KEVIN!!!!! was originally developed around ten years ago and, having seen what Recent Cutbacks have subsequently become, this feels less like progression and more like a retro step too far. The approach is predominantly puppet led, with handmade miniature s...

Hold On To Your Butts, the frenetic, exceedingly clever work of New York-based company Recent Cutbacks, is exactly what it purports to be. Originating ten years ago with sold out performances in New York and recently transferring from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the show is (as far as I can tell, a completely faithful) shot-for-shot theatrical parody of Stephen Spielberg’s iconic tale of a dinosaur theme park that goes horribly wrong. But knowing that, and subsequently knowing the general plot (Arrival. Dinosaurs. Chaos Theory. Power Failure. Velociraptor Hijinks.) does nothing to capture the ingenuity and delight of this show. From the very beginning, when one’s eyes fall on the rickety-sparse stage, awash in a thin fog and a deep, anticipatory green lighting (courtesy of desi...

Tag: Kristin McCarthy Parker

Kevin!!!!! – Forth at Pleasance Courtyard

Hold On To Your Butts – Arcola Theatre