Critically acclaimed company from NYC specializing in live movie parodies.
Small-cast, ready-to-tour shows combining physical theater, comedy, and live sound/Foley.
Hilarious, high-quality entertainment. Accessible to audiences across a wide range of ages, interests, and theater-going experience.
Repeat sold-out shows at EdFringe in 250-300 seat venues. Critically acclaimed UK Tour and limited West End run. North American tour launching in Fall 2026.
OUR SHOWS
Two actors and a Foley artist perform a live, shot-for-shot parody of the greatest dinosaur film of all time.
A wildly inventive tour-de-force of comedy, physical theatre and live Foley.
CRITICS PICK
"Painfully funny… a pure joy from start to finish”
Time Out
★★★★★
“A chaotic masterpiece”
Page to Stage
★★★★★
“Hilarious and entertaining”
Edinburgh Reviews
★★★★★
“A non-stop laugh fest”
Theatre Weekly
★★★★
”A funny, head-spinning Jurassic Park parody”
The Times
★★★★
“Brilliant… a must see”
A Young(ish) Perspective
★★★★
“The hit of the fringe”
Scottish Daily Mail
★★★★
“A monster hit”
Bouquets & Brickbats
★★★★★
“A gloriously visualized and executed piece of comedy”
Binge Fringe Magazine
TRAILER
Cast Size: 3
Run Time: 60 mins
Recommended for ages 8+
Accompanying workshop options available (Foley, physical theater, physical comedy)
PRODUCTION HISTORY
After a decade of sold-out performances in NYC, Hold On To Your Butts had its UK premiere at the Fringe in 2024, garnering rave reviews. The show transferred to London’s Arcola Theatre for a 5-week holiday run.
It toured the UK before landing on the West End in Summer 2025. It enjoyed an encore season at Fringe 2025 and an Off Broadway run in Winter 2026. It will return to Fringe for special encore performances at Pleasance Coutyard in 2026.
BUTTS has played around the US in Chicago, Denver, Indianapolis, Massachusetts and Virginia, as well as a January 2026 showing in Dubai at Al Quoz Arts Festival.
Everywhere Butts goes, audiences rave about the joyfulness of the production, the extraordinary skill of the performers, the delight of seeing a live Foley artist on stage, and the show’s broad appeal to audiences of all ages.
Three actors and a Foley artist band together – in fellowship! – to perform a live, shot-for-shot parody of the most epic fantasy film of all time.
A jaw-dropping blend of comedy, physical theatre, and live Foley, proving that even the smallest of acting ensembles can change the course of the future.
★★★★★
“IF I HAD A SIXTH STAR AT MY DISPOSAL, I’D GLADLY ADD IT TO THE RATING… ONE OF THE MOST INVENTIVE SHOWS I HAVE EVER SEEN IN EDINBURGH… GENIUS, SHEER GENIUS.”
The Times
★★★★
“GLORIOUS THEATRICAL INVENTIVENESS”
The Scotsman
★★★★★
“HILARIOUSLY PERFECT AND PERFECTLY HILARIOUS”
This Week Culture
★★★★★
“SUPERB… THE NOSTALGIC LOTR PARODY TO RULE THEM ALL”
The Quintessential Review
★★★★★
“GLORIOUSLY SILLY”
LondonTheatre1
★★★★★
“IT IS FANTASY GENIUS, AND A MUST SEE”
Starburst Magazine
★★★★
“MASTERFUL… STUNNING”
Broadway World
TRAILER
Cast Size: 4
Run Time: 55 mins
Recommended for ages 8+
Accompanying workshop options available (Foley, physical theater, physical comedy)
Edinburgh Fringe
2025:
- 25 shows in a 299-seat house
- Average of 91% capacity (excluding previews)
- 16 sold-out shows
Four actors and a Foley artist perform a live, shot-for-shot parody of Home Alone in a hilarious holiday blend of puppetry, live projections, and 90s nostalgia.
“LAUGH-OUT-LOUD FUNNY”
Stagebuddy
“ONE BREATHLESS HOUR”
New York Times
“YOU WON’T WANT TO STAY HOME ALONE FOR THIS ONE”
Pop City Life
“A REMINDER OF THE JOY OF LIVE THEATER”
Theatre Is Easy
“LOVING PARODY AT ITS FINEST”
Manhattan Digest
“HILARIOUS”
Nuvo
Cast Size: 5
Run Time: 60 mins
Recommended for ages: 5+
Accompanying workshop options available (Foley, physical theater, physical comedy)
PRESS
OUR TEAM
Nick Abeel
Co-Founder, Performer
Kristin McCarthy Parker
Co-Founder, Director, Producer
Kyle Schaefer
Co-Founder, Performer
Heather Shields / CitySalt Theatricals
Producer, BUTTS UK & North American TourSMART Entertainment
General Managers, BUTTS UK
OUR COMPANY
Recent Cutbacks is a creative ensemble founded in 2014. Our critically acclaimed work sits at the intersection of comedy and theater. We’re best known for our live movie parodies that fuse humor, nostalgia, and lo-fi spectacle.
Our projects invite audiences to see the world with a newfound exuberance and remind us why we fell in love with movies, theater, and storytelling in the first place.
Our projects: Hold On To Your Butts; Fly, You Fools!; KEVIN!!!!!; Next Day Thrones; There Is No Spoon; and the Audible Original, Master Lecture Series: History of the Third Robot War.