HOLD ON TO YOUR BUTTS Wins 2026 SoHo Playhouse Fringe Encore Series
Directed by Kristin McCarthy Parker, the Jurassic PARK parody stars Nick Abeel, Kerry Ipema, and Natalie Rich.
Recent Cutbacks' Hold On To Your Butts has been selected as Winner of the 2026 International Fringe Encore Series (IFES) at SoHo Playhouse. Hold On To Your Butts had its Off-Broadway debut as part of the IFES this winter, following two sell-out seasons at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a 2025 UK tour, and a limited run on London's West End. The Off-Broadway/IFES run was directed by Kristin McCarthy Parker and performed by Nick Abeel, Kerry Ipema, and Natalie Rich, with Foley artists Blair Busbee and Kelly Robinson.
Annually, the International Fringe Encore Series provides opportunities to emerging artists who show exceptional talent both artistically and commercially, offering winning shows an extended run Off-Broadway. Previous winners include Josh Glanc (Family Man, 2025), Xhloe & Natasha (A Letter to Lyndon B Johnson..., 2024), and Brendan Hunt (The Movement You Need, 2023).
Hold On To Your Butts is a live, shot-for-shot parody of the greatest dinosaur film of all time, performed by just two actors and a Foley artist. Critics praised the recent Off-Broadway production for its "energy, raw comedic talent, and jaw-dropping theatrical mechanics," (Theatre Beyond Broadway) and ingenuity: "Performance, practiced with this much care, trust, and imagination, can still bring people together, and remind them that wonder does not require permission from shareholders or screens" (Thinking Theater NYC).
Hold On To Your Butts ran 21 performances from February 7 - March 15, 2026. It will return to Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer for three encore performances at Pleasance Courtyard, alongside full runs of last season's runaway hit Fly, You Fools! and the UK premiere of KEVIN!!!!!
