Recent Cutbacks bring Fly, You Fools!, their hour-long parody of The Lord of the Rings, to London for the first time this winter, with a newly announced cast that reunites three of the Hold On To Your Butts company. Here is everything you need to know before you book.
A film of 178 minutes, four performers and a little over an hour of stage time: that is the arithmetic behind Fly, You Fools!, the shot-for-shot send-up of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring that opens at Southwark Playhouse Borough on Wednesday 25 November 2026. The show was first announced for London in September, after two sell-out seasons at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and its London debut falls in the 25th anniversary year of the film's release. The cast confirmed on 29 October brings three of Recent Cutbacks' Hold On To Your Butts company along with it.
Who is starring in Fly, You Fools!?
Four performers share the whole of Middle-earth between them. Jack Baldwin, Charlie Burt and Laurence Pears carry the quest, while Charlie Ives is the production's Foley performer, creating the sound effects live in full view of the audience, and also plays Galadriel. David Hoskin understudies every role played by Baldwin, Burt and Pears.
Baldwin, Ives and Pears all return from Hold On To Your Butts, the company's earlier parody, which played to UK audiences in 2024 and 2025. The credits Pears brings also include The Comedy About a Bank Robbery and Peter Pan Goes Wrong, and Pears was named Cornwall Comedian of the Year in 2024. Burt's West End work includes Doctor Who: Time Fracture and The Immersive Great Gatsby. Ives, an ArtsEd graduate, has appeared in Private Lives at the Ambassadors and Mrs Warren's Profession at Theatre Royal Bath. Hoskin, who trained at École Philippe Gaulier, is a comic and physical performer whose Soho Theatre shows include David Hoskin: A Haunted House.
Spotlight on Jack Baldwin
Of the four, Jack Baldwin brings the deepest grounding in West End comedy built on precision. A LAMDA graduate, Baldwin has credits in The Play That Goes Wrong at the Duchess Theatre and The Comedy About a Bank Robbery at the Criterion, two productions whose laughs depend on split-second physical timing, which is precisely the discipline a one-hour Fellowship demands. The list also takes in Faulty Towers The Dining Experience, in London and on its international tour, Hamlet at the Park Theatre and The Exquisite Corpse at Southwark Playhouse. What this production asks is a quick change of character with nothing but mime, a few props and the audience's goodwill to make each one land, and Baldwin's record suggests that is familiar ground. Baldwin is one of the four on stage in Fly, You Fools!, which can be booked on its show page.
What is Fly, You Fools! about?
The show follows the first part of Tolkien's trilogy as the 2001 film tells it: a hobbit inherits a ring of terrible power, and a small fellowship sets out from the Shire to carry it beyond the reach of the enemy, as far as the other side of the Mines of Moria. Recent Cutbacks restage the film scene by scene, and the comedy lies in the economy of means, with mime, shadow puppetry, impressions and a table of live sound effects standing in for armies, landscapes and a blockbuster budget. It is pitched at devotees of the books and films and at newcomers alike, and is recommended for ages eight and over.
Who is behind the production?
Kristin McCarthy Parker, a co-founder of Recent Cutbacks, directs and produces. Foley design is by Blair Busbee, the a cappella arrangements are by Kelsey Didion, lighting design is by James Appleby and Charlie Richards is associate director. McCarthy Parker has called the piece "our love letter to Tolkien's world", and said that bringing it to London in the anniversary year "feels like a homecoming".
The production is presented by Peter Huntley and Callum Runciman for Smart Entertainment, Heather Shields for Rigor + Ruckus, and Recent Cutbacks, in association with 2nd Row Comedy and Willette Klausner.
When and where can I see it?
Fly, You Fools! runs in the Large auditorium at Southwark Playhouse Borough, on Newington Causeway near Elephant & Castle station, from Wednesday 25 November 2026 to Saturday 16 January 2027, with press night on Friday 27 November. Evening performances are at 7pm from Monday to Saturday, with 2.30pm matinees on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The running time is around 1 hour 5 minutes with no interval, and latecomers are not admitted, so it pays to arrive early.
A captioned performance is scheduled for Wednesday 16 December at 7pm. At selected performances, excluding Friday and Saturday evenings, a family ticket offers four seats for £110 in any combination of adults and under-16s, provided the booking includes at least one under-16 ticket; under-16s must be accompanied by an adult. Once the London run ends, the show travels to Birmingham Rep from Wednesday 20 to Saturday 23 January 2027. Dates and booking for Fly, You Fools! are on its show page.
What else should I book if I like it?
- The Play That Goes Wrong at the Duchess Theatre: the long-running farce in which both Baldwin and Pears have appeared, and the purest form of comedy built from things falling apart on cue.
- Christmas Carol Goes Wrong at Wyndham's Theatre, from 18 December 2026 to 23 January 2027: a festive classic reduced to happy chaos, for anyone who wants a second seasonal parody.
- Potted Panto at the Apollo Theatre, from 6 December 2026 to 3 January 2027: another show that squeezes a whole tradition into about 70 minutes, and a natural second family outing this Christmas.
- Faulty Towers The Dining Experience at the President Hotel: sitcom-inspired comedy served with dinner, from a company Baldwin has played with in London and on tour.
