Jack Baldwin, Charlie Burt, Charlie Ives and Laurence Pears form the company of Fly, You Fools!, the hour-long Lord of the Rings parody that begins its London run at Southwark Playhouse Borough on 25 November, with David Hoskin as understudy.
Jack Baldwin, Charlie Ives and Laurence Pears, three of the company from Hold On To Your Butts, are back with Recent Cutbacks for Fly, You Fools!, which runs at Southwark Playhouse Borough from Wednesday 25 November 2026 to Saturday 16 January 2027. Charlie Burt completes the on-stage line-up, and David Hoskin covers the roles. Press night is Friday 27 November, and Birmingham Rep is the next stop once the London dates are done.
The show compresses The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring into sixty minutes, with four performers carrying the quest across Middle-earth through mime, physical comedy, impressions and sound effects made live in front of the audience. That last job falls to Ives, who returns as the production’s Foley performer and also plays Galadriel.
Baldwin trained at LAMDA. The stage credits run from The Play That Goes Wrong at the Duchess and The Comedy About a Bank Robbery at the Criterion to Hold On To Your Butts at the Arcola and Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience, with television work in Gandhi Before India and Secret Invasion.
Burt, who trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and Trinity Laban Conservatoire for Music and Dance, has appeared in the West End in Doctor Who: Time Fracture and The Immersive Great Gatsby, which also took her to Brussels. She has worked as movement director on Peaky Blinders: The Rise too.
Ives is an ArtsEd graduate whose stage work includes A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story at Nottingham Playhouse and Alexandra Palace, Private Lives at the Ambassadors, Mrs Warren’s Profession at Theatre Royal Bath and Tabby McTat in Hong Kong and Singapore. On screen she has been seen in Sherlock Holmes: An Online Adventure and The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman, and away from acting she has played piano for The Internet Was Made for Adults at the Vaults and been assistant musical director on Like I Care.
Pears returns from Hold On To Your Butts with The Play That Goes Wrong, The Comedy About a Bank Robbery and Peter Pan Goes Wrong also behind him. He was named Cornwall Comedian of the Year in 2024 and is a co-founder of Jam First Theatre, a company based in Cornwall.
Hoskin will understudy every character played by Baldwin, Burt and Pears. Trained at École Philippe Gaulier, Hoskin is an award-winning comic, physical performer, writer and voiceover artist. His comedy work includes David Hoskin: A Haunted House and Frankie Monroe: Live!!! at Soho Theatre, Gutter: A Bouffon Ritual at The Pen in Bermondsey and BATSU! at Underbelly Boulevard. In theatre he has appeared in Phantom Peak at Canada Water and Gorgon: A Horror Story at VAULT Festival, and his films include One Must Change and Mi Casa Su Casa.
Kristin McCarthy Parker, who directs and produces the show and co-founded Recent Cutbacks, said: “Fly, You Fools! is our love letter to Tolkien’s world, and bringing it to London during the 25th anniversary feels like a homecoming. UK audiences have shown Recent Cutbacks so much love since Hold On To Your Butts, and we’re thrilled to bring the Butts team into the Fellowship. Whether you’re a superfan of the novels and films or encountering them for the first time, this show will bring plenty of joy and humour to your holiday season.”
The London season falls 25 years after The Fellowship of the Ring reached cinemas, and follows sell-out seasons for the show in Edinburgh; Hold On To Your Butts drew UK audiences in both 2024 and 2025. The Southwark dates were first announced in September. The production comes from 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.
Selected performances carry a family ticket: four seats for £110 in any combination of adults and children under 16, as long as the booking includes at least one child ticket. The show is aimed at audiences aged eight and over. Tickets for Fly, You Fools! at Southwark Playhouse Borough are on sale now.
