THE LOWRY played host to a Jurassic Park parody on Tuesday (May 17) with the three man production’s tour in full flow. Quays News entertainment reporter Ellen Ward was lucky enough to be in attendance…
A classic film turned into a belly full of laughter performance that had most of the crowd caught off guard. This parody by Superbolt Theatre starred only three actors and yet they made the stage feel as if there were triple the amount of people there.
Two children, Jade (Maria Askew) and Noah (Simon Maeder) are holding a memorial screening for their mother who died a year ago. The play starts with the teenagers and the Father (Frode Gjerlow) losing the tape of Jurassic Park which they were going to use for the screening.
At the beginning of the play I was unsure if I was going to enjoy the performance due to the awkwardness and breaking of the fourth wall. But, once the actors got into the speed of things it became an incredible physical theatre piece.
Since they forgot the tape they decided to act out the film for the audience. The play jumped from the characters back stories to the present day and they did this with dinosaur transactions showing off each creature in the park.
It was a clever move as it stopped it from becoming too confusing to follow.
@Superboltplays Absolutely loved Dinosaur Park tonight. Really great show! Enjoy the rest of the tour!!
— CJ (@CJrambles) May 17, 2016
With limited props they were able to create a whole story in only 100 minutes and they did this well. One stand-out scene was when they created a T-Rex with only a school bag and two actors. It really felt like the audience was watching the film – but on stage.
The Father was by far the funniest character. His dancing skills had the crowd in fits of giggles with his awkward, flamboyant gestures.
The other two actors were very good, fitting into their roles as if they were made for them. Noah seemed like he was on a sugar rush and scared the heebie-jeebies out of everyone when he sprung up out of nowhere to chat to the audience at the beginning.
After realising he is only a young kid from his body language and the way he was dressed, he showcased his age well given he is a towering 5ft 10″ approx.
Just watched @Superboltplays do Dinosaur Park- what a brilliant show! So inspired, I loved every moment! Well done guys!
— Joanna Hughes (@Joanna__Hughes) May 11, 2016
Jade, however, I felt the utmost sympathy for. She blamed herself for her mother’s death since she forgot her lunch and her mum came to bring it to her at school when she got hit by a truck.
Jade after that became troublesome at school and showed anger to anyone close to her. Countless letters from the school show concerns with her behaviour saying that she has been attacking the school fences but never hits the same spot twice.
That was a clear reference to the first movie which has been cleverly weaved in.
The great thing about this is that viewers do not have to be a massive fan of the film to know what is going on so it makes it all the more easier to recommend.
By Ellen Ward
@hypermeerkat1
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