Fly, You Fools!
- Southwark Playhouse Borough
- Booking details
- Booking from: Wednesday, 25 November 2026 Booking until: Saturday, 16 January 2027
Fly, You Fools! description
About the Show
Fly, You Fools! retells The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring shot for shot, live on stage. Three actors and a Foley artist share every role, from the hobbits of the Shire to the perils of the Mines of Moria, using mime, shadow puppetry and live sound effects in place of special effects.
The parody compresses a 178-minute film, and the novel behind it, into roughly an hour played without an interval. It is created by Recent Cutbacks, whose Hold on to Your Butts played to UK audiences in 2024 and 2025, and it arrives after two sell-out seasons at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where The Times gave it five stars and called it "Genius, sheer genius" and The Scotsman called it "Glorious". The London run opens on 25 November 2026, in the twenty-fifth anniversary year of the film's release.
Cast and Creatives
The production is directed by Kristin McCarthy Parker, a co-founder of Recent Cutbacks, with Foley design by Blair Busbee, a cappella arrangements by Kelsey Didion and key art by Ligature Creative. It is produced by Peter Huntley and Callum Runciman for Smart Entertainment, Heather Shields for Rigor + Ruckus, and Recent Cutbacks, in association with 2nd Row Comedy.
The London company has not yet been announced. The show is performed by three actors and a Foley artist, plays in the Large auditorium at Southwark Playhouse Borough and is recommended for ages eight and over.
Why You Should Watch It
An entire fantasy epic, staged by four people with little more than timing and invention. Book tickets to watch Middle-earth built from scratch at Southwark Playhouse Borough.
