By Jen Houston

If you were lucky enough to catch the Jurassic Park shadowcast at Bloor Cinema during Fringe Festival this year, you know that this bawdy version of the blockbuster mega-hit has what it takes to develop a devout following. Unlike other established shadowcasts like Rocky Horror, the PG-13 scenarios in this film required a complete makeover to match the lewd humour craved by attendees. Burlesque velociraptors stripped down to nipple pasties, a Drag-Rex tore through its scenes stomping the stage with ferocity, and human heroes were smacked around with marital aids. Each actor brutally skewered the Hollywood clichés plaguing their character, playing their parts cartoonishly to the crowd’s shrill hoots and hollers.

A movie as successful as Jurassic Park deserves to be publicly revered with ridicule for generations to come, and this production has set in motion a future of extreme fan participation for the iconic flick. At the final show Saturday night, audience members had already started to come up with catch phrases. When a sexy raptor made its way towards children in hiding, several people chimed “You can fog up my kitchen porthole anytime!” And whenever the excitable young Tim was named, a rowdy bunch would quote back South Park’s “Timmay!” Others pointed out a Spielberg error, shouting “Vegetarians don’t eat Jell-O!” when the self-described herbivore Lex is about to fill her face with the gelatin treat, and many joined in on the mooing vocal stylings of a choir of brachiosauruses. A cereal food fight used by the cast as a metaphor for the “could we/should we” debate could have future audiences bringing their own Corn Flakes and joining in, and the charging gallimimus herd that trampled through the aisles (played by seemingly every crew member) had some people looking as if they were considering running with them. While no plans have been made for future dates, we’re already anticipating the raucous and coordinated audience that’s sure to gather for the next production.