Tegan Verheul’s one-woman show is a detailed dive into a love of pro-wrestling, the why and wherefore of the sport, and its unexpected, life-affirming effect.
The stage is flanked by two cardboard cutouts of spandex clad wrestlers (The Undertaker and Bret Hart if you are in the business of knowing), who are then joined by a similarly dressed Verheul who encourages WWE-style audience chanting, leaving you in no doubt as to the content of the performance.
Despite beginning as a whistle stop tour of wrestling’s lingo, history, and most iconic rivalries, Chokeslam is not only a show-and-tell of Verheul’s favourite sport, but an autobiographical insight into how it shaped, for better and for worse, her personal life. While these emotive parallels feel somewhat forced and inconsistent, they do provide the necessary human interest to prevent the uninitiated wrestling fan from feeling out of their depth.
Verheul charges through the specifics of famous wrestling matches with a gay abandon that invites any newcomers to be thoroughly engrossed. The essence of the show, however, comes from the lack of this excitement in her marriage, and the unrealistic nature of winners and losers in life.
Chokeslam is an unfiltered insight into the sporting community, human imperfections, and everything you can learn about wrestling in an hour.
Chokeslam, Underbelly Bristo Square, until Aug 25 (not 11), 8.45pm