‘A very personal project’
‘The Wrestling Play’, written by Justin Shaw, premieres Aug. 3 with performances at Rochford Square in Charlottetown
This week, Island-born theatre artist Justin Shaw will premiere his inaugural solo show.
After two years in development, “The Wrestling Play”, an imaginative story about what it means to take your life into your own hands, is coming to the 2017 Island Fringe Festival.
“The Wrestling Play” will be presented Aug. 3-6, 7 p.m., at Rochford Square, Rochford and Kent streets in Charlottetown, with the rain venue at Dynamic Fitness, 99 Pownal St.
“I feel excited about bringing my play to the Island Fringe Festival because I get to share a very personal project with peers who I deeply respect,” says Shaw of the play that tells the tale of Charles, a discontent English teacher whose wanderlust is only matched by his deep-seated love for professional wrestling.
After a life-altering decision to chase his dream of becoming a pro-wrestler, Charles finally steps out his comfort zone, and into the great unknown. Unfortunately for Charles, the challenges he faces are much larger and much more rattling than he could have ever possibly imagined.
Shaw hopes to challenge the conventions of storytelling through his play.
“The similarities between theatre and professional wrestling are almost too big to ignore. My intention is to explore those commonalities and discover what sort of impact it may have on audience,” he says.
Originally from Cardigan,
P.E.I., Shaw is a recent graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada’s acting program in Montreal. While in theatre school by day, Shaw attended the school of hard knocks performing as part of Montreal’s active stand-up scene. Combining his love of theatre and comedy writing, Shaw began developing “The Wrestling Play” in 2015 with Playwrights Workshop Montreal’s Youth Unit, where the play was dramaturged and workshopped. After countless revisions and drafts, “The Wrestling Play” finds its first audience with The Island Fringe Festival.