Randy and Elizabeth: A Savage Love Story

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King

Show – Randy & Elizabeth: A Savage Love Story

Playwright – Geoff Hughes

Production Company/Theatre space – Geoff Hughes / The Kinkonauts @ BLOX Arts Centre, The Calgary Fringe

Length – 50 minutes

Genre/s – Storytelling

Premise – A superfan and impersonator of Randy Savage tells stories from his wrestling days, matches with other wresting characters, and recounts the performers own encounter with his hero.

Why this play? Why now? – It’s Fringe – why not?

Curiosities – One of the best things I saw during the lockdown was a talk given by David Sedaris; he was more entertaining on stage with a podium and a glass of water than some shows I’ve seen. Might there be a whole sub genre of Fringe shows where people get to “meet” their own heroes? What would that look like? Who would most people like to meet? Who would I like to meet?

Notable Moment – A moment’s regret of a risk not taken.

Notable writing – The intersection of theatre and sport is WWE wrestling. I’m not sure if this is a scripted show or one that has evolved from storytelling and life as an impersonator.

Notable performances – While most of us have dressed up at Halloween or for costume parties seldom do we carry this impetus forward into other areas of our lies. There is something oddly endearing about a guy who hero-worships so hard he becomes the character. The allure of the show is his passion for his subject matter. Just as the faithful audiences of WWE get a full dopamine fix from seeing larger-than-life heroes and villains slug it out so Hughs tries to replicate this for us. Is the show about a love story between Randy and Elizabeth? No. Does he get behind the mask of the man?  No. Does this matter? Not really. What matters is the passion that one person feels for their subject and that passion comes through.

Notable design/Production – He has replicas of the belts; expensive ones he tells us. The rest of his costume is black spandex, an iconic Savage shirt, trademark glasses and a bad wig,

Notable direction – Self-directed

One reason to see this show – It’s the Napoleon Dynamite of the Fringe.