World of Wrestling

by Kim Loe

World of Wrestling is a visceral tragicomedy about losing identity and searching for meaning amid change and chaos. It is set in the sweat and greasepaint of British wrestling in the late 1980s, a world that, for over 3 decades, stood as a nation's proudest sports and entertainment medium, and is now swiftly becoming absurd and irrelevant.

As promoter Dickie Daniels finalises a soulless sell-out to American...

As promoter Dickie Daniels finalises a soulless sell-out to American interests, his stable of ageing wrestlers (the beloved hero, the hated villain, the masked mystery, the gritty traditionalist), unravel backstage. Their scripted rivalries bleed into real, desperate clashes over legacy, authenticity, and meaning, sparking a raw, final search for identity when the very thing that defines them is taken away.

The crumbling of this once-great tradition serves as a metaphor for our present-day struggles with identity, authenticity, and relevance.

THE WORLD & THE STORY

Setting: Winter, 1988. The damp, poster-plastered basement of the Cambridge Corn Exchange, part theatre dressing room, part sports locker. The air smells of liniment, hairspray, and desperation.

The ‘World of Wrestling’, a staple of Saturday afternoon British TV for 34 years, is on the ropes. The crowds are thinning, the costumes are fraying, and an American promotion is circling, ready to buy the scrap metal of a British tradition.

On the night of a sell-out title fight, promoter Dickie Daniels drops a bombshell: he’s selling out. The script has been flipped. The beloved hero, Big Bobby Britton, will not win the championship belt he was promised. Tonight isn’t a coronation; it’s an audition for a future that doesn’t want them.

What follows is a rollercoaster of panic, rebellion, and raw introspection, as each performer confronts their own obsolescence. The play culminates not in a staged fight, but in a meta-theatrical TV sports report that shows the tragicomic fallout of their rebellion, before landing in the devastating silence of the empty room they leave behind.

Inquire About Rights
Recommend
Download
Save to Library

World of Wrestling

Recommended by

Kim E. Ruyle: World of Wrestling by Kim Loe

“

Kim Loe takes us into the world of British wrestling populated with an ensemble of authentic wrestlers and a wheeler-dealer promoter. It’s a gritty world that’s in decline, or is it? Maybe not after wrestlers choreograph their own performances instead of doing the bidding of the promoter who’s being pushed into a deal with Americans. The characters are great. And the choreography – Wow! It’s all very theatrical, and manages to be sad, hopeful, and comical. Well done.

Kim Loe takes us into the world of British wrestling populated with an ensemble of authentic wrestlers and a wheeler-dealer promoter. It’s a gritty world that’s in decline, or is it? Maybe not after wrestlers choreograph their own performances instead of doing the bidding of the promoter who’s being pushed into a deal with Americans. The characters are great. And the choreography – Wow! It’s all very theatrical, and manages to be sad, hopeful, and comical. Well done.

”
Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn: World of Wrestling by Kim Loe

“

This is a fantastic look behind the scenes of wrestling and the toll it takes on the athletic performers. It's a sport, a business, and entertainment all in one. And not only is the toll physical, but it is mental. These are strong characters and the staging of this piece would be very engaging to witness.

This is a fantastic look behind the scenes of wrestling and the toll it takes on the athletic performers. It's a sport, a business, and entertainment all in one. And not only is the toll physical, but it is mental. These are strong characters and the staging of this piece would be very engaging to witness.

”
Jerry Ayers: World of Wrestling by Kim Loe

“

The World of Wrestling is a dynamic study of characters, history, and relationships. It's gritty and humorous. It is raw and poignant. The characters are well developed. The tension is tactful. What we don't see is well delivered in honest dialogue. The pain, the hopes, the joys of the characters are all there.

The World of Wrestling is a dynamic study of characters, history, and relationships. It's gritty and humorous. It is raw and poignant. The characters are well developed. The tension is tactful. What we don't see is well delivered in honest dialogue. The pain, the hopes, the joys of the characters are all there.

”

View all 6 recommendations

Character Information

Rocketball Rio

The Pragmatic Villain. The weary, intelligent ‘bad guy’. Rio sees the truth clearly but is trapped by loyalty and a will to survive. In a breathtaking, quiet corridor scene, he becomes Bobby’s dark mentor, offering the only path out: “You want to be real? Then go out there and earn their hate.”

Character Age

40s
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  30s,
  
  40s
- Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
  
  Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
  
  Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
  
  White
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Man
BIG BOBBY BRITTON

The beloved ‘good guy’, a mountain of a man in a Union Jack singlet. Bobby’s entire identity is the roar of the crowd. When his promised victory is ripped away, he suffers a shattering first-ever panic attack and is forced to ask the question that fuels the entire play: “Then who am I?” His journey from eager legend to broken man, and ultimately to a defiant, self-made villain, is the emotional engine of the story.

Character Age

late 50s

Character Gender Identity

Male
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  40s,
  
  50s,
  
  60s
- Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
  
  White
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Man
DICKIE DANIELS

The Architect of the Myth. The silver-tongued promoter, a man who genuinely believes his own hype. He spins plates and sells dreams, desperately trying to orchestrate one last perfect show for the American buyers while carrying the guilty knowledge that he’s presiding over a funeral.

Character Age

Late 50s
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  40s,
  
  50s,
  
  60s
- Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
  
  Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
  
  Black, African, Caribbean, or African American,
  
  Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
  
  Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
  
  Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
  
  Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
  
  South Asian or South Asian American
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Man
JOHNNY ZULU

A veteran wrestler, part of the tag team ‘The Zulu Two’. Johnny venerates wrestling as a pure sport and a sacred, protective brotherhood. He is the guardian of tradition, fiercely loyal to a code that is rapidly becoming obsolete.

Character Age

mid-50s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

African American/Black

Character Gender Identity

Male
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  40s,
  
  50s,
  
  60s
- Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
  
  Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Man
EDDIE ZULU

Johnny’s younger cousin and tag team partner. Eddie represents a new generation; he sees the ring as a platform and craves the freedom to be a star. His desire to try something new, starting with eyeliner, sparks a hilarious and revealing conflict.

Character Age

20s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

African American/Black
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s
- Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
  
  Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Man,
  
  Non-binary
MAUREEN

Ken’s spiritual advisor. Serene in white robes and pink sunglasses, Maureen spouts affirmations and mindfulness jargon from her pamphlet series with oblivious, transactional sincerity. A perfect comic foil.

Character Age

Any

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s,
  
  40s,
  
  50s,
  
  60s,
  
  70s+
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Woman
SHEAMUS SHELLEY

Wrestling legend, now retired.

Character Age

Late 60s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Male
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  50s,
  
  60s,
  
  70s+
- Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
  
  Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
  
  Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
  
  Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
  
  South Asian or South Asian American,
  
  White
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Man
THE AMERICAN

VOICE ONLY: The clean, confident, Carolina-drawl voice of the future. He is pure, ruthless commerce, reducing a lifetime of tradition to “scrap metal.” An unseen but omnipresent force.

Character Age

40-60s
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s,
  
  40s,
  
  50s,
  
  60s,
  
  70s+
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Man
ANNE EAMONS

ANNE EAMONS (early 30s) / WALT WILTON (early 60s)
The hosts of ‘Saturday Sports Special’. Anne is the well-groomed TV presenter; Walt is the nostalgic, cheesy-pun-loving wrestling correspondent. They deliver the play’s climactic, meta-theatrical TV report with warm, oblivious sincerity.

Character Age

20s-40s
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s,
  
  40s,
  
  50s,
  
  60s,
  
  70s+
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Woman
WALT WILTON

The hosts of ‘Saturday Sports Special’. Anne is the well-groomed TV presenter; Walt is the nostalgic, cheesy-pun-loving wrestling correspondent. They deliver the play’s climactic, meta-theatrical TV report with warm, oblivious sincerity.

Character Age

60s
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s,
  
  40s,
  
  50s,
  
  60s,
  
  70s+
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Man

Development History

Type Reading, Organization Royal Court, Liverpool, Year 2025