CHOKESLAM: Finish the story

Aim: It’s time to finish the story. Help CHOKESLAM's final Fringe run!!! Bigger production, bigger audiences, bigger chair shots to the heart.

✨ The Girlhood Dream

Last year, people came expecting a silly comedy about wrestling.

They left crying.
Laughing.
Hugging strangers.

Everyone who sat in that audience left saying the same thing:
"More people need to see this."

So I’m bringing Chokeslam back to the Edinburgh Fringe.
And I need your help to do it.

🎭 What is Chokeslam?

After a critically acclaimed debut and a flurry of ★★★★★ reviews, Chokeslam returns to the Edinburgh Fringe to finish what it started: emotionally body-slamming audiences with one of the most surprising and heartfelt solo shows of the year.

A breakout hit in 2024, Chokeslam seemed, at first, like a niche comedy about wrestling. What it delivered instead was a raw, riotous, and unexpectedly devastating confessional about heartbreak, friendship, and the desperate human need to feel loved. Wrestling fans cried. Theatre snobs converted. Strangers hugged in the aisles.

“If you have ever felt underappreciated, this is a show for you. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to abandon the disappointing but familiar present and take a chance on the possibility that you too deserve to be loved and happy — this is a show for you. If you are totally unmoved by pro wrestling but simply love a cracking bit of storytelling delivered by a professional at the top of their game and loving it, then this is a show for you.” — Dan Lentell, Get Your Coats On

Written and performed by actor, comedian, wrestling obsessive, YouTube sensation and Twitch streamer Tegan Verheul, Chokeslam is part confessional, part exuberant oral history of sports entertainment's greatest matches and most loved characters. With a minimalist set and nothing to hide behind, Verheul commands the stage with electrifying physicality and comedic precision—before revealing a sucker-punch twist that leaves audiences floored.

★★★★★ “Exceptional.” — Mervyn Stutter

★★★★★ “An inspiringly fearless performance.” — Get Your Coats On

★★★★★ “Fantastic, heart-wrenching and raw.” — Simply Stagey

★★★★★ “Tegan Verheul is a charismatic magnet.” — Butterwort Art

★★★★ “Takes solo performance to new heights.” — Corr Blimey

Back at the Fringe by audience demand—and with a primetime slot at Underbelly Bristo Square—Chokeslam is the intimate, exhilarating, emotionally ruinous theatre experience you didn’t know you needed.

🔄 Why Bring It Back?

Because it mattered more than I expected.

Chokeslam started as a way to make sense of a heartbreak and get to talk about one of my greatest passions: wrestling. But in Edinburgh last year, it became something bigger. People came up to me after the show crying. Asking for hugs. Saying that for the first time, they felt seen. Wrestling fans, yes — but also heartbroken romantics, theatre kids, quiet misfits, people who’d been left behind and needed proof they were still lovable.

Again and again, I heard:
“More people need to see this.”

So I’m bringing it back.
To reach the people who missed it.
To give it the push it deserved the first time.
To say goodbye on my own terms — loud, weird, and in a chokehold of spandex and grief.

This isn’t a rerun.
It’s the rematch.

It's time to finish the story — together.

💸 What Your Support Will Fund

I’m doing this independently. Just me! One medium sized woman. That means I'm covering everything — venue fees, accommodation, travel, marketing, flyering, insurance, and tech — just to get the show on.

Last year, a big chunk of the budget went to PR. It worked: we got reviewers in, racked up five-star coverage, and proved Chokeslam was something special.

This year, I want every penny to go into the show itself.

Your support helps cover:

• Venue costs + Fringe registration
• Travel & accommodation
• Professional marketing (no wasted spend — I work in marketing!)
• Flyer design + distribution
• Show materials (costumes, tech, insurance, support crew)

Estimated total cost: £7,500

Every donation — no matter how small — helps me get to the ring.

💥 Stretch Goals: Bigger, Better, Bolder

If we smash the base target, here’s how your support can level up the show:

👗 Custom costume upgrades — big energy, bigger sequins, proper wrestling gear!

💡 New lighting design to boost atmosphere and drama

🪩 Pimped-out set dressing — think WrestleMania meets Fringe minimalism

🪧 Extra-large promo posters around Edinburgh (because subtlety is overrated)

💅 Branded merch so you can take a little Chokeslam home with you

🧃 Survival supplies — pre-workout, Red Bull, Strawberries and Cream Pepsi

These aren’t just bells and whistles. These things will hugely help the show hit harder, sparkle louder, and stay in people’s hearts longer.

🫶 Why This Matters

I’m a working-class, queer, independent female artist.

I’ve self-funded my way through theatre school, open mics, staged readings, Fringes, and tours. I’m proud of that. But it’s also exhausting.

Chokeslam made people feel seen — and for once, I’d love to give it the reach it deserves without maxing out my overdraft.

Last year, there was a lot of interest in touring the show, but I didn't have the resources to make it happen. I’d love to build on the momentum of this Fringe to finally bring Chokeslam around the UK (and beyond) and make more of the art that matters to me. I’ve got a few more shows in my head I want to develop, and making Chokeslam a success will bring me one step closer to getting to be a performer and creator full time.

Supporting this show means giving this story the reach it deserves, and helping me build a sustainable path as a working artist.

📣 How Else Can You Help?

• Share this campaign with friends who love theatre, wrestling, or weird vulnerable comedy.
  
  
• Post about Chokeslam on social media and tag me
  
  
• Tell someone who’s heading to the Fringe to come see the show. Word of mouth matters more than you know.

  
  

Thank you so much for your support! See you at the Fringe! 🖤🎭✨

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 27th July 2025 at 11:59pm