Those unfamiliar with choke slams and half nelsons may only associate wrestling with spandex, muscly men and the career salvation of Mickey Rourke. Yet playwright, actor and director Rob Drummond hopes to change that with his latest, and most ambitious, project, Rob Drummond: Wrestling.

The Glaswegian, known for his performances in Sixteen and Bullet Catch at the Arches and Mr Write at the Tron in previous years, has fused pro wrestling with short film and theatre into a semi-autobiographical ‘play’ about a pacifist who decides to ‘man up’.

‘I’ve been into wrestling since I was eight years old and never grew out of it,’ Drummond says. ‘Ever since I got into theatre professionally, I’ve wanted to do something like this, as wrestling lends itself well to the theatrical. It’s almost like aggressive dance.’

The show – funded by Creative Scotland’s Vital Spark Award – was almost sidelined when 28-year-old Drummond dislocated his elbow during training with Scottish Wrestling Alliance trainers in December but will debut at The Arches in mid-February.

The final cast includes trainer ‘Damo’ Damien O’Conor, training partner ‘The Antagonist’ James Tyler and wrestler ‘The Mercenary’ Joe Coffey, besides Drummond himself (who as yet has no stage/ring pseudonym).

Arches, Glasgow, Wed 9–Sun 13 Feb