Ludwig and Lohengrin is the best show I have seen thus far at this year’s Calgary Fringe Festival. In it, Calgary’s Kyall Rakoz recounts the life and death of Bavaria’s “Mad” King Ludwig II, who reigned the region during the mid to latter portion of the 19th century.

For those who are a little rusty on their Bavarian history, Ludwig is the king who built the famous (and still unfinished) Neuschwanstein Castle that inspired Disneyland’s trademark castle.

Rakoz never portrays Ludwig himself. Instead, he plays a bunch of other folks who knew the King, offering up their various perspectives on his mental state. One of those royal confidantes — and beneficiaries of Ludwig’s patronage — was none other than famous German composer Richard Wagner.

Rakoz never misses a beat throughout the hour-long production. He moves seamlessly from character to character, using only a sheet draped over a rack and an origami swan for props. (In one scene, Rakoz also makes effective use of shadow puppetry to tell the legend of Lohengrin.)

Ludwig and Lohengrin is a perfect example of how one person onstage, telling an interesting story, can make for gripping theatre. The show is dramatic, it’s funny and it’s poignant.

I left feeling nothing but sympathy for a man who never really grew up and who faced an untimely end because of it.

Go see this show. You won’t regret it. And you’ll learn a little something about one of history’s most enigmatic characters.