PETRUS, a show in development created by Edu Díaz

PETRUS

A NEW SHOW BY

EDU DÍAZ

THE TRUE STORY THAT INSPIRED 'THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST'

PETRUS is a new show looking for developmental opportunities, funding, and a savage team.

Welcome to the Menagerie!

With a rare condition that covers his face and body with hair, Petrus lives captive in the Royal menagerie of the French Court, surrounded by exotic animals.

When King Henri II dies, Queen Catherine of Médici faces economic issues. With the assistance of the forgetful seer Nostradamus, her loyal advisor, the Queen uses Petrus as a claim to attract investors and stabilize the Court´s finances.

The extravagant spectacles created by the Queen are successful, and Petrus and his extraordinary abilities are popular. But the Queen's ambition has no ceiling, and the shows become wildly extravagant. A forced marriage between the furry and Kate, a young and bold courtesan, will be the last straw.

Kate will open Petrus’s eyes, planting a seed of rebellion at the menagerie. They will plan to stand up against the abusive Queen, free the animals, and live their lives with a so far, stolen dignity.

PETRUS addresses the abuse of power from an ecological and rebellious approach. The show explores the relationship between humans and animals in the context of the current climate collapse.

Petrus

He speaks Spanish, French, Latin, and the language of all the animals. However, he doesn’t know how to communicate his feelings and ignores his uniqueness. He will do anything to please everyone, especially the Queen.

The Queen

Intensely frustrated, Catherine De Médici needs to be loved and, above all, admired. She will do anything to prove she is as genius as her illustrious ancestors and won't hesitate to reach her goals and be the best Médici in history.

Nostradamus

He is such a good man, but he needs the Queen's success to pay his bills. Although his magical mirror is awesomely accurate and his fame is well deserved, his predictions fail due to early dementia.

Kate

Everyone thinks she is as fragile and innocent as she looks, but Kate is a strong kid with a torturous past. She looks for justice and will plant a seed of revolution to break the status quo in the court.

PETRUS is an experimental tragicomedy with doses of magical realism that blends clown, improv, drag, and puppetry.

About Petrus Gonsalvus

PETRUS explores and imagines biographical gaps in the real -and tragic- story of Petrus Gonsalvus, aka ‘the man of the woods.’

His story began in Tenerife (Canary Islands) in the 16th century. Affected by hypertrichosis, Petrus was sold as an exotic creature -with only ten years old- to the court of Henry II of France.

The King kept him in the menagerie with the exotic animals of the Court. However, Petrus was brilliant and learned Math, Science, French, and Latin.

A beautiful courtesan was forced to marry the Beast. They had several children, some of whom, as furry as Petrus, were gifted to other European Courts.

You probably guessed that this story inspired the first version of The Beauty and the Beast, written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot.

Five centuries later, another native from Tenerife is imagining a show around his last years in the French Court.