New York, 2019. During my Fulbright grant at a drama school, an intense method acting exercise revealed long-buried matters with my father, many years after he would slowly take his life.

Then, I felt the need to tell the story of a man who, like my dad, wouldn't be able to overcome the loss of his mother. Ironically, I had lost my mother in 2018, and I was struggling with the early stages of grief.

As Mr. S does in his journey, I went hand in hand with my shadows in an intense process of development. The result was a challenging premiere in 2022 as the play took a direction that didn't meet my expectations and artistic criteria.

With renewed inspiration, distance, and my own experience going through severe depression, I'm ready to revisit the material with a more sensorial, physical, and surely clownish approach.

The goal is to bring complex topics such as severe depression, suicide, and grief to light and spark some hope in these uncertain times.

Edu Díaz.

A  SOLO THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE

Fantastic Mr. S tells the adventure of Simón Santacruz, an antihero in self-destruction, fleeing from a disturbing island of shadows.

This imaginative show explores severe depression, suicide, and grief, blending immersive storytelling, physical theatre, and shadow puppetry.

After the world premiere at the United Solo Festival in New York in October 2022, Fantastic Mr. S  is ready for a new production.

The goal: to bring tragedy, comedy, and a glimpse of light in such weird times.

A UNIQUE PROCESS

Like great inventions and discoveries, Fantastic Mr. S was developed in a garage in the Canary Islands, connected to an international community of artists via Zoom, during the COVID pandemic (2020-2022).

I would perform excerpts of the piece in front of my laptop, activating lights, sound, and shadow puppetry from controls attached to my body.

For the new development, I will revive the spirit of the garage, a solo show in which the performer also handles tech aspects to convey the story.