Playwright Kat Sandler talks WILDWOMAN
Below is an excerpt from WILDWOMAN playwright Kat Sandler’s program notes for the premiere production at Soulpepper Theatre Company in Toronto
Okay, so…this is a true story. Mostly.
And it was supposed to be about a wildman, a legendary, half-man, half-animal creature covered entirely in hair, said to become ferocious at night and steal and eat children alive, and whose marriage was the (alleged) inspiration for Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve’s original fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast.
But Pedro González was a very real man, living in the 16th century with a rare condition called “hypertrichosis” (latin for “too much hair”), presented as a caged oddity to Henry II of France for his collection of exotic pets. As a hilarious experiment, Pedro was given a latin name (Petrus Gonsalvus), an education and a position at court and then married off to Queen Catherine de Medici’s most beautiful ladyin-waiting to see what sort of furry children the union might produce. The couple bore seven children, who went on to be bought and traded by nobles like collectibles. You can’t make this shit up.
As I dug into Petrus’ story, I kept getting distracted by three fascinating women inhabiting it; Catherine de Medici, the Queen of France, Lady Diane de Portiers, the King’s much older mistress, and Kitty, Petrus’ courtier wife. These women were all considered “wild” in very different ways, but all of them were fighting for power, legacy and their very lives in a time when a woman’s worth was measured entirely by her dowry, her wifely subservience and her ability to bear children.
I found myself most drawn to Catherine de Medici, perhaps best known (if you know her at all) as an evil Machiavellian schemer… [redacted for SPOILER reasons!]
We’re not trying to absolve Catherine of her crimes (or her wildness) but we do want to contextualize and challenge the perception of her as a “villain”. Can we enjoy a tale about a monstrous female antihero the same way we enjoy stories about monstrous male antiheroes i.e. Dexter, the Sopranos, or Macbeth? Do we become a monster due to circumstances, or was the monster always in there, waiting to be released? And what happens when we finally let it out?
WILDWOMAN has become a story about women pushing against the status quo to be seen not just as wives and wombs, but as professional leaders who can enact change. Theirs is a world that is still alarmingly like our own. It’s been half a millennium since these (mostly) true events, but in the aftermath of #metoo, and the overturning of Roe v. Wade, in an age where women [have gotten] so tantalizingly close to [presidential] power… but [are] also constantly attacked for daring to want more, it’s clear that almost 500 years later we still have a long way to go.
To everyone who has read, touched or massaged the script at every stage, thank you for helping to bring this bad girl to life. We’ve had so much fun creating our monster and we can’t wait for you to meet her.
Kat Sandler – Playwright
WILDWOMAN runs from April 21 – May 10 at Alberta Theatre Projects in the Martha Cohen Theatre (at Werklund Centre). Free the beast – get your tickets by hitting the button below or by calling 403-294-7402. (Ticket Office Hours: 10:00am-4:00pm, Monday-Friday)
Recommended for ages 16+ and featuring mature content, strong language and sexual situations.
IMAGE CAPTIONS:
1. WILDWOMAN playwright Kat Sandler. Image source: Soulpepper Theatre Company’s Instagram. Photo by Dahlia Katz.
2. Pedro González, painting c. 1580 (Ambras Collection)