Zagreus

Will David Thompson as Zagreus

### Seen In

The White Cypress (Sake Bar), Ciacco (The Cafe), The Square, Divine Deities, The Crate Room, Checkpoint, The Stone Table, The Crossed Girders, Troy, Mycenae

### Seen With

Eurydice, Polymestor, Askalaphos, Apollo, Hades, Persephone

## Relationship Information

### Family

Lover to Eurydice, Potential Son to Hades & Persephone, Potential Brother to Iphigenia (when resurrected as Hecate), Potential Half-Brother to Macaria

## Cast

### Played By

Georges Hann, Jahmarley Bachelor, Luke Murphy, Milton Lopes, Mitch Harvey, Ryan O'Neill, Seirian Griffiths, Theo Arran, Timothy John Bartlett, Will David Thompson

Zagreus is the bartender of The White Cypress (Sake Bar), in Troy, and lover to Eurydice, waitress at Ciacco (The Cafe).

His story arc revolves around his inner conflict with the Gods' will, and fear of the fallout of the city's invasion, motivating him to try and convince Eurydice to flee to Mycenae with him.

Whilst on a drunken date, the city falls and he worries he won’t see her again. Praying to Apollo, he hatches a plan for the two of them to flee Troy to begin a new life together. When Eury declines he thinks all is lost – until the two are reunited in their love for each other.

## Loop

*Based on Loop 2*

Zagreus opens up The White Cypress and sets up the countertop with fake bonsai trees and sake trays; he sneakily pours himself a couple of shots. Collecting a large sake bottle from beneath the bar, he writes a note to Eurydice and leaves it at Ciacco's. He leaves the bottle, one of Hades' dropped daffodils, and the note for her before returning to his bar. \*

Back behind the bar, he removes a small pot, containing a powder, from his Apollo shrine, and (producing a small bottle from a case, from behind the counter) funnels the powder into the bottle, turning the liquid inside blue. As Polymestor briefly passes by the bar window, stealing two shots of sake, he pockets his new drink and returns to Ciacco's to meet Eurydice. The pair sit at the window table and drink from the bottle he left previously, with extra splashes of the new blue drink, leaving them both quite tipsy.

The pair leave Ciacco's and make their way to The Palladium arcade, and dance together on the Dance Dance Revolution game, before giddily roaming through the Troy backstreets, occasionally hiding from passing characters.

Arriving outside Eurydice's apartment, in The Tenement Area, the two share a passionate embrace, until Eurydice believes she hears something - recognising the impending invasion, Zagreus tells her to hide and runs out into The Square, accidentally bumping into Persephone in all the commotion. *\*\** Depending on the performer, he may also grab Askalaphos as he passes Hesperides' and either drag him along with him, or urge him to run. In a panic, he flees back towards the bar.

Following the sacrifice of Polyxena, he returns to the Troy backstreets and searches for Eurydice, initially going to Ciacco's before travelling towards Mycenae. Stunned and overwhelmed by the sight of The Crossed Girders, he stumbles his way into The Crate Room, wherein he swears a prayer to Apollo and swigs the blue drink. He is promptly confronted by Apollo, who plays with his mind and pulls him across the crates. \*\*\*

Unnerved by his interaction with Apollo, he makes his way back to Troy, but not before stopping at the unmanned Checkpoint, wherein he notices a stack of unfilled Mycenae Permit Passes, and fills one out for Eurydice, and one for himself.

Zagreus returns to The White Cypress, and cleans up the mess left behind by Laocoön, picking up the paper containing the blood and sand, screwing it up and disposing of it. Immediately after this Hades enters the bar, drinks and shares a quiet conversation with him about enjoying life, before handing him a note left for him by Eurydice. \*\*\*\*, \*\*\*\*\*

Suddenly inspired, Zagreus packs his suitcase (including his box of sake-making tools, a clipboard with papers, a bottle of sake and a statue from his Apollo shrine), and makes his way back across to Ciacco's to find Eurydice. He eagerly shows her the Permit Passes and encourages her to run away with him, but she is reluctant. Understanding her fear and hesitancy, he leaves the suitcase with her and lets her know he'll be ready when she is, before returning to The White Cypress.

Back at the bar, he finishes tidying up and shuts shop, before returning to The Square, where Eurydice greets him with suitcase in hand, having changed her mind about fleeing to Mycenae. The pair embrace and start to head towards The Palladium doors, before being pulled away from one another by an unseen force; Zagreus returns to The White Cypress, ready for the next loop. \*\*\*\*\*\*

*\* Due to the shorter first loop, in Loop 1, he doesn't leave her the note or flower, and instead takes the bottle straight to Ciacco's, to meet Eurydice. \*\* In Loop 1, this Persephone interaction does not happen. \*\*\* During Loop 1, this is where he is during Hades' record stop; he will temporarily freeze before carrying on as if nothing happened. \*\*\*\* In Loop 3, Persephone also speaks with him about the WMs, and asks if they've met before. \*\*\*\*\* In Loop 3, Hades instead speaks about the passing of time and the meaning of life. \*\*\*\*\*\* In Loop 3, he sometimes skips going to The Crate Room and reuniting with Eurydice, and is included in the Mycenae finale.*

## Lonely Zagreus Loop

*In the event of an absence of Eurydice (due to cast shortages), Zagreus will instead perform what is known as a 'Lonely Zagreus Show'.*

Z

## 1:1s

Zagreus has six '1:1' scenes, including a walk-out - although it should be noted that not every performer does every one of these, every show.

Three public 1:1 interactions occur in The White Cypress. Soon after initially setting up the bar, he may entertain the WMs present with a marble and cups game, using 2 sake cups. If the WM selects the correct cup with the hidden marble, he brings out a tray full of cups. Upon finding the second marble, he offers sake. Alternatively, he may offer a menu to a WM, and ask which river they wish, and serve them the sake, accordingly. A third public interaction occurs (depending on the performer) either after talking with Hades, or after being rejected by Eurydice, wherein he quietly talks to a WM about gratitude and regret; he then offers them a napkin and encourages them to write down both something they regret and something they love. He then promises to keep it safe, and pins it to the wall opposite the bar. *\**

Shortly after fleeing to The Square, at the start of the Troy invasion, he will take a WM into a private scene, through the door opposite the Water Storage room. After locking the door, the room is submerged in pitch black darkness, as he removes their mask. He then holds the WM's hands tightly and reassures them that although the city is being besieged, they are safe in here with him. He then begins to pray to Apollo, asking that he protect you both. He will then lead the WM through the darkness and move them towards a table-like surface, before helping them onto it, and eventually coaxing them to lay flat on their back. He then begins to call out for Apollo to show himself, when a light suddenly appears in the corner of the room, highlighting Apollo's face staring out from the darkness at the WM. As Zagreus continues to pray, the light will go out, and when it comes back on Apollo is closer now, and hovers above the WM's face, staring curiously. Finally, Zagreus begs for the WM to be taken as a sacrifice for his own protection, before the light goes out once more, and Zagreus replaces the WM's mask, and leads them back out into the Troy backstreets.

Following his interaction with Apollo in The Crate Room, he will take a WM into a private scene, inside one of the larger crates. Once inside, he sits down with the WM and removes their mask. He goes on to tell them of his inner conflict, and questioning of the Gods' motives. He confesses that he feels out of control, and his only way of dealing with this dilemma is to pray. He will then ask the WM if they will join him in a prayer. From his coat he will produce a case of three vials of liquid - he identifies them as 'Lethe', 'Cocytus' and 'Styx', and asks the WM to choose one. He toasts the chosen vial with the WM, and encourages them to drink with him, before replacing their mask and escorting them back out into The Crate Room.

Upon the conclusion of the Mycenae Finale, Zagreus will arise from the floor and reach out a hand to a WM, walking them through to Troy, remove their mask, thank them for coming, and redirect them towards PEEP.

*\* Alternatively, some performers may additionally ask a WM to write down something that they did for love, or a wish for the future. Some performers may choose to pocket the napkin instead of pinning it up.*

## Trivia

During previews, Zagreus did successfully take Eurydice to Mycenae with him.

This interpretation of Zagreus is an amalgamation of both Zagreus (the God of Wine and Rebirth, and son of Hades and Persephone), and Orpheus (the mortal lover of Eurydice, and son of Apollo). The main relevance of the God connection is that he serves as the city's bartender, but his storyline of attempting to lead Eurydice out of the Underworld, is more aligned with that of the traditional Orpheus mythos. He is not to be confused with the character 'Orpheus', in the show, who serves as the primary performer in PEEP.

## Mythology

Zagreus is often associated with the god Dionysus. The stories surrounding Zagreus vary depending on the source, but he is generally described as the son of Zeus and Persephone or Demeter. He was also sometimes referred to as the son of Hades and Persephone.

Zagreus is sometimes considered to be a precursor or early form of Dionysus. In some versions of the myth, Zagreus is torn apart by the Titans before being reborn as Dionysus. This story has been interpreted as symbolizing the cyclical nature of life and death, as well as the transformative power of the god. Some scholars have also suggested that Dionysus and Zagreus share certain attributes and characteristics, such as their association with wine, ecstasy, and the mysteries of the underworld.

There is a more modern interpretation that sees Orpheus was a reincarnation of Dionysus or Zagreus. This is based on the similarities between Orpheus and Dionysus/Zagreus, as well as the fact that both figures were associated with music, poetry, and the underworld.

Zagreus and Eurydice's story, within the show, is loosely based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The story tells of how the mortal Orpheus is engulfed in grief after the death of his beloved wife Eurydice, and thus decides to visit the Underworld and request that Hades her. Upon hearing his story of love, Hades was reminded of his love for Persephone. Moved by Orpheus’s love for Eurydice, he grants him the privilege of allowing Eurydice to make the journey back into the land of the living. There was however only one condition - that on their way up neither Orpheus nor Eurydice should look back. Unfortunately, Orpheus was plagued by doubt and looked back for a moment, sealing Eurydice's fate, and pulling her back into the Underworld.

Within the show, Zagreus and Hades' relationship is kept deliberately ambiguous, and it is never confirmed whether he is canonically Hades' son, however during their initial exchange in The White Cypress, Hades remarks that he "remembers (Zagreus) from when he was very small", which could hint towards him being his father. Additionally, although he never directly interacts with Macaria in the show, there are clear similarities within their 1:1 scenes, (in their use of prayer and waters from the rivers of the Underworld), that could indicate some familial connection. Although he does interact with Persephone several times, there is no clear motherly connotation within these occasions.