Arriving for its European debut garlanded with awards from the US, American playwright Chiara Atik’s witty and timely play pays homage to the story of St Clare of Assisi, specifically tracing the arc of ‘Clare’s radicalisation’ as Atik terms it, as she abandons a richly comfortable life in thirteenth-century Italy for one of poverty, devotion and contemplation.
OUR VERDICT
Ellie Kurttz
The catalyst for this is her profoundly influential meeting with the man who’ll become St Francis, his own piety and dedication to a life of service shining a keen light on her more complacent lifestyle.
Recreating the medieval world in spirit but using contemporary dialogue and vernacular that enhances modern parallels, the play, deftly directed by Blanche McIntyre, initially feels a little glib.
It’s almost suffused with the spirit of the film Clueless as sisters Clare (Arsema Thomas) and Beatrice (Anushka Chakravarti) lightly discuss fashion, hairstyling and the shocking sight of a man stripping naked in the marketplace protesting at poverty.
Ellie Kurttz
But as it progresses, it gathers real pace, humour anchoring a genuine exploration of spiritual bankruptcy.
Making her stage debut as Clare, Arsema Thomas (familiar from TV’s Bridgerton) is terrific, endowing her character with a vibrant intelligence that makes her eventual renunciation of her affluent birthright all the more plausible.
As Francis of Assisi, Freddy Carter is also excellent; the conversations between the two are laced with witty repartee. There’s a lovely moment too when he proudly displays his new monkish tonsure, and she initially recoils in pure aesthetic horror, branding it “hideous.”
The motivation for the play, says Atik, was a realisation of the polarity that still exists in our modern world and the crucial gap between perception and action.
Ellie Kurttz
“The very rich and the very poor share the same spaces, and you are often confronted by people who have less money than you do.”
Positing the question to us all, “ So how do we react to this?” A strong cast explores this premise with verve, and it’s hard to single anyone out as they all lend substance to their roles, but Hermione Gulliford is such a delight as Clare’s mother, Ortolana, rendered almost speechless by the opulent range of gifts sent to her daughter by a prospective suitor.
The play’s finale sees the medieval and modern worlds finally colliding as a prostrate Clare morphs into a contemporary American, aghast at her lack of tangible action.
It does seem a tad neat as an ending, but one can see what Atik is aiming at.
“I would love for the play to challenge us all to take a slightly less passive role as citizens of an unequal economic landscape,” she says and certainly this entertaining, dynamic production does much to encourage this perception.
Orange Tree Theatre
1 Clarence Street, Richmond, TW9 2SA
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Monday 12pm - 6pm Tuesday 12pm - 6pm Wednesday 12pm - 6pm Thursday 12pm - 6pm Friday 12pm - 6pm Saturday 12pm - 6pm Sunday Closed
