“Improbably funny US drama about Saint Clare of Assisi’s renouncement of worldly wealth” Time-out (1)
Earlier this week I went to see a performance of “Poor Clare”, by Chiara Atik, at the Orange Tree theatre in Richmond. It was a beautiful production set in 13th century period costume with a wonderful script that was conversely in the idiom of the 21st century. Clare and her sister Beatrice are like two teenagers preparing for a prom night.
“Okay so for the skirt, I’m thinking like a gold thread and then the cloth would be like … I don’t know, I’m thinking purple … or like … purplish blue…”
“I like that ‘cause it’s like … deferential.”
“What for you mean?”
“Blue is like, modest. It’s what Mary wore”
“For the bodice … like I want it to go to here-ish – very covered up, very classy.”
“K”
“In red”
“No”
“Just like, a cute lil’ red bodice.”
“Red? Mom would never let you!” (abridged) (2)
We see how theses two sisters are ensconced in the world of wealth, how wealth and class shapes what they can and can’t do. We see their acceptance of the status quo as they happily allow maids to do their hair and wash their feet.
Francis on the other hand we see as the born again idealist who is so caught up in his utopian dream of embracing poverty, that his thoughts run faster than his feet. Francis is acutely aware how wealth and the privilege both inflicts pain on those who don’t have it, and blinds those that do. He sees wealth and privilege as so utterly opposed to what God desires that he cannot for a second be compromised by living within its structures. As the story unfolds, he is casting aside piece by piece every part of his life that undermines his vision.
Francis of course is – or rather was – himself a rich young man. Is his decision to renounce the world something that only someone who is rich can do? We see Clare’s two maids debating the impracticality of doing away with wealth and class – Maybe if the poor had just a little bit more, then they wouldn’t be quite so poor? We also see the homeless ex-soldier and the down-and out beggar giving their take on the issues of redistributing wealth – Does a second hand doublet really fit the bill?
Piqued by Francis, Clare begins a journey of self exploration – does she truly deserve the wealth she has? Does it make her happy? Can she reconcile her good fortune with the plight of those she would rather avoid? Can she justify being wealthy if she were to be a bit more generous?
Clare’s mother understands the dilemma having travelled to the Holy Land many years before. There, she tells Clare, however much food they gave to the starving children that swarmed around, there always seemed to be more at the next pilgrim site. Her mother commends getting pregnant: Clare will be able to pour out all her pent-up love and devotion on her children; she will never need have a conscience about anything else.
Step by step Clare follows Francis’s example, divesting herself of the world. But of the two, I think she has greater certainty, greater confidence that she is doing the right thing. She has thought through each issue and knows that she cannot remained within a system which perpetuates such injustices and suffering.
The play left me feeling challenged: how can I be part of a system that I believe to be flawed? And yet how can I not be part of that system when there seems to be no realistic alternative? And that challenges me to look again at my vocation as a Franciscan tertiary and how it can enable me to live within but contri to the system of worldly wealth.
(1) https://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/poor-clare-review
(2) https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6322.pdf
NB The first tertiaries/ secular Franciscans where in fact given their particular vocation and lifestyle by Francis himself in response to the large numbers of married couples who wanted to follow his example. They were to continue living in their own homes and yet still devote themselves to living according to the principles and objectives that Francis taught.
There are different groups of Franciscan tertiaries (Anglican) and seculars Franciscans (Roman Catholic) across the world.
I’m part of the Third Order of the Society of St Francis – https://tssf.org.uk/
From The Green Tau By Judith Russenberger
Environmentalist and theologian, with husband and three grown up children plus one cat, living in London SW14. I enjoy running and drinking coffee – ideally with a friend or a book
Joy in Enough 