Isabel Azar’s Clare helps PJ Gregan’s Francis straighten himself out in Poor Clare in rehearsal for Jim Paterson’s production
MODERN meets medieval in the York premiere of American playwright Chiara Atik’s award-winning comedy Poor Clare, presented by Black Treacle Theatre at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from November 3 to 7.
The lives of the young St Clare and St Francis of Assisi receive a fresh telling in Atik’s story of noblewoman Clare being set for marriage to a rich aristocrat and a life of wealth and privilege in 13th century Assisi.
However, she then meets a young man named Francis, whose strong faith and commitment to rejecting the established order and serving the poor sparks a change in her that makes her look at her life in a new way. Clare will go on to found the Poor Clare order of nuns.
“The play has been hailed as a hilarious and off-beat take on these established religious and historical figures, told with modern, witty dialogue,” says Black Treacle Theatre director Jim Paterson.
Premiered at the Echo Theater Company in Los Angeles in 2020, Poor Clare won the 2022 American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association’s New Play Award and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best New Play and was shortlisted for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.
P J Gregan’s Francis in contemplative mode in rehearsal for Black Treacle Theatre’s Poor Clare
“I was hooked from the moment I first read Poor Clare,” says Jim. “Chiara Atik has crafted a funny and unique play that makes Clare’s story come to life, whilst also posing questions for us about our own attitudes and responsibilities when it comes to questions of poverty and inequality.”
After productions of Howard Brenton’s Anne Boleyn and Willy Russell’s Educating Rita, Poor Clare completes York company Black Treacle’s informal trilogy of productions on the theme of women who reflect the quote that “well-behaved women seldom make history”.
“Clare’s growing commitment to a better world, driven by her faith and sense of justice, drive this story in unexpected directions and I’m really proud of the work the cast and creative team have done to bring it to Theatre@41’s stage,” says Jim.
Isabel Azar, who plays Clare, says: “Clare is such a deeply relatable role. She’s a young woman figuring out her vocation and she’s so raw and honest. I love her integrity, her fervent faith and her intense hunger and thirst for righteousness.
“The beauty of this play is its message that whatever our life circumstances may be, we are called to help the less fortunate and be instruments of the Lord’s peace. My wholehearted thanks to Jim for this incredible opportunity and to my amazing fellow cast-mates for making this production pure joy.”
Isabel Azar’s Clare seeks to provide clothes for the poor of Assisi in a scene in rehearsal for Black Treacle Theatre’s Poor Clare
PJ Gregan, taking the role of Francis, says: “In the play, Francis is very far from the idyllic holy leader that we know today. He’s brash, stubborn, angry, nervous, petulant and immensely fun to play as an actor.
“It’s been a pleasure working with Jim and Isabel to craft the journey of this rebellious young man taking his first steps toward the saint he will be, even if he stumbles a little along the way. You may laugh or cry – probably both – but one thing is certain: you must see Poor Clare!”
Black Treacle Theatre in Poor Clare, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, November 3 to 7, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk. Running time: Two hours, including interval.
Black Treacle Theatre’s cast and creative team for Poor Clare
Clare – Isabel Azar
Alma – Emily Hansen
Beatrice – Eleanor Stephenson
Bianchi/Beggar – Ben Reeves-Rowley
Francis – PJ Gregan
Peppa – Clare Meadley
Ortolana – Victoria Delaney
Black Treacle theatre director Jim Paterson
Director – Jim Paterson
Set and prop designer – Richard Hampton
Lighting designer – Kathryn Wright
Sound designer – Sage Dunn-Krahn
Production lead – Dave Robertson
Black Treacle Theatre’s past productions
NICK Payne’s Constellations (March 2022); Gary Owen’s Iphigenia In Splott (March 2023); Nassim Soleimanpor’s White Rabbit, Red Rabbit (November 2023); Dario Fo’s Accidental Death Of An Anarchist (October 2024); Laura Wade’s The Watsons (July 2025, co-production with Joseph Rowntree Theatre); Howard Brenton’s Anne Boleyn (March 2026) and Willy Russell’s Educating Rita (June 2026).
Did you know?
VICTORIA Delaney will be performing in York productions in successive weeks. From tomorrow to Saturday, she will play “power hungry” businesswoman Kat in York Actors Collective’s York premiere of Stephanie Jacob’s three-hander power struggle The Strongbox at York Theatre Royal Studio (box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk). Next week she will appear as Ortolana in Black Treacle Theatre’s York premiere of Chiara Atik’s Poor Clare.
Victoria Delaney in rehearsal for her role as Kat in York Actors Collective’s The Strongbox, opening at York Theatre Royal Studio tomorrow